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PITTSFORD, N.Y. – Morgan Pressel’s smile burst through the gloom Friday at the Wegmans LPGA Championship.

After she coaxed in a tricky, downhill 6-foot birdie putt at the final hole, her smile could have illuminated half of the metropolitan Rochester region.

It’s a smile Pressel fans should have been pleased to see with Pressel closing out a 4-under-par 68 and temporarily seizing the lead on a brutish Locust Hill Country Club course. Yes, it’s just the first round, Pressel understands that, but the burst of brilliance amid the gloom that hung in more than the air was a tonic.

For a year, Pressel has been struggling with her game, and it all dates back to this event a year ago.

Pressel, 25, hurt her left wrist playing in the brutish rough at Locust Hill in the 2012 Wegmans LPGA Championship. She said it wasn’t one swing that hurt her, that it was a malady which worsened with all the shots she had to muscle out of the cabbage-like rough here.

The two-time LPGA winner is looking to rebuild her game and confidence and make her fourth U.S. Solheim Cup team.

With four birdies to close her round, Pressel is off to a good start to a critical run of six summer events leading to Solheim Cup qualification. At day's end, she was tied with Jiyai Shin for second, one shot behind Chella Choi.

“Mentally, I think Morgan is in the best place she has been in a long time,” Pressel’s coach, Ron Stockton, said.

Stockton actually said that Wednesday after Pressel’s pro-am round.

On Friday, Pressel flashed the talent that helped her jolt the golf world by becoming the youngest winner of a major championship. She was 18 when she won the Kraft Nabisco Championship. Six years have passed since then, and so much has happened in her life. There was last year’s injury, the struggles that came when pain led to bad swing habits. There was her wedding in January, a life-changing event she said makes her very happy.

In Friday’s round, Pressel found a happy place in her game again.

“I've struggled with my wrist since I played here last year, and it took a while to overcome that,” Pressel said. “It took a while to really want to play golf again, and enjoy playing golf again, and I feel like I'm in a better place.”

It showed Friday.

Pressel, never long, but always one of the most accurate drivers on tour, hit 10 fairways in the first round, a vital stat given the nasty rough here. Her short game and putting were sharp, too. She toured the course in 23 putts.

It wasn’t lost on Pressel that U.S. Solheim Cup captain Meg Mallon was in the gallery watching portions of her round.

“The three Solheim Cup teams I’ve been on have been the highlight of my career,” Pressel said. “It’s my goal this year, for sure. There have been times when it has kept me from playing better, because I've been so worried about it, so I'm trying to just go out and play my game and not worry about it so much. If I go out and try to win, then I'm thinking, it will take care of itself.”

Pressel was 4-0 in the American Solheim Cup loss in Ireland two years ago. She’s 7-2-2 overall in her three Solheim Cups, but she has work to do to qualify for the team on points. She’s 15th on the U.S. Solheim Cup points list and needs to be among the top eight by the conclusion of the Ricoh Women’s British Open to automatically qualify. She’s fourth on the U.S. Solheim Cup world rankings list and needs to be among the top two to qualify off it.

Making a fourth Solheim Cup team became harder work after the wrist injury. Pressel said doctors diagnosed the injury as intersection syndrome, a ligament and joint malady caused by repetitive action.

Pressel felt an ache in her wrist during last year’s Wegmans LPGA Championship. It worsened through the tournament and got so bad she withdrew in her next event in Arkansas and withdrew again in the U.S. Women’s Open the week after that. She followed those WDs up missing four consecutive cuts.

All the while, Pressel’s swing changed to protect the wrist.

Stockton didn’t want her playing injured, but he couldn’t stop her.

“Morgan doesn’t stop,” Stockton said. “That’s not in her makeup, but it was a learning experience.”

Morgan’s woes spilled into this season with just one top-10 finish in 10 starts. Even with missed cuts, Stockton could see her game and confidence coming around.

“Morgan’s hitting it well, and she has the game to suit this golf course,” Stockton said. “She likes tough golf courses.”

Pressel finished second in the Wegmans LPGA Championship two years ago.

Mallon wondered how Pressel might respond to her return to Locust Hill, where the rough’s even deeper and thicker than last year.

“This shows how mentally strong she is,” Mallon said. “She could have gone out and been afraid to play today. Instead, she went out and played great golf.”

As a player, Mallon said, Pressel is a lot like another Solheim Cup warrior.

“She’s just a grinder and a fighter,” Mallon said. “She’s Rosie Jones reincarnated, the kind of player you like on your team.”

Pressel will try to make that happen over the next two months.

*The top 20 places in an LPGA event are awarded points with 60 points for first place, 30 for second, 28.5 for third and all the way down to three points for a 20th-place finish. Points are doubled in the majors.

American Solheim Cup world rankings standings (top two qualify):

1. Brittany Lang (No. 49)

2. Jennifer Johnson (No. 54).

3. Gerina Piller (No. 56).

4. Morgan Pressel (No. 68).

*Two captain's picks will fill out the American squad.

When the U.S. Open returns to Merion Golf Club next week after a 32-year absence, it will be highlighted by a superstar grouping in the opening two rounds.

The world’s top three players will be playing together, as former U.S. Open winners Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy will be joined by Masters champion Adam Scott. They will tee off the first hole at 1:14 p.m. ET Thursday and off No. 11 at 7:44 a.m. Friday.

Woods and McIlroy have competed in the same pairing on a dozen occasions in competitive tournaments, but never before in a major championship.

This will also mark the first time that Woods finds himself in the same group at a major with former caddie Steve Williams, who was on the bag for 13 of his major victories. Since they stopped working together two years ago, Woods and Williams have only been in the same group on two occasions, as Woods twice faced Scott during the 2011 Presidents Cup.

113th U.S. Open groupings for Rounds 1 and 2

The USGA has also grouped the next three players on the Official World Golf Ranking, as Matt Kuchar, Justin Rose and Brandt Snedeker will tee off the 11^th hole at 7:22 a.m. Thursday.

Five-time U.S. Open runner-up Phil Mickelson will begin his search for an elusive title at 7:11 a.m. off the 11^th tee alongside fellow American competitors Keegan Bradley and Steve Stricker.

Reigning champion Webb Simpson will open his title defense with U.S. Amateur champion Steven Fox and former U.S. Open champion Ernie Els at 1:36 p.m. off the first tee.

Other notable groupings include: Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson and Nicolas Colsaerts at 7 a.m. on the 11^th hole; Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel and Tim Clark at 7:33 a.m. on the 11^th hole; Sergio Garcia, Stewart Cink and Padraig Harrington at 7:44 a.m. on the 11^th hole; Ian Poulter, Jason Dufner and Boo Weekley at 7:55 a.m. on the 11^th hole; Rickie Fowler, Matteo Manassero and Jason Day at 8:06 a.m. on the 11^th hole; Luke Donald, Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer at 12:52 p.m. on the first hole; and Jim Furyk, Graeme McDowell and Zach Johnson at 1:03 p.m. on the first hole.

Because of logistical concerns, players will start their “back nine” on the 11^th tee rather than the traditional 10^th. At last year’s U.S. Open at The Olympic Club, competitors started on the ninth hole due to similar concerns.

The 113^th U.S. Open will take place from June 13-16. Merion will play to a par-70 at an official length of 6,996 yards.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – “It's a distraction, whether it's the right thing or the wrong thing to do,” Davis Love III figured on Tuesday afternoon at TPC Sawgrass.

The four-time PGA Tour Policy Board member was referring to the brewing brouhaha over the potential ban on anchoring, which is scheduled to go critical before the end of spring. Less than 24 hours later, the circuit, and by default golf, found itself the subject of even more headlines for all the wrong reasons.

On Wednesday the crisis du jour was news that Vijay Singh had filed a lawsuit against the Tour in a New York court for “violating its duty of care and good faith.”

“Good for him,” hissed one Tour type on the TPC Sawgrass practice tee on the eve of the circuit’s flagship event. “Either (IGF-1) was banned and (Singh) should have been suspended or it wasn’t in which case he was wrongfully accused.”

The Players: Articles, videos, photos | GC coverage | Social Lounge

Forgive the Tour player – who less than 24 hours earlier had accused the Tour of playing favorites for its handling of the Singh affair – if he sounded strangely like an attorney arguing before a judge, but such is the lexicon of professional golf these days.

Not since the early 1950s, when golf’s rule makers played by separate sets of rules, has the game witnessed this level of collective contentiousness.

In a recent article, Golf Channel insider Tim Rosaforte described an exchange between PGA of America president Ted Bishop and R&A chief executive Peter Dawson regarding the proposed ban on anchoring.

“When Bishop made the point that the PGA of America was standing up for the ‘best interests of the amateur golfer (by publically opposing the ban),’” Rosaforte wrote. “Dawson bristled and, according to Bishop, pointed a finger at him and said, ‘That's not your role.’”

The proposed ban has cut a swath through golf that dissects the Atlantic Ocean. On one side, the R&A, USGA and European Tour, which sided with golf’s rule makers on the proposal. On the other, the PGA Tour and PGA of America.

And if golf’s powerbrokers didn’t sound irretraceable before, Dawson’s recent take regarding the rift promises to only widen the gulf.

“I'm disappointed at the way that campaign was conducted. It put rule-making on to the negotiating table,” Dawson said. “People have taken positions that they will now have to back off from or maintain. The negotiating table is no place for rule-making. Obviously, feelings are strong. We shall have to see where it goes.”

As for the Tour’s stance, commissioner Tim Finchem said on Wednesday to Golf Channel:  “Are we going to follow the (Rules of Golf)? Under our rules we profess to want to do so but our rules also provide the ability to go a separate way.”

Translation: if the circuit doesn’t like the way the USGA and R&A go on the anchoring issue, the Tour could create its own set of rules – effectively ushering in an age of bifurcation.

But if the anchoring debate has taken on a partisan feel in recent weeks, Singh’s haymaker on Wednesday at The Players was akin to a broken bottle in the tense moments before a bar fight.

At issue isn’t whether the Fijian used deer-antler spray or that the supplement contained IGF-1, which is a banned substance on the Tour’s performance-enhancing drug list. He did and it does.

What brings Singh and Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., into the legal cage match is whether IGF-1 should have been on the banned list to begin with.

“Absolutely it’s got IGF-1 in it,” said Mitch Ross, the founder of S.W.A.T.S. (Sports with Alternatives to Steroids), which created the deer-antler spray. “But you can’t ban IGF-1 in its natural form.”

According to the lawsuit, which was filed on Wednesday, “The spray does not contain enough IGF-1 to be anything more than a placebo ... (and) is a biologically inactive protein.”

While you may not like Singh’s timing, his motivations are understandable. Despite the Tour’s ruling last week that he was innocent – a move which was prompted by a policy reversal by the World Anti-Doping Agency, which the Tour follows – he will forever be the “deer antler” guy to fans.

“I am proud of my achievements, my work ethic and the way I live my life,” Singh said in a statement. “The PGA Tour not only treated me unfairly, but displayed a lack of professionalism that should concern every professional golfer and fan of the game.”

In the Tour’s defense, they had no choice but to follow WADA, the global ruling body on all things doping related. Simply put, if WADA is wrong, the Tour doesn’t know how to be right. Nor does the circuit have any interest in getting into the science of doping, as Singh’s lawsuit suggested.

But in the process of protecting the sport from the scourge of doping, a Hall of Famer’s legacy may be forever besmirched no matter how many millions of dollars he may be awarded from Tour coffers.

“I’m just not going to comment on this action for a lot of different reasons. It’s a matter in the court right now,” Finchem said. “We go by the WADA list. When WADA changed its list we dropped the charges.”

But then hiding behind legal nuances and administrative snafus won’t help mend strained relationships or make the game any less contentious.

Golf has become a real-time version of sports talk radio – from Tiger Woods’ run in with the rules at Augusta National known as Drop-gate, to the perception hit golf took when officials at the Masters penalized 14-year-old Guan Tianlang for slow play – and relegated even the loudest cheers from this week’s Players Championship to background noise.

The curious case of Vijay Singh has taken another turn, and now appears headed for a courtroom.

According to a report from USA Today, the three-time major champion filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the PGA Tour over doping allegations he faced after admitting to using deer-antler spray earlier this year.

"The PGA Tour has now finally admitted that the use of deer antler spray is not prohibited," the suit reportedly reads. "Rather than performing its duties to golfers first, and then determining whether there had been any violation of the Anti-Doping Program, the PGA Tour rushed to judgment and accused one of the world's hardest working and most dedicated golfers of violating the rules of the game."

Video: Finchem talks Singh lawsuit

Read full lawsuit: Vijay Singh v. PGA Tour

Singh, attorney full statement

Video: 'Morning Drive' analysis of Singh lawsuit

After admitting to use of the spray in a January Sports Illustrated article, Singh was initially sanctioned by the PGA Tour, but last week in a news conference at the Wells Fargo Championship, commissioner Tim Finchem announced the Fijian would not be suspended.

"I am proud of my achievements, my work ethic, and the way I live my life," Singh reportedly said in a statement. "The PGA Tour not only treated me unfairly, but displayed a lack of professionalism that should concern every professional golfer and fan of the game."

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – There are plenty of desirable destinations for a PGA Tour professional to set up home base. The weather is perfect in San Diego; there are terrific facilities in Scottsdale; travel to both coasts is simplified in Dallas; many live in Orlando. With all of these potential choices in play, Vijay Singh long ago decided to make his home in Ponte Vedra Beach, right around the corner from PGA Tour headquarters.

He’s hardly an unseen neighbor. On most days when he isn’t competing in a tournament, Singh can be found methodically beating golf ball after golf ball on the TPC Sawgrass practice range, his hard-earned reputation harvested right here on PGA Tour property, the ostentatious clubhouse framing his background, commissioner Tim Finchem’s office just a few par 5s away. Not far down the road is the World Golf Hall of Fame, into which he was inducted seven years ago.

This is home for the Fiji native.

With his recent actions, Singh set his home ablaze.

It was revealed on Wednesday that Singh is filing suit against the PGA Tour “to reclaim his reputation” after an “unwarranted effort” to sanction him for admitted use of deer-antler spray, charging the organization with “violating its duty of care and good faith.”

Read full lawsuit: Vijay Singh v. PGA Tour

Singh, attorney full statement

This comes even after Singh was the one who first revealed to Sports Illustrated that he had used the substance, which was believed to contain the banned chemical IGF-1. Even after the PGA Tour was mum on the matter for three months while investigating its merit. Even after he was exonerated last week, the sanctions dropped after an apparent loophole was found when the World Anti-Doping Agency altered its stance on the affecting amount of IGF-1 contained in deer-antler spray.

Even after he made this place his home.

“I am proud of my achievements, my work ethic, and the way I live my life,” Singh said via statement. “The PGA Tour not only treated me unfairly, but displayed a lack of professionalism that should concern every professional golfer and fan of the game.”

Singh’s decision to file a lawsuit is the ultimate example of a sore winner. Filing that lawsuit on the eve of the PGA Tour’s flagship tournament, The Players Championship, is a slap in the face to an organization which has not only handed him $67,479,870 in career earnings, but attempted to protect him throughout this process.

It’s akin to a recreational golfer hitting a tee shot out of bounds, being granted a mulligan by a playing partner, hitting another, then contending that the mulligan was disrespectful.

For their part, PGA Tour officials offered a staunch “no comment” on Wednesday, but some players weren’t so quiet.

"This is bull----," said one player, speaking on anonymity. "How many millions of dollars has he made on the PGA Tour? And then they let him off and he sues them? What a joke. I'd say more, but they'd probably suspend me."

When it's suggested that the Tour can't levy a punishment for freedom of speech, the player explained, "But I bet they'd try, since I don’t have 30-something wins."

There is growing sentiment amongst the other 144 players competing this week that neither the PGA Tour nor Singh is completely devoid of guilt. According to its Anti-Doping Policy, admission of guilt – even without a positive test – is grounds for penalty. We learned on Wednesday through the lawsuit that prior to WADA’s new findings regarding deer-antler spray, that penalty was a 90-day suspension. However, since he made the admission while the substance was still banned, Singh should have been punished according to the policy’s language. Many of his fellow Tour members believe he was only exonerated because of his status inside the ropes.

It is a remarkable turn of events that has pinballed fault from Singh for his admission to the PGA Tour for its exoneration and now back to Singh for his lawsuit.

His statement issued with the lawsuit was his first since the deer-antler spray admission came to light on Jan. 29. Even after rounds which have found him on the leaderboard, even when asked to speak only about his golf game, Singh has declined all media requests.

On Wednesday morning, he was playing the 12^th hole at TPC Sawgrass, practicing in advance of this week’s tournament, not far from his home here in Ponte Vedra Beach, when a lone camera crew began filming. Singh requested, not gently, that the camera crew cease following him on the course.

For a man who is so obviously shying away from any and all attention, filing a lawsuit to reclaim his reputation on the eve of one of the PGA Tour’s flagship event is a stark contrast from all other actions.

Long ago, Vijay Singh chose to make his home not in San Diego or Scottsdale or Dallas or Orlando, but in the same beach community as PGA Tour headquarters. He’s spent hundreds – no, thousands – of hours on the driving range, honing his craft right here on its property. And now he’s chosen to turn this home into a battlefield.

The curious case of Vijay Singh has taken another turn, and now appears headed for a courtroom.

According to a report from USA Today, the three-time major champion filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the PGA Tour over doping allegations he faced after admitting to using deer-antler spray earlier this year.

"The PGA Tour has now finally admitted that the use of deer antler spray is not prohibited," the suit reportedly reads. "Rather than performing its duties to golfers first, and then determining whether there had been any violation of the Anti-Doping Program, the PGA Tour rushed to judgment and accused one of the world's hardest working and most dedicated golfers of violating the rules of the game."

Read full lawsuit: Vijay Singh v. PGA Tour

Singh, attorney full statement

After admitting to use of the spray in a January Sports Illustrated article, Singh was initially sanctioned by the PGA Tour, but last week in a news conference at the Wells Fargo Championship, commissioner Tim Finchem announced the Fijian would not be suspended.

"I am proud of my achievements, my work ethic, and the way I live my life," Singh reportedly said in a statement. "The PGA Tour not only treated me unfairly, but displayed a lack of professionalism that should concern every professional golfer and fan of the game."

The curious case of Vijay Singh has taken another turn, and now appears headed for a courtroom.

According to a report from USA Today, the three-time major champion filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the PGA Tour over doping allegations he faced after admitting to using deer-antler spray earlier this year.

"The PGA Tour has now finally admitted that the use of deer antler spray is not prohibited," the suit reportedly reads. "Rather than performing its duties to golfers first, and then determining whether there had been any violation of the Anti-Doping Program, the PGA Tour rushed to judgment and accused one of the world's hardest working and most dedicated golfers of violating the rules of the game."

Read full lawsuit: Vijay Singh v. PGA Tour

Singh, attorney full statement

After admitting to use of the spray in a January Sports Illustrated article, Singh was initially sanctioned by the PGA Tour, but last week in a news conference at the Wells Fargo Championship, commissioner Tim Finchem announced the Fijian would not be suspended.

"I am proud of my achievements, my work ethic, and the way I live my life," Singh reportedly said in a statement. "The PGA Tour not only treated me unfairly, but displayed a lack of professionalism that should concern every professional golfer and fan of the game."

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – For all of the pomp and circumstance surrounding this week’s event, for all of the “fifth major” rhetoric and the prestige of the title and the notable strength of the field, for all of the discourse about its equitable course that has produced an eclectic mix of champions, The Players Championship has been missing a little something.

He’s about 6-foot-1, broad-shouldered and wears a red shirt on Sundays.

Golf tournaments are more ocean than wave pool – they can’t create their own splash. We can debate exactly where this one ranks on the hierarchy of annual events, but there’s one connection that has bound most stimulating tournaments over the past decade-and-a-half.

The inclusion of Tiger Woods on the leaderboard.

Complain all you’d like, Mr. Diehard Fan, about the disproportionate coverage Woods receives when in contention, but there’s a simple reason for it. It’s called the law of supply and demand. Not to go all business school on you, but it’s been proven as a pretty effective method.

And yet, here at The Players, the tournament has largely been devoid of all that extra attention recently.

Since winning his lone “better than most” title here in 2001, Woods has finished the weekend eight times, with a solo eighth place serving as the only top-10 result. And that’s actually the good news. In three of the previous five years, he either didn’t tee it up or withdrew soon after due to injury.

It’s enough for some observers to turn an anticipated Sunday afternoon on the couch into a head start on the honey-do list.

The Players: Articles, videos, photos | GC coverage | Social Lounge

As for Woods, his reasons and rationale for failing to fare better are as long and varied as his results table.

“Well, some of the years I’ve driven it well and not hit my irons well,” he said Tuesday in advance of this year’s edition of the event. “Other years I’ve hit the ball great and not putted well. And other years I drove it awful and didn’t score well. You’ve got to have all facets of your game going here. … Sometimes it’s just tough to have all the guys peak at the right time.”

Of that final point, Woods is completely correct. What forces this tournament’s lack of star power is the very same thing that makes it unique.

Simply put, anybody can win here. Yeah, yeah – that’s true of any course. But it’s an innate characteristic of TPC Sawgrass. The champions list includes big names (Phil Mickelson and Adam Scott), big hitters (Henrik Stenson and Davis Love III), short hitters (Tim Clark and Fred Funk) and lesser-known names (Craig Perks).

The consequence is that the course levels the playing field, a fact that hasn’t been lost on Woods.

“It is a tricky kind of golf course,” he explained. “We’re all playing to the same spots. [Course designer] Pete [Dye] normally does that on most of his golf courses, likes to angle tee shots. There are a few opportunities in which maybe a par 5 here and there that you can take it down there, but most of the holes are angled in a way that you see most of the guys playing from the same spots.”

That’s not to impugn Woods as the only superstar whose track record at this tournament hasn’t mirrored his regular output.

Since his lone victory here in 2007, Phil Mickelson hasn’t finished better than a share of 17th place. In three starts here, Rory McIlroy has yet to see the weekend. Ernie Els has never won. Neither has Lee Westwood. Nor Luke Donald, Jim Furyk or Steve Stricker.

Of course, none of those players can raise the profile of a tournament on Sunday afternoon in the same way as Woods, who has otherwise made a career out of producing thrilling Sunday afternoons. Perhaps this is the year he can finally provide The Players with that extra little something he’s been missing.

If nothing else, he’s certainly talking the talk.

“I'm looking forward to it,” Woods said. “I feel like I've done some very good work, basically a continuation of what I've done for the past couple months.”

Now Woods will just hope the rest of this week doesn’t turn into a continuation of what he’s done in this tournament for the past decade. It could be enough to turn that lingering honey-do list into an exciting Sunday afternoon on the couch.

A full field of 156 players have descended upon the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass for one of the season's biggest events, The Players Championship. Here are some featured groups to keep an eye on during Thursday's first-round action in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (all times EDT; click here for full-field tee times):

8:08 a.m. (10th tee): Rickie Fowler, Hunter Mahan, Jim Furyk

Fowler was a runner-up here a year ago on the heels of his win at Quail Hollow, and this week he'll be joined by Furyk, a Ponte Vedra Beach resident who has one of the more consistent track records in this event of any player in the field. Their early-round group will be rounded out by Mahan, who has struggled to find his footing since a runner-up showing at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship.

8:18 a.m. (10th tee): Graeme McDowell, Keegan Bradley, Bubba Watson

McDowell is making his first start since his playoff win at Harbour Town, and he'll be joined Thursday and Friday by a pair of fellow major champions. Bradley finished inside the top 10 in each of his three previous starts in the state of Florida this year, while Watson will look to continue a successful season that has netted six top-20 finishes in nine starts.

8:39 a.m. (10th tee): Adam Scott, Rory McIlroy, Steve Stricker

The world's newest major champion will make his first appearance since holing the winning putt at Augusta, as Scott will play alongside McIlroy and Stricker for the first two rounds. Coming off a top-10 finish in Charlotte, McIlroy will hope to make the cut at TPC Sawgrass for the first time in his career, while Stricker will continue a light playing schedule that has already yielded a trio of top-five finishes.

1:18 p.m. (1st tee): Ian Poulter, Nick Watney, Lee Westwood

A runner-up here in 2009, Poulter finds himself grouped with a pair of players who both appear to be rounding into form after coming close to victory last week at Quail Hollow. Watney was in the final group Sunday before fading into a tie for 10th, his third consecutive top-15 finish, while Westwood finished tied for fourth, marking the third consecutive event in which he finished inside the top 10.

1:28 p.m. (1st tee): Phil Mickelson, Webb Simpson, Justin Rose

After letting the trophy slip through his fingers in Charlotte, Mickelson returns to a venue where he won in 2007 and has notched three top-25 finishes since then. He'll be joined in the first two rounds by Simpson, the reigning U.S. Open champion who lost in a playoff at Harbour Town in his last start, and Rose, who has finished inside the top 25 in each of six PGA Tour starts this season.

1:49 p.m. (1st tee): Tiger Woods, Matt Kuchar, Brandt Snedeker

Making his first start since tying for fourth at Augusta National, Woods will attempt this week to tame one of the few courses that has had his number over the last decade. He'll be joined by Kuchar, the defending champion, and Snedeker, who after returning from a rib injury has yet to regain the consistency that led him to three consecutive top-two finishes earlier this season.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – If the U.S. Open is a survival test, the British Open a question of attrition and the PGA Championship “Glory’s Last Shot,” the Masters is, by every measure, the putting contest.

You may remember Bubba Watson’s twisting save from the forest right of the 10th fairway in the playoff last year, or maybe Tiger Woods’ tectonic chip-in on the 16th hole in 2005, but it is putting that ultimately decides who walks away on Sunday with a green jacket.

No one ever credits their ball-striking or driving in their acceptance speech. Putting one’s self in the right position helps, but inevitably the winner will have made, if not the most putts, the most crucial putts.

Just two players in the last decade of Masters champions have ranked outside the top 16 in putting for the week (Watson in 2012, T-37, and Phil Mickelson in 2004, T-23), and victories like Charl Schwartzel’s in 2011 – when he one-putted his last four greens – are textbook examples of what it takes to win at Augusta National.

Masters: Articles, videos and photos

Like everything else at Augusta National – cell phones, running, Dufnering – there are hard-and-fast rules when it comes to putting at the former fruit nursery. In simplest terms, anything from above the hole is roadkill territory, but that doesn’t help when every green features a diabolical collection of humps and bumps.

“Almost every hole there’s putts that you don’t want,” said Steve Stricker, one of the game’s best putters whose pedestrian record at the Masters (one top 10 and five missed cuts in 12 starts) is one of the game’s great mysteries. “Like on No. 1, they are going to have a pin up there on the front left over the bunker there somewhere and if you hit it long, it’s a very difficult putt.”

For some, like Stricker, putting at Augusta National is akin to a prevent defense. Forget birdie chances, just give yourself a chance to two-putt, which in some ways makes the year’s first major a lag-putting championship.

“It’s all about putting it in the right spot on the greens to give yourself a putt where you can two-putt and get out of there,” Stricker said.

Urban legend would suggest that anything downhill should be avoided, like putts form the back of the eighth green, for example, that stop only when they drop into the hole or the nearest bunker – whichever comes first. But veterans will tell you that ease is a function of familiarity, not pace.

Consider Dave Stockton Sr., a 12-time Masters participant who has evolved into the game’s preeminent putting guru, who will tell you Augusta National is not the most difficult place to putt, just the most exacting.

“The greens are fairly easy to read; the hardest courses to putt on are flat courses like in Florida,” said Stockton, who finished tied for second at the 1974 Masters. “Putting here is great because you don’t have to worry about speed. They are all going to be fast.”

Stockton ranked any putt on the par-4 fifth green the most difficult on the course and added that anything from behind the pin at No. 4 should be avoided.

It doesn’t help that officials at Augusta National have made a hobby out of tinkering with the venerable club’s putting surfaces. Consider it the club’s version of “Where’s Waldo,” with players annually trying to figure out where the needle in the stack of needles is hidden.

This year the handiwork focused on the 440-yard, par-4 14th.

“You honestly wouldn't even notice it, if you had not had years of knowing that green,” said Phil Mickelson, who made a pre-Masters scouting trip to Augusta National last month.

“That little low section to the left, behind it, there's a backstop now whereas before, it would take the ball directly to the right behind the hole 12 feet. Now, it's pitched a little bit more back where it will bring it back to the hole.”

Ben Crenshaw, a renowned architect who has been playing the Masters since 1972, has become a student of Augusta National and its ever-evolving greens.

“It’s amazing how right they get it every year and fascinating to watch,” Crenshaw said moments after his practice round on Monday with 14-year-old amateur Tianlang Guan, who is playing his first Masters.

Guan arranged the practice round so he could pick Crenshaw’s brain on the subtle nuances of the course. And what did they spend their day talking about?

“The greens, of course,” Crenshaw smiled.

What else at the game’s ultimate putting contest?