For Woods, this bears repeating

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- The last player to win the Masters back to back was Tiger Woods, as you may have guessed, in 2001-02. Before that, Nick Faldo in 1989-90. And the only other player in the last 42 years to successfully defend a Masters title was Jack Nicklaus in 1966.

With the 72nd Masters set to begin in two days, that’s probably not so comforting to Zach Johnson.

The self-proclaimed nobody from Iowa may be the defending champion, but he’s not anybody’s favorite.

That distinction belongs once again to Woods, the four-time Masters champion. And he isn’t wasting any time in getting a head start. Woods has played 36 holes of practice since Sunday and spent Monday taking a look at Augusta National Golf Club with Mark O’Meara and Richard Green.

Woods will be the first one on the course this morning for his third practice round as he attempts to build on the momentum he has established so far this year.

Woods has played five times worldwide, including the Dubai Desert Classic, and won four of those tournaments. The only time he didn’t win was in his last event, the CA Championship at Doral, Fla., where he was fifth and Geoff Ogilvy was the champion.

Steve Stricker said that when Woods said it was within reason to win all four majors this year, he didn’t blink.

“He’s the only player capable of doing that,” Stricker said. “And you know, I wouldn’t be surprised if he does do it.

“I think the odds are not in his favor. There’s so many good players . . . so many capable . . . of getting their own little runs and playing well. He’s going to have to play at the top of his game to do it.”

Last year at Augusta National, Johnson was clearly at the top of his game.

Johnson, whose margin over Woods in the Masters was two shots, says he’s always aware of what Woods is doing, and what he’s capable of doing.

“You know, he’s a phenom and he certainly never ceases to amaze me,” Johnson said. “He just has that knack. He just has that gift that’s very, well, intangible.”

If Woods is on a roll coming into the Masters, Johnson is sort of on the skids.

He has only one top-10 finish this year, a tie for ninth at Doral, and only one other top 20, in the season-opening Mercedes Championship when he was 20th.

Johnson has never hit it very far, but he’s having an even more difficult year getting distance. He’s hitting his drives about 12 yards shorter on average than he did last year, and his 268.4-yard average ranks 199th on the PGA Tour.

Plus, his short game is suffering. Known as a clutch putter, Johnson ranks 100th in putting this year, more than double his position in the rankings from a year ago.

But no matter how he’s playing, Johnson said that Augusta National is so difficult, there’s no need to worry about anything except what you’re doing at the moment.

“The golf course has so much teeth that if you start thinking too far ahead, the hole that you’re on or the shot that you’re presented with at that time is going to bite you.

“You really can’t look too far into the future.”

That’s probably not bad advice for everyone who shows up to play this week. So far, the weather has been cool and damp, which makes Augusta National play even longer than the 7,445 yards it measures.

But at the same time, dampness means the greens are probably going to start out a little softer than those who meet in the upstairs offices around here would prefer.

“The course is so long as it is,” Stricker said. “And I’m not the longest hitter out here, so I’d rather see it where I can get some roll on the fairways.”

As we have learned, the most prominent roll is the one on which Woods has arrived. Soft fairways, hard course, it hasn’t mattered much to Woods, and with the first major of the year in sight, he should find out whether his quick start means as much as he hopes.

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thomas.bonk@latimes.com