{"id":368258,"date":"2011-04-05T00:25:36","date_gmt":"2011-04-05T00:25:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/04\/05\/golf-player-likes-mickelson-and-mcilroy-for-augusta-reuters\/"},"modified":"2011-04-05T00:25:36","modified_gmt":"2011-04-05T00:25:36","slug":"golf-player-likes-mickelson-and-mcilroy-for-augusta-reuters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/05\/golf-player-likes-mickelson-and-mcilroy-for-augusta-reuters\/","title":{"rendered":"Golf-Player likes Mickelson, and McIlroy, for Augusta (Reuters)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

By Mark Lamport-Stokes<\/p>\n

AUGUSTA, Georgia, April 4 (Reuters) – Golfing great Gary
\nPlayer<\/a> regards holder Phil Mickelson<\/a> as the favourite for this
\nweek\u2019s U.S. Masters but he also has \u201ca feeling\u201d Ireland\u2019s Rory
\nMcIlroy<\/a> will flourish in the season\u2019s opening major.<\/p>\n

American left-hander Mickelson shortened his odds on
\nwinning a fifth major title with a three-shot victory at the
\nHouston Open on Sunday while McIlroy is viewed by many as a
\nfuture world number one.<\/p>\n

\u201cPhil Mickelson winning yesterday is a very significant
\nthing,\u201d Player, 75, told Reuters at a sun-splashed Augusta
\nNational on Monday. \u201cIt\u2019s given him coming in here a big
\npsychological lift.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s got to be saying: \u2018I\u2019m going to win.\u2019 It\u2019s a feeling
\nyou get and it\u2019s a positive feeling that you have and either
\nyou have it or you don\u2019t. It\u2019s not something you can say you
\nmanufacture. It\u2019s a gift.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout a question Phil is the favourite right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

However South African Player singled out the 21-year-old
\nMcIlroy as his pick for success this week.<\/p>\n

\u201cRory McIlroy is so talented,\u201d said the nine-times major
\nchampion. \u201cI\u2019ve got a feeling about him. I don\u2019t know why.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is ready to come through. I just love the way he plays
\ngolf. However we don\u2019t know how he will rise to the occasion if
\nhe comes down the line (on Sunday) and he\u2019s leading.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou never know who has got what I call the ingredients.
\nThe swing is not the thing. It\u2019s what\u2019s inside that makes you
\nwin. You don\u2019t know if you have it until you are tested.\u201d<\/p>\n

McIlroy is yet to win a major title but the world number
\nnine is one of the most exciting players in the game with his
\nhigh ball flight and ability to shoot very low numbers.<\/p>\n

The mop-haired Irishman catapulted into the limelight with
\na stunning maiden PGA Tour victory at last year\u2019s Quail Hollow
\nChampionship, where he won by four strokes after firing a
\ncourse record 10-under-par 62 in the final round.<\/p>\n

TIGER\u2019S PROSPECTS<\/p>\n

Player, who was one of golf\u2019s so-called \u2018Big Three\u2019 with
\nfellow greats Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer<\/a> in the 1960s, was
\nless certain about Tiger Woods<\/a>\u2019s prospects this week.<\/p>\n

The American former world number one, who has lifted the
\nprized green jacket on four occasions at Augusta National, has
\nslipped to seventh in the rankings and has not triumphed
\nanywhere since the 2009 Australian Masters.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am surprised he has not won since then but his swing has
\nbeen out of kilter,\u201d Player said of 14-times major champion
\nWoods, who began working on the fourth swing change of his
\ncareer last August after the break-up of his marriage.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been to quite a few different (swing) coaches and I
\nthink that\u2019s the thing you\u2019ve got to be careful, that you don\u2019t
\nget paralysis by analysis. Change is okay as long as you\u2019re
\nmaking the right change.<\/p>\n

\u201cParticularly over the last year, I have noticed quite a
\nfew flaws in his swing, in my opinion. But golf is like
\ngenetics. You know a hang of a lot about nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Player, a three-times Masters champion, felt Woods was
\nstill capable of enhancing his reputation as the greatest
\nscorer of all time.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf all the super stars that I have seen, Tiger Woods was
\non his way to being the best scorer that ever lived,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cThe best player that ever lived was Ben Hogan. But that\u2019s not
\nwhat they pay you for. They pay you for a score.<\/p>\n

\u201cGolf is a humbling game and you don\u2019t know if it (form)
\nwill come back. But I\u2019ve always said if anybody was going to
\nbreak (Jack) Nicklaus\u2019s record (of 18 majors) it would be
\nTiger.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s food for thought now. Will he do it? The man is very
\nfocused and he has a passion, but you don\u2019t know what happening
\ninside. You can give an opinion but none of us really know.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 75th Masters starts on Thursday.
\n (Editing by Frank Pingue; To query or comment on this story
\nemail sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

See more here:
\nGolf-Player likes Mickelson, and McIlroy, for Augusta (Reuters)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Mark Lamport-Stokes AUGUSTA, Georgia, April 4 (Reuters) – Golfing great Gary Player regards holder Phil Mickelson as the favourite for this week\u2019s U.S. Masters but he also has \u201ca feeling\u201d Ireland\u2019s Rory McIlroy will flourish in the season\u2019s opening major. American left-hander Mickelson shortened his odds on winning a fifth major title with a three-shot victory at the Houston Open on Sunday while McIlroy is viewed by many as a future world number one<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-368258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nGolf-Player likes Mickelson, and McIlroy, for Augusta (Reuters) - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/05\/golf-player-likes-mickelson-and-mcilroy-for-augusta-reuters\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Golf-Player likes Mickelson, and McIlroy, for Augusta (Reuters) - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"By Mark Lamport-Stokes AUGUSTA, Georgia, April 4 (Reuters) - Golfing great Gary Player regards holder Phil Mickelson as the favourite for this week\u2019s U.S. Masters but he also has \u201ca feeling\u201d Ireland\u2019s Rory McIlroy will flourish in the season\u2019s opening major. 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