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Arnold Palmer: 'Anybody can win' Masters

By Ralph N. Paulk
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PITTSBURGH -- Even though the world's No. 1, Rory McIlroy, is most everyone's choice to win his first Masters, Arnold Palmer is giving the field at least an even chance at Augusta National Golf Club.

The Latrobe native, a four-time Masters winner, is convinced Augusta has evolved to where precision and accuracy are just as important as distance.

"I think anybody in the field can win it nowadays," Palmer told Trib Total Media.

However, Palmer isn't as convinced that Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson can make a run at another title.

Woods, who hasn't won at Augusta in 10 years, will tee it up for the first time since early February. Mickelson has endured an uneven spring.

"I think that they both are capable," Palmer said, "but I don't know that they will."

Palmer, who last won the Masters in 1964, said Augusta has become a true test of shot making. Yet, while the par-5s remain vulnerable, more trees along some of the narrower fairways will test the mental strength of the contenders during the final round.

"The most significant changes would be in the length of the holes," Palmer said. "At the present time, I wouldn't change anything.

"The fourth hole always gave me a lot of trouble. I don't know what the statistics show there, but they can't be very good."

The par-3 fourth, which can be stretched to an intimidating 240 yards, has a scoring average a shade over par at 3.28. That makes it the fourth-hardest hole in tournament history.

Palmer, though, will be most concerned about the first hole Thursday. At daybreak, he's scheduled to hit the first ball off the first tee. It will depend upon whether a shoulder injury has healed enough.

Palmer is recovering from a dislocated right shoulder, which he suffered during a fall at his residence at Bay Hill in Florida in December. He has been undergoing therapy for the injury but has not yet begun to hit balls.

"(The Masters) was my first major victory, and it meant so much in the years to come," he said. "If I can hit it, I'm looking forward to it."

This article was written by Ralph N. Paulk from The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.