Tiger Woods is still the main attraction at the Masters. But he no longer is the main event. Phil Mickelson is the defending champion when the 69th Masters begins on Thursday, and many believe he is primed to join Woods, Nick Faldo and Jack Nicklaus as the only consecutive winners of a green jacket.
South African Retief Goosen admits he is not playing well enough to turn golf’s ”Big Four” into the ”Big Five”. Despite two US Open championships to his name, Goosen has arrived at Augusta National searching for the game that has taken him to fifth in the world rankings behind Vijay Singh, Tiger Woods, Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson.
Ernie Els insists the bitter disappointment of last year’s Masters, when he was beaten by Phil Mickelson’s last-hole birdie, is behind him now. And the Big Easy is raring to go and finally add a Masters title to his two US Opens and British Open victories. ”My expectations here have always been to win the tournament,” said Els.
Jesper Parnevik’s attempt to win the Masters golf tournament got off to an embarrassing start in Georgia when the Swede arrived for a practice round on Sunday — he had forgotten to bring his clubs. The eccentric Swede, who once claimed he ate volcanic dust, admitted he had no one to blame but himself.
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/ 6 February 2003
A man accused of defrauding the development agency of the African kingdom of Swaziland has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for conspiring to cheat two American banks.