TIGER Woods is the favorite and if I hear about Greg Norman's collapse one more time, it will cause me to faint. It’d be nice if
one of these guys wonOr head for the nearest 19th hole.
Nick Faldo might slug it out with Woods or Norman in this week's Masters, if such a scenario is possible among our most gentle professional athletes.
The TPC wire-to-wire winner, Steve "Elk" Elkington, should be in the hunt and last week's hot putter belonged to Brad Faxon, who easily won in the Big Easy.
I have yet to check the odds of a streaker or water-hazard diver shocking Augusta National's cathedral setting, but watch out. This could be the year.
But the biggest moment -- guaranteed -- will be when Arnold Palmer tees it up at Augusta for the first time since recovering from prostate cancer surgery.
There will be enough tears to water all of the azaleas until next year's event.
Here is my top-5 finishers wish-list:
1. Arnold Palmer: This would compete for the biggest sports story of all-time if somehow the golf gods can give his shots miraculous wings and radar. No one will have more competitive fire inside than Palmer, who could have easily called it a career and taken his time to recuperate from such sudden and traumatic treatment. Instead, he made it yet another personal challenge and succeeded. Making the cut would be wonderful. Seeing him back on this golf course will be more than enough, in a setting truly fit for The King.
2. Paul Azinger: His battle with cancer was just as courageous and a Masters victory would sure be a great reward -- and even more inspiration to those who are fighting the disease. "Zinger" has always been one of the classiest golfers. He never complains about such course calamities as cameras clicking, airplanes flying overhead or butterflies landing on nearby flowers, like some of the others on the PGA Tour.
3. Tiger Woods: Amazingly, a golfer has gotten the attention of our nation's young people, who haven't idolized anything that didn't bust heads or blow up buildings on a video screen for years. It would be great to see Woods put on the green jacket, making a lot of the Tour robots turn even greener with envy. It also would be a boost for minority athletes of all ages and backgrounds. Woods shot a 59 -- yes, 59 -- in practice and has played rounds at Augusta as an amateur with past winners such as Palmer and Jack Nicklaus. On the other hand, he finished tied for 31st at the TPC. But this layout is made for his game. He might just win it.
4. Jack Nicklaus: His game is falling pretty fast due to age and a business schedule that always seems to take priority. But he can still get a hot hand -- and what better place than Augusta, where he stunned the sports world by winning the Masters at the age of 46. Nicklaus had his best Senior Skins in a number of years at Mauna Lani on the Big Island last January. And he had a 67 in the first round of the recent Tradition tournament. Hey, you never know about the greatest player in the history of the game. Making the cut would be a treat.
5. Greg Norman: OK, don't go into shock over this pick. Just because Norman threatened to punch me in the nose about 10 years ago in Las Vegas is no reason to root against him this year at the Masters. He handled his unbelievable choke job -- I mean his unusually poor final round -- with class and insight. Wouldn't it be cool to see Faldo do the Fold-o in the final three holes to give the jacket to Norman? If nothing else, a Norman victory would spare us about hearing of the 1996 collapse next year. And maybe now that I have finally written something positive about the guy, I won't have to wear dark glasses and a fake beard whenever he is in Hawaii. On the other hand, a second consecutive Norman collapse at the Masters ...