Augusta draw pairs Els and Mickelson
Augusta draw pairs Els and Mickelson
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Tuesday, 04, Apr 2006 09:37
Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson have been paired together for the first two rounds of the US Masters at Augusta.
Mickelson beat the South African to the title in 2004 and they will now be reunited on the tee at 13:30 local time tomorrow, alongside Japan's Shingo Katayama.
The drawing of Mickelson and Els, ranked four and five in the world respectively, will be the most hotly anticipated pairs of the opening round at the first major of the year.
Both players could move up to number two in the world rankings if they win at Augusta this weekend.
Reigning champion Tiger Woods begins the defence of his title at 10:23 alongside Australian Robert Allenby and US amateur champion Edoardo Molinari of Italy.
Woods has been one of the many to voice their concern over the controversial decision to lengthen some of the holes at the Augusta course.
Many players, including three-time Masters champion Nick Faldo, have been angered by the decision and Woods, renowned for his powerful driving, believes it will have a negative impact on the competition.
"I certainly agree that the changes narrow up the field a little bit as some of the shorter hitters are definitely going to struggle," Woods said.
Elsewhere in the draw, world number two Vijay Singh will tee-off with two players who have enjoyed good form in the early part of the season, Sweden's Henrik Stenson and America's Aaron Oberholser.
England's Luke Donald will be among high-quality opposition when he starts his Masters campaign, teeing-off with Spain's Jose Maria Olazabal, winner in 1999, and world number eight David Toms.