No Taking The Easy Way In

There's no obscuring it: Tiger Woods is the clear favorite in the Masters. But tied for 19th, four shots off the lead, he has some work to do. (By David Cannon -- Getty Images)

Thanks, Jack.

No golfer knows exactly how he'll swing the next day or how the putter will feel. When you're trying to hit a ball 300 yards on the fly and land it in an area 10 yards wide, the distinctions are imperceptibly subtle. Okay, maybe not to Tiger, who can stop in mid-downswing if he hears a bee humming in the next fairway. But the game preys on every mind. Just less on the greats.

If one aspect of the Masters has mildly irritated Woods in recent years, it is the radically increased difficulty of Augusta National, which was lengthened by 500 yards after Woods's back-to-back wins in 2001 and '02. Tiger-proofed, at least a little? Since then, he's won once. On Tuesday, Woods noted that, for long hitters like him, the true par at the Masters used to be 68, with all the par 5s as birdie holes. Now, par is 72 for everybody.

"They've made [the Masters] more like the U.S. Open," Woods said after his round, not meaning the remark as a compliment. "There are no roars out there anymore. The only one I heard all day was for [Ian] Poulter's hole-in-one [at No. 16]. It's hard to make birdies and eagles out there now. And the course is drying out, which will make it play tougher."

Masters chairman Billy Payne has said the Masters wants its roars back, as well as its reputation for excitement and weekend thrills. Four holes have been slightly altered to allow more accessible pin placements. The course was softer when players arrived, an invitation to shoot closer to flags. And five Thursday scores in the 60s show that red numbers are possible.

The most likely man, by far, to post those fancy low numbers is Woods. But it will be a daunting job on a course that now resembles a U.S. Open, in which he's 2 for 11 in his career, almost as much as a Masters. As Woods left the course, he brimmed with confidence, recounting "sweet" shots he'd hit and how, on an almost impossible pitch at the 13th hole, he told his caddie: "I'm pitching good. I can pull this off."

Instead, the shot never reached the green and rolled right back at Tiger. The margin of error here can be blade-of-grass thin. As Woods reaches for his fifth green jacket, as he takes what may be the best shot of his career at a same-season Slam, don't fall for the idea that any aspect of his quest can be done "easily." He didn't mean it that way. Tiger just wants you to know what's on his mind. What Woods is trying to accomplish, especially after announcing his intentions, borders on the impossible.

Except, if we're lucky, for him.