Tiger Woods won 14 majors by the age of 32, but turns 40 on December 30 and faces a daunting task to match the record of 18 held by Jack Nicklaus.

Jordan Spieth may not be able to win the grand slam this year but the world number two made many doubters believe it is actually possible.

PHIL MICKELSON’S face broke into a broad smile when he saw the draw for Sunday’s final round of the Masters.

A DAY that began with high hopes for himself and his large band of supporters ended in anti-climax and no small amount of disappointment for Padraig Harrington.

THEY call it Firethorn. It measures only 535 yards, meaning it should be a pushover for the game’s finest, and only the eighth has played easier all week.

DARREN Clarke accepted his eight at the 15th in yesterday’s third round with commendable equanimity, pointing out it’s just the kind of thing that happens at Augusta National. How right he was.

AUGUSTA National’s 465-yard 18th proved a friend to the Irish at Augusta yesterday as it yielded birdies to Darren Clarke and Pádraig Harrington, helping them into challenging positions going into the weekend.

CHAD CAMPBELL emerged as the new leader at Augusta yesterday but this looks like being one of the most exciting Masters weekends for a long time.

VIJAY SINGH, the 2000 champion and world number two, yesterday demonstrated that the newly revamped Augusta National golf course need not be the kind of monster that many had predicted.

AUGUSTA National's revamped opening hole proved no friend of the Irish trio Brian McElhinney, Pádraig Harrington and especially Paul McGinley in yesterday's first round of the Masters.

BELIEVE the bookmakers, and the 70th Masters is a straight fight between the United States and South Africa.

THE Government was last night accused of failing the Irish people and capitulating to Sky TV after Communications Minister Noel Dempsey announced the Ryder Cup would not be available on a free-to-air basis.

THE controversy rages whether Augusta National’s powers-that-be have handed too much of an advantage to the game’s biggest hitters. That they have literally gone too far this time.

TEN days of chilling out with his wife and family on the exclusive island of Abaco in the Bahamas have helped put Darren Clarke into the most relaxed frame of mind he's ever been in going into a major tournament.

A LOWLY 29th in the world, virtually nowhere in the battle for places on the European Ryder Cup team; you could forgive Pádraig Harrington for being a little down on his arrival at Augusta National.

TIGER WOODS has more than just the difficulty of the revamped Augusta National course to cope with as he continues his preparations for the defence his Masters title.

THE GOOD people of Burnfoot, Co Donegal, are rarely in the limelight, going about their business quietly with no expectation of being in the news.

PAUL McGINLEY quit after playing the opening nine holes at Augusta yesterday still suffering from the hay fever that afflicted him badly during the Players’ Championship at Sawgrass a fortnight ago.

PAUL McGINLEY strolled from the Augusta National locker room to the practice range as if he was beginning his preparation for just another run-of-the-mill tournament instead of his second tilt at the Masters.

JACK NICKLAUS and Arnold Palmer have both spoken out about the changes made to Augusta National for next month’s Masters.

EVERY sport has its ifs and buts and that’s why Graeme McDowell wasn’t crying too many tears at taking a quadruple bogey eight at the 17th at St Andrews on Saturday evening.

IT all ended at 4.40pm on a muggy St Andrews afternoon although there were still an hour and twenty five minutes of golf to be played.

DARREN Clarke raised hopes that he might be able to capitalise should Tiger Woods and the other leaders falter in the final round when he shot a delightful third round of 67 on Saturday.

THERE was a time five years ago when the rest of the world’s best players were clearly intimidated by Tiger Woods.

FOR one very special hour the golf world had eyes only for two players at St Andrews last night – one leaving the stage for good and the other threatening to leave the rest for dead.

TEARS surely stung his eyes but Jack Nicklaus wouldn’t let them come.

A NICE 15-footer for birdie on the 18th was the ideal finish to the second round of the Open Championship for Graeme McDowell.

IRELAND’s Graeme McDowell has branded the newly-lengthened fourth at St Andrews as “the stupidest hole in golf” after a double-bogey six yesterday put a dent in his British Open chances.

YOU wouldn’t have wanted to be out in the latter part of the day at St Andrews yesterday but ironically that’s when the challenge fared best.

ARE the rest playing for second place? That was the big question in St Andrews last night after Tiger Woods had cruised through the first round of the Open Championship in a near effortless six under par 66.

PHIL MICKELSON, by and large, is a delightful man, friendly, courteous, co-operative.

SERGIO GARCIA has emerged as the most likely candidate to end the 35-year drought since a European last won the US Open.