ESPN.com - Golf Online - Masters 2001 - Crowd at top means Sunday shootout

By Andy North
Special to ESPN.com
Saturday, April 7

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- The players are looking forward to this. Make no mistake about it -- they love the setting and they love the spotlight. And this is golf's ultimate spotlight.


	Tiger Woods can't rest on his lead Sunday with so many players near the top.

You've got Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Mark Calcavecchia, Ernie Els, David Duval, and some guys like Chris DiMarco, Angel Cabrera, Kirk Triplett and Rocco Mediate who can really make this interesting.

We all love to play with the best players. It gets you fired up and focused. I can't imaging that these guys don't love playing on a day like this is going to be.

Everybody talks about the back nine at Augusta. I think the key stretch on Sunday is going to be Nos. 3, 4, 5 and 6. There are two par-3s, a long par-4 and a terrific short par-4. Depending on the wind, they can play easy or be incredibly difficult.

Woods is the key guy. He hasn't birdied the par-5 second hole yet this week, and if he does early, that will tell us a lot. And if Mickelson can eliminate that one strange hole he's had in every round, he's made a lot of birdies this week.

There's going to be a lot of focus on Woods and Mickelson. And a lot of what happens Sunday will be in their hands. If they shoot 67 or 68, they will take a lot of guys out of the running. But if they just shadow dance, there are a lot of guys who are awfully close who can take advantage. They can't just look at each other.

Calcavecchia is the one player to keep an eye on. He's averaged 70 for his Sunday rounds at The Masters. He's not going to change the way he plays at Augusta. And once he gets on a roll, there's no reason to think he won't be able to maintain it.

For him, it's going to be another Sunday. He's been here before. He knows how to play. For him, the key is going to come early. He needs to put up some low numbers on the front side. If that happens, he won't be afraid to go low.

Two-time U.S. Open champion Andy North is providing analysis from The Masters for ESPN.

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