Phil Mickelson, who went toe-to-toe with Woods in the final round and beat him outside Boston last September, has won two of the last four times at the Masters.

Ernie Els, haunted by three close calls at Augusta National, brought himself into focus last month when he won the Honda Classic, his first PGA Tour victory in 3½ years. Former U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy ended Woods’ winning streak at Doral and might have been a factor last year except for taking triple bogey on two par 5s during the week.

Any of them, if not more, can find their game among the Georgia pines and blazing azaleas at Augusta National. And while Woods appears to have little competition over the course of a year, he has won the Masters only once in the last five years.

“It’s frustrating that everyone in the world basically says no one else is trying, including half the people in this room,” Ogilvy said after winning at Doral. “We are trying. He’s just good. He’s very good at winning a golf tournament.”

There were hardly any changes to the golf course since last year, and players can only hope for a change in weather. It was cold and brittle a year ago, and the fairways had not been this fast since the latest overhaul that has turned Augusta into a beast at 7,445 yards.

The defending champion is Zach Johnson, who tied a Masters record with his winning score of 1-over 289. Johnson handled the par 5s, as every winner must do, but his strategy was unlike any other because he didn’t go for any of those greens in two.

It was an example that more players are capable of winning the Masters than some first thought.

“If it plays firm and fast, it brings quite a few more guys into the deal,” Scott Verplank said. “If it’s wet and long, then it’s limited.”

Either way, it all starts with Woods and his pursuit of the Grand Slam.

In his mind, Woods came within four shots of a chance at the Grand Slam in 2005, when he was two shots behind Michael Campbell at the U.S. Open and two shots behind Mickelson at the PGA Championship. A year ago, he was two shots behind Johnson at the Masters, one shot behind Angel Cabrera at the U.S. Open and tied for 12th at the British Open.

And don’t forget 2002, when Woods won the first two majors and finished one shot behind Rich Beem in the PGA Championship. He was two shots behind going into the weekend at the British Open until the wind whipped off the North Sea, sending him to an 81.

Woods sees a thread that makes a Grand Slam “easily within reason.”

Slideshow Family time Tiger Woods is blessed both on and off the golf course. NBCSports.com

“The last four, five, six years, I’ve been in contention in more majors than when I first started out,” he said. “Put that into more chances, and probably over the last two or three years, I’ve given myself a chance in just about every major. And that’s the whole idea.”

Palmer created the modern Grand Slam after winning the Masters and U.S. Open in 1960, but it ended at St. Andrews that summer when he finished second at the British Open. Palmer never came close again.

Jack Nicklaus brought the Grand Slam into focus, although the closest he came was the Masters and U.S. Open in 1972. Woods also won the first two majors in 2002. No one else has ever gotten past the first major, the Masters.

“Every time I started preparing in January for the Masters, that’s what I looked at,” Nicklaus said. “I think Tiger looks at it much the same way, probably even more because he has held all four of them at one time. So that’s a pretty lofty goal. But for a guy like Tiger, I wouldn’t put it past him.”

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