Georgia on their minds

GOLF:THERE MAY well be wheelbarrows of prize money to be claimed and quite a number of air miles to be clocked up before next month's US Masters at Augusta National, but – equally – there's no doubt players with a realistic eye on a green jacket are gearing up for the season's first major championship. Georgia is very much on their minds, already.

Look no further than Phil Mickelson, the defending champion. Or, for that matter, Tiger Woods. Mickelson, in fact, reacted to his disappointing performance in the WGC-Cadillac championship in Doral – won impressively by Nick Watney – by dramatically altering his pre-Masters tournament schedule to include next week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, while Woods used the green shoots evident in his final round over the Blue Monster to indicate things are finally clicking into place for the former world number one. Asked in the aftermath of his first top 10 of the season if he was still on track for Augusta, Woods responded with just two words: “Oh, yeah!”

Mickelson’s reaction was in marked contrast, after finishing 55th out of 66 players. The left-hander added the Bay Hill tournament to his schedule and also intimated the Shell Houston Open – the week before Augusta – would also likely be added to his itinerary. “I need a little bit more competitive golf, I’ve got some work to do. I am not shooting the scores I need to shoot. I’m not concerned with the way I’m hitting it or any particular element of my game. But I’m not shooting the scores.”

Woods may still be having problems with his driver – hitting only 45 per cent of fairways on tour so far this season, with only Angel Cabrera ranked lower – but his ability to finally get the ball into the hole in a final round 66 had him focusing on the positives.

“Every tournament I’ve played this year, I’ve felt better coming out of it, even though the results have not been good. I’ve felt better because it identifies some of the things I need to work on and that’s a good thing.” He added: “Sometimes in practice, I can stripe it and hit good shots all day. But getting into a competitive environment . . . it’s good to have some of the mistakes I’ve made come out and become very apparent so I can rectify them. And they are becoming less and less.”

Woods has yet to confirm if he will finalise his preparations for the Masters by playing in Bay Hill.

Watney, meanwhile, jumped 16 places to a career-high 15th in the latest world rankings after his two-shot winning margin over fellow American Dustin Johnson. Watney has yet to finish outside the top 10 in five starts on the US Tour this season. “All I can do is try to keep improving, hopefully keep winning tournaments,” said Watney, after the biggest of his three career wins on the US Tour.

Pádraig Harrington enjoyed his best finish of the season, a tied-10th position, that provided a ray of light as he moved on to this week’s Transition Championship at Palm Harbour in Florida. The Dubliner – who moved up three places to 34th in the rankings – was eighth behind Jim Furyk in the event last season and is primed for a run-up to the Masters which will also take in the Houston Open in a fortnight’s time.

US Open champion and world number four Graeme McDowell continues his build-up to Augusta at this week’s Tavistock Cup before moving on to the Bay Hill Invitational, while Rory McIlroy – who finished alongside Harrington in tied-10th in Doral – is taking a completely different run-up to the Masters. McIlroy, who has said he is in a “love-hate relationship” with golf just now, has three weeks off and won’t play competitively until then.

Meanwhile, the European Tour’s first event of the year on European soil takes place this week with the inaugural Sicilian Open where Shane Lowry makes a belated start to his season. The Offaly man suffered a broken bone in his wrist over the winter break which prevented his return to the circuit but kick-starts a three-week run of events in Catania that also takes in Spain and Morocco.

Lowry is joined in Sicily by Peter Lawrie, Gareth Maybin and Damien McGrane, with Simon Thornton listed as third reserve. Europe’s Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie, who hasn’t played since the Dubai Desert Classic, also resumes tournament play.