AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Tiger Woods continues his assault on the record books as he attempts to become the second player in history to win the Masters Tournament at least five times. Woods' first win at Augusta National Golf Club came in 1997, followed by wins in 2001, 2002 and 2005. Jack Nicklaus won the most Masters titles, with six.
To win his fourth green jacket a year ago, Woods had to overcome the tenacious Chris DiMarco, who forced a playoff before falling on the first playoff hole.
Already this season, Woods has won twice -- successfully defending his titles at the Buick Invitational and the Ford Championship at Doral. The world's No. 1-ranked player is third on the money list, with $2,169,383 in earnings.
THE GANG'S ALL HERE: Forty-nine of the top 50 players on the Official World Golf Ranking are playing this week. Only Kenny Perry, out with a knee injury, isn't in the field.
QUITE A WARDROBE: Tiger Woods' victory in 2005 gave him his fourth green jacket, tying Arnold Palmer for the second-most wins in tournament history. Jack Nicklaus notched his tournament-leading sixth victory 20 years ago at the age of 46.
PICK SIX: During the summer, Augusta National altered six holes (Nos. 1, 4, 7, 11, 15 and 17). With the changes, the course yardage for the 2006 tournament will increase to 7,445 yards from 7,290 yards the previous year.
HALFWAY HOME: Chris DiMarco's four-shot lead through 36 holes in 2005 over Thomas Bjorn was one off the Masters record of five by Herman Keiser (1946), Jack Nicklaus (1975) and Raymond Floyd (1976).
KING OF THE CUTS: Fred Couples extended his Masters cut streak to 21 consecutive in 2005, the longest current streak at the Masters. He did not compete in Augusta in 1987 and 1994. The 21 is tied for second all-time with Tom Watson, who made 21 straight cuts from 1975-95. Gary Player holds the longest such streak, with 23 from1959-82.
LEFT IS RIGHT: The 2005 Masters Tournament was good for left-handers, as all four in the field made the cut. Mike Weir led the way, tying for fifth, followed by Phil Mickelson (10th), Steve Flesch (tied for 29th) and Nick O'Hern (tied for 45th).
TYING HIMSELF: The 65 shot by Tiger Woods in the third round last year matched his career low at the Augusta National Golf Club. He also shot 65 en route to his first Masters win in 1997.
BIRDIE BARRAGE: Completing the suspended third round on Sunday morning in 2005, Tiger Woods reeled off four straight birdies to extend his streak to seven straight (Nos. 7-13), matching Steve Pate's 1999 record. Pate birdied the identical holes in the third round en route to a 7-under-par 65.
The sixth of those seven birdies during Woods' third-round streak in 2005 gave him the lead for the first time all week at 8:45 a.m. Sunday. He rolled in a birdie putt on the par-3 12th hole for his sixth consecutive birdie to move to 12-under-par and a one-stroke lead over Chris DiMarco.
DIGGING HIMSELF A HOLE: Tiger Woods' first-round 74 in 2005 was the highest score for a winner at the Masters since Mark O'Meara recovered from a first-round 74 with rounds of 70-68-67 to win by one in 1998 over Fred Couples and David Duval.
50-50 CHANCE: The Masters winner has come from the final pairing in each of the past 15 years.
AMATEUR HOUR: Ryan Moore, who tied for 13th a year ago, was the low amateur in the field. His 1-under-par 287 was the best score by an amateur since Lindy Miller posted a 286 in 1978. An amateur has not finished among the top 10 at the Masters since 1962, when Charles Coe tied for ninth. Moore's finish was the best amateur showing since 2004 when Casey Wittenberg tied for 13th.
That top-16 performance earned Moore an invitation to this week's tournament. Unfortunately, recent wrist surgery will keep him from teeing it up this week in Augusta.
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