Woods and Mickelson ready

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson were in bullish mood on Tuesday as the pace gathered ahead of the US Masters at Augusta National

World numbers one and two, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, have both spoken of their desire to maintain their recent form going into this week’s US Masters.

Woods, whose press conference at the Augusta National’s media building was overflowing with the world’s press, pointed to his determination to win his 15th Major Championship and said he “always” turns up to a tournament expecting to win. Even though he admitted to having some doubt about his hopes of Masters contention prior to his return from injury.

“If you had asked me before the Matchplay (WGC Arizona), a lot of it was uncertain. I didn’t know how I was going to respond. I didn’t know how I was going to recover day to day.

“My game started coming around at Doral. I started hitting the ball better each day and got my feel for the game back.”

Mickelson claimed he expected Woods to be there at the business end of the tournament come Sunday. But the three-time Major winner and two-time Masters champion, who has won twice on the PGA Tour this season despite disappointing at the Houston Open last weekend, claimed he was confident of threatening in the same manner.

“I am playing good golf,” he said. “Hopefully both myself and Tiger will play well. I would love to be in the same group as him on Sunday. That said, I would like it to the last group. We don’t want to be going third off.

“We have 54 holes where we have to play great golf. I don’t think that’s a question for him. I think he is playing some great golf and he is going to be there. I think that I’ve been playing some of the best golf of my career and I believe that I am going to be there too.”

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Alex Narey
Content Editor

Alex began his journalism career in regional newspapers in 2001 and moved to the Press Association four years later. He spent three years working at Dennis Publishing before first joining Golf Monthly, where he was on the staff from 2008 to 2015 as the brand's managing editor, overseeing the day-to-day running of our award-winning magazine while also contributing across various digital platforms. A specialist in news and feature content, he has interviewed many of the world's top golfers and returns to Golf Monthly after a three-year stint working on the Daily Telegraph's sports desk. His current role is diverse as he undertakes a number of duties, from managing creative solutions campaigns in both digital and print to writing long-form features for the magazine. Alex has enjoyed a life-long passion for golf and currently plays to a handicap of 13 at Tylney Park Golf Club in Hampshire.