What to look out for as the Masters tournament in Georgia starts

 Golf's first major of the year offers its customary abundance of interesting storylines, from the outlaw LIV tour to Scottie Scheffler's quest for a second consecutive green jacket to an extended 13th hole.

Welcome to the Masters, where the golf season officially begins on Thursday amidst Augusta National Golf Club's azalea blossoms and soaring pines.

Super Bowl of golf

The Bosses denotes the greatest confrontation yet between the laid out PGA Visit and reckless challenger LIV.

While there were no outward indications of aggression during the training rounds and advocate supper, the contention between those players who stayed with the PGA and the individuals who picked the generational abundance given out by LIV's Saudi benefactors is inescapable.

Everyone's eyes will be on the scoreboard to perceive how LIV's 18 participants are faring against the remainder of the field.

Assuming one of them guaranteed the green coat, it would without a doubt attract correlations with the New York Planes beating the Baltimore Yearlings in the third Super Bowl — a bewildering result that put the novice American Football Association on neutral ground with the NFL.

Golf is a singular game, obviously, yet such countless cruel words have been traded throughout the last year that disregarding the meaning of the Experts to the two tours is incomprehensible.

"I'd very much want to see one of us folks get up to the highest point of the competitor list and truly offer it a decent chance," said Cameron Smith, the dominant English Open top dog who surrendered to LIV.

Just three players have rehashed as Experts champions: Jack Nicklaus, Scratch Faldo and Woods.

Scheffler appears to be prepared to make a run at joining that renowned threesome, coming in as the world's highest level player, with two triumphs and nine straight wraps up inside the main 12.

"Since you're protecting doesn't mean I get to begin at 1-under," he said. "I'll be moving toward it very much as I do a great deal of different competitions."

Scheffler figures to get a solid test from Rory McIlroy and maybe Jon Rahm, the following two people on the planet rankings.

Those three overwhelmed the main quarter of the year.

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Rahm turned into the main player in almost 50 years to win multiple times on the West Coast swing, however he battled in Spring. McIlroy has two triumphs and two other top-three completions in the beyond a half year.

Scheffler and McIlroy are co-top picks at the Bosses, with Rahm right behind them, as indicated by FanDuel Sportsbook.

Like Scheffler, McIlroy is additionally pursuing history.

The Northern Irishman needs the Experts to finish a lifelong Huge homerun. Just five players have won every one of the four of golf's greatest occasions.

"It's inevitable. Rory has the ability. He has the game. He has every one of the instruments," said Woods, the latest player to finish the advanced vocation Hammer. The others are Nicklaus, Gary Player, Ben Hogan and Quality Sarazen.

Unfortunate thirteenth

The thirteenth, nicknamed "Azalea," has for quite some time been the least demanding opening on the course.

At last, it's playing like a standard 5.

In the wake of securing a lump of land from adjoining Augusta Nation Club, the tee box at 13 was pushed back 35 yards.

That expanded the distance of the opening to 545 yards, more in accordance with other standard 5s at significant competitions. In the event that all works out as expected, anticipate significantly more interest on the back nine Sunday.

Aces Executive Fred Ridley said the alterations will help "reestablish the component of hazard and prize" that was expected in the first plan of the course. Golf players will be confronted with the decision of going for the green in two from a significantly longer spot, or resting up and zeroing in on the green with their third shot.

For Xander Schauffele, it's an easy decision.

"It places you in that dead zone," Schauffele said of the additional yards. "You just rest up. There's not a lot to it."

Woods is only a parttime player nowadays, yet nobody understands their strategy for getting around Augusta Public better than the five-time champion.

Woods incredibly got it done a year prior, actually limping after an overwhelming car crash.

A slight limp remaining parts, an indication of the relative multitude of actual hardships he has persevered over the course of the last ten years and a half.

In any case, that swing looks as smooth as could be expected.

"You know, in the event that he didn't need to stroll up these slopes and have that, I'd say he'd be all one of the top picks," McIlroy wondered. "He has the shots as a whole."

Woods never plays without accepting he gets an opportunity to win, however he realizes the chances are stacked vigorously against catching a 6th green coat — an accomplishment that main Nicklaus has achieved, back in 1986 at 46 years old.

Woods is 47 at this point.

"I don't have the foggiest idea the number of more I that have in me," he permitted.

Persnickety climate

The eccentric climate of early April is supposed to be on full presentation this week, which could prompt large shifts on the direction.

Augusta Public was heated by temperatures moving toward 90 degrees the day preceding the competition, and business as usual was gauge for the initial round.

Be that as it may, a tempest front was overwhelming east Georgia, bringing possibly weighty precipitation and thumping temperatures into the low 50s constantly, forecasters said.

The player that demonstrates most versatile to that large number of conditions will probably be the one wearing the green coat come Sunday night.