Woods awaits the first step

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- It’s a roped-off rectangular patch, just a few steps from the towering old oak tree that is the expanse outside the three-story white clubhouse. The first tee at Augusta National Golf Club, that’s where it all starts for the 94 players who begin the first round of the Masters today.

From the tee, the view is the same for everyone -- a rolling expanse of green grass, a yawning bunker down the right side, 455 yards of trouble everywhere you look.

Tiger Woods sees something different. His vision is on a grander scale because that’s the way he’s built; besides, it’s also what is expected of him.

The Masters kicks off the majors, in its rightful role, and Woods begins his audacious quest of winning them all this year. That’s the sort of role that may not be his right, but he’s the only player who begins the 72nd Masters who would dare mention it as a possibility in the first place.

Phil Mickelson said Woods is human . . . he thinks.

“I don’t think it really matters if you’re favored or not,” Mickelson said. “I think how you’re perceived heading into this tournament really doesn’t matter.”

Like everyone else, Woods will find a stern test in front of him on the finely manicured and pristine Augusta National. It may appear benign, with Rae’s Creek meandering through Amen Corner, the calming sound of birds chirping and rows of azaleas showing their blazing colors.

But its looks are deceiving.

Make no mistake, this is a mean place, 7,455 yards of sheer terror at every turn. Last year, when Zach Johnson won, the winning score was one over, matching the highest winning score in history.

Woods has done all right here, if four victories mean anything, but he knows that you can’t make birdies the same way you used to.

“You know, you used to say that par was 68 for the longer hitters,” he said. “I remember roaming around here and hitting good drives off the par fives and good irons to every green. That’s no longer the case.”

The weather was cold and windy for most of the weekend last year, which adversely affected the scoring, but outside of a chance of rain Friday and Saturday, the conditions are shaping up for something a lot different this week.

And while Woods may be the favorite, he’s not the only one with a chance at taking down Augusta National.

Mickelson is a two-time Masters champion who has already won this year, at Riviera, and owns the kind of short game that scores points on this layout. He’s not entirely sure about that facet, though.

“I actually feel really good about my game because my ball-striking has been good,” Mickelson said. “The area I need to spend some time is chipping and putting and that’s an area I’ve never really been concerned with.

“I am excited heading into this tournament where I feel comfortable on and around the greens.”

The discussion of favorites may center on Woods and Mickelson, but they have plenty of company. Ernie Els hasn’t won here, but he’s come close, and has to be considered a threat to win. Padraig Harrington, the British Open champion, and U.S. Open winner Angel Cabrera are also strongly considered.

Lee Westwood, Rory Sabbatini, Retief Goosen, former Masters champ Vijay Singh and Geoff Ogilvy may be under the radar, but they probably won’t stay that way for long this week.

The fine points of coaxing Augusta National into compliance are not considered state secrets. It’s Mickelson’s view that you don’t necessarily have to hit everything perfect to score well.

“You have to be able to miss it in the proper sides of the greens and you have to have a great short game. You have to get up and down a lot from on and around the greens.”

Woods is as good as anyone in that category, but there’s one area to keep an eye on that may tip off how he’s doing. Woods has never shot lower than 70 in the first round in his 13 Masters appearances. He’s opened with a round of 70 three times -- in 1997, 2001 and 2002 -- and he won all three times.

So if Woods really is going to win all four majors, he’s going to have to start here, and starting quickly accounts for a lot. No one has his expectations, but even if there’s nothing else, that’s something Woods shares equally with the rest of the field.

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thomas.bonk@latimes.com

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Masters tee times

Today (all times a.m., Pacific; a-amateur):

*--* 5 Ben Curtis, Shaun Micheel 5:11 Fuzzy Zoeller, Brett Wetterich, Heath Slocum 5:22 Mark O’Meara, a-Trip Kuehne, Ian Poulter 5:33 Larry Mize, Peter Lonard, Hunter Mahan 5:44 Gary Player, Miguel Angel Jimenez, D.J. Trahan 5:55 Justin Leonard, Charles Howell III, Nick Watney 6:06 Scott Verplank, Robert Allenby, Michael Campbell 6:17 Ben Crenshaw, a-Michael Thompson, Nick O’Hern 6:28 Steve Lowery, Robert Karlsson, Nick Dougherty 6:39 Fred Couples, Jerry Kelly, Anders Hansen 6:50 Vaughn Taylor, Martin Kaymer, Arron Oberholser 7:12 Jose Maria Olazabal, Liang Wen-chong, Rory Sabbatini 7:23 Zach Johnson, Luke Donald, Geoff Ogilvy 7:34 Mike Weir, Padraig Harrington, Jeev Milkha Singh 7:45 Tiger Woods, Angel Cabrera, Stuart Appleby 7:56 Justin Rose, Henrik Stenson, Toru Taniguchi 8:07 Todd Hamilton, Brian Bateman 8:18 Craig Stadler, Johnson Wagner, Steve Flesch 8:29 Ian Woosnam, Richard Green, Stephen Ames 8:40 Boo Weekley, Trevor Immelman, Sean O’Hair 8:51 Sandy Lyle, John Rollins, J.B. Holmes 9:02 Soren Hansen, Daniel Chopra, Richard Sterne 9:24 Tom Watson, Brandt Snedeker, John Senden 9:35 Tim Clark, David Toms, Niclas Fasth 9:46 Raymond Floyd, a-Drew Weaver, Jonathan Boyd 9:57 Bernhard Langer, Prayad Marksaeng, Woody Austin 10:08 Bubba Watson, Sergio Garcia, Mark Calcavecchia 10:19 Adam Scott, Paul Casey, Retief Goosen 10:30 Vijay Singh, Steve Stricker, Stewart Cink 10:41 Phil Mickelson, Andres Romero, K.J. Choi 10:52 Ernie Els, Shingo Katayama, Jim Furyk 11:03 Aaron Baddeley, Camilo Villegas, Lee Westwood *--*