GOLF/US Masters:Is this what it has come to? Two men - so different, so alike - who have discovered the secret of conquering Augusta National: Tiger and Phil; Phil and Tiger. Philip Reidat Augusta

In five of the past six years, either Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson has won the Masters and, for the past two, they've slipped the green jacket on to each other's broad shoulders, both outwardly smiling but one of them in turn churning inside as the mantle of champion was bestowed on his greatest adversary.

Sure, the Woods-Mickelson rivalry is good for golf; and nowhere more so than at Augusta National, where the questions posed by this course of 7,445 yards have been answered most succinctly by these two men. So, yet again, in a starting field of 97 players, it is Woods - the champion in 1997, 2001, 2002 and 2005 - and Mickelson, the victor in 2004 and again in 2006, who look set to dominate.

Of course, this 72nd edition of the Masters constitutes much more than a two-man battle for supremacy in this first major of the season. But, as Ernie Els, a player who has flirted with glory here only to be rejected, candidly observed, "experience helps around this course . . . your nerve ends really get into a tailspin here because the margin of error is so small, so narrow."

And, as they have proven time and time again, it is Woods - and, latterly, Mickelson - who have demonstrated a propensity to overcome any nerves coming down the stretch on a Sunday that starts with Amen Corner and only finishes on the 18th green.

If the truth be told, nobody knows the intricacies of this course as well as Woods. It is only 10 years since he changed the face of modern golf with his record-sized win in 1997, a feat which led to the so-called "Tiger-proofing" of the course that, if anything, has played even more into his hands.

The incentives for Woods are huge. He is halfway to "Tiger Slam II", coming here with the Claret Jug as British Open champion and the US PGA trophy safely displayed in his Florida home; and this is the first visit back here since the death last year of his father, his guiding force. And, of course, he would also love for Mickelson to be the one to place the green jacket on his shoulders!

Mickelson, for his part, has decided to stick with the strategy he adopted last year of putting two drivers into his bag, one to fade the ball and the other to draw it. "This course tests all your abilities for ball-striking. It tests your ability to hit the ball high, as well as hit the ball low; (it tests) the ability to hit fades, draws, left-to-right, right-to-left . . . you have to be able to manoeuvre the ball off the tee and into the greens," said Mickelson.

And, as the history of Augusta demonstrates, it tends to breed multiple winners. So those - like Woods and Mickelson - who have won here before, tend to contend time after time. As Mickelson pointed out, "Once you've had enough time on the course to start to trust some of the things you may or may not see, (and) start to trust some of the shots that you have to hit, and know where you can and can't hit the ball, you start to understand what a good score is. The better you understand this course and how to play it, the better guys play it."

Even those who haven't won a Masters title (or any major) know how important experience is in determining a winner. Padraig Harrington is only too aware of that fact, and the Dubliner - now 35, and playing in the 35th major of his career - is one of those players seeking a maiden major title.

Harrington believes a player has got to experience the pain of losing majors before winning one. When questioned on the possibility of a first-time winner, and more pertinently the possibility of some player or other ending the dreadful record of Europeans in the majors that dates back to Paul Lawrie's British Open success, Harrington observed: "Very few guys win a major, especially a major like this, that have not had it (within their grasp) and let it go."

Can Harrington break his major duck here? Much will depend on how he plays the par fives, which proved to be his Achilles heel last year when he got on to the fringes of contention. Harrington was a combined three-over for the par fives last year, champion Phil Mickelson a combined 13-under.

The nature of the par fives - especially the 13th and 15th - is that there is a huge punishment for any approach shots that are even marginally out, and Harrington knows this is an area where he can (and must) make a significant improvement on a year ago.

Ultimately, though, it is hard to look beyond Woods to emerge as the one most likely to emerge as the winner. There is something about Augusta, the scene of his first major title 10 years ago, that stimulates him. It was here he won his first major in 1997; it was here he completed his "Tiger Slam" in 2001, and he is closing in on Jack Nicklaus' record number of majors wins (which stands at 18, to Woods' 12). "I'm getting better each day," said Woods of how his practice rounds went, which sounds ominous for the other 96 players in the field.

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