The 2012 US Masters begins on April 5 and it looks like being a straight shoot out between Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy at Augusta National.
There can't be many golf fans who weren't pleased to see Tiger Woods return to winning form at the Arnold Palmer Invitational as the former world number one has been missed out on the course. Woods is arguably the greatest player to ever play the game and having him at his best sets a standard that the rest of the field have to try to better throughout the season.
The American is now being considered by many as the favourite to win the year's first major title, the US Masters, and he comes into the tournament in form and with the best record at Augusta National.
Woods's main challenge is likely to come from reigning US Open champion Rory McIlroy, who will be looking to exorcise some demons in Georgia. The Northern Irishman blitzed the field at Augusta National in 2011 but then collapsed in the final round, shooting an 82 in a display that was painful to watch.
That public breakdown saw McIlroy's profile raised in America and many fans felt an affinity with the youngster, which has seen him become a personality almost as big as Tiger on the tour. He has the talent to emulate the haul of 14 career majors that Woods has claimed and should he win at Augusta then he will surely receive a rapturous applause from the discerning crowd.
The bookmakers have made it clear that they expect the 2012 Masters to be a straight shoot out between Woods and McIlroy but there are a whole host of players who will be looking to mount a challenge at the year's first major.
Chief among them is world number one Luke Donald and number three Lee Westwood who will both be determined to claim a first ever major title and end claims that they do not deserve to sit at the top of the world rankings.
WGC winners Justin Rose, Adam Scott and Hunter Mahan also have to be respected as does last year's winner Charl Schwartzel and duel Masters champion Phil Mickelson. Other former Green Jacket winners looking to upset the odds will be Angel Cabrera, Trevor Immelman, Zach Johnson and Mike Weir.
