AUGUSTA, Ga. Air Max 97 False Come Riconoscerle . -- One after another, some of the worlds best players and favourites to win the Masters trudged up the hill on the opening hole to start their practice rounds. Phil Mickelson. Rory McIlroy. Adam Scott. It was typical of any Tuesday at Augusta National, except for the scoreboard to the right of where they were walking. The board has the names of all 97 players in the field, with blank boxes to put their scores when the tournament begins. On the far right side of the board is a list of this years noncompeting invitees. Tommy Aaron. Doug Ford. Tiger Woods. "Its a weird feeling not having him here, isnt it?" said Phil Mickelson, a three-time Masters champion and the chief foil for Woods over the years. "Hes been such a mainstay in professional golf and in the majors. Its awkward to not have him here. I hope he gets back soon. I hope hes back for the other majors. As much as I want to win -- and I know how great he is and tough to beat -- it makes it special when hes in the field and youre able to win." Woods hasnt been the same all year, even before back surgery last week. He is missing the Masters for the first time. His presence looms as large as some of the Georgia pines lining the fairways, though it will be forgotten when the opening shot is in the air Thursday, and a green jacket is awarded Sunday. Even so, Woods brings a buzz to any tournament, even at Augusta National. And this year, his absence has brought talk of the most wide-open Masters in nearly 20 years. Las Vegas has installed Scott and McIlroy as the betting favourites at 10-1, followed by Mickelson, Jason Day and Matt Kuchar at 12-1. McIlroy had his own version of a betting sheet on the table where he sat during his interview -- the tee times for the opening two rounds. Told that 97 players were in the field, the 24-year-old from Northern Ireland figured 70 had a chance to win. "Theres a few past champions that play that might not be able to compete. There might be a few first-timers or a few amateurs that wont compete," McIlroy said. "But then youve got the rest. Im just looking down the list here. Stewart Cink. Tim Clark. Ian Woosnam -- no." The room filled with laughter as McIlroy smiled and said, "Sorry, Woosie," referring to the 56-year-old former champion. "Youve got a lot of guys that can win, a lot of guys that have won PGA Tour events," McIlroy said. "OK, were playing at Augusta. Because its the Masters and because its so big and so hyped up or whatever you want to say, you ought to remember that youre still playing against the same guys you play with week in and week out. "Ive beaten them before," he said. "Theyve beaten me before." The PGA Tour is 21 tournaments into the season, and only one player (Zach Johnson) won while he was in the top 10 in the world. McIlroy and Scott each had comfortable leads going into the final round and lost to players outside the top 100. "I think in the past, certainly thats been easy to go to events and look at a guy who is the guy to beat," Scott said, not naming Woods because he didnt need to. "I think that scope has kind of broadened now. Theres a lot of guys with the talent and the form that arent necessarily standing out above the others. But on their week, theyre going to be tough to beat. "Id like to think my name is one of those guys," Scott said. "And I feel like Im going to be one of the guys who has got a chance if I play well this week." Scott had one more occasion to wear his green jacket Tuesday night as host of the Champions Dinner. Then, he sets out in a bid to join Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Woods as the only players to win back-to-back Masters. For years, the Masters was seen as having the smallest group of contenders, and not just because it had the smallest field of the four majors. Augusta National is a puzzle that can take years to figure out. The roars that reverberate through the trees and from deep in Amen Corner on Sunday can be unsettling. Scott won two years after he was a runner-up. Jason Day has completed two Masters and has yet to finish worse than third. As for Mickelson? Theres no telling what he might accomplish next. Even though he has withdrawn from two tournaments with different injuries this year, Augusta invigorates the 43-year-old Mickelson. All of them would love to be near the top of the leaderboard Sunday afternoon. By then, no one will be thinking about anything except a green jacket. "No matter who is in contention or who is going to win this week, the Masters always provides a great finish," McIlroy said. "Regardless of who is there." Air Max 720 Scontate . "I wouldnt read anything into what happened Saturday at Torrey Pines," Woods said Tuesday after an 18-hole exhibition for past winners of the Dubai Desert Classic. Air Max 97 Italia . Floundering in the English Premier League, United has delivered better performances in Europe this season and stunned Bayern by taking the lead against the run of play through Nemanja Vidics header in the 58th minute. Bayern had dominated possession but struggled to create a clear-cut chance before Schweinsteiger arrowed a half-volley high into the net in the 67th to give the German side a slight advantage ahead of the second leg in Munich next week. http://www.airmaxshoponlineitalia.it/ .com) - Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer were among the third-round winners Friday at the French Open.Sir Ian Botham is tipping Joe Root and Stuart Broad to play starring roles for England in the second Test at Durham. The Sky Sports pundit is looking to follow up his first Test 40/1 Sky Bet hat-trick with more winning predictions for the second Investec Test against Sri Lanka, starting on Friday.The England legend was correct with all three of his Sky Bet picks at Headingley as England wrapped up an emphatic innings and 88-run victory, with Beefy nailing the match result plus the hosts top first innings run scorer and wicket-taker. Jonny Bairstow top scored on his home ground with a brilliant 140 before Jimmy Anderson took 10-45 in the match as Sri Lanka were bowled out twice inside three days.Botham tipped odds-on shots England, Bairstow to be top first innings run scorer at 8/1 and Anderson to be top bowler at 5/2, seeing his Beefys Bets treble land at odds of 40/1.The Sky Sports commentator and Sky Bet tipster said: England were superb, very impressive and are on course to be the No 1 side in the world. Bet landed: Englands Jonny Bairstow celebrates his century at Headingley It was a great knock from Jonny after the early collapse, while Jimmy in those conditions was always going to be tough for this inexperienced Sri Lankan side.Despite Bairstow and Andersons success at Leeds, Botham has changed allegiance and picked Joe Root to be Englands top first innings run scorer at 5/2 and Stuart Broad to be Englands top first innings wicket taker, again at 5/2, as his selections for the second Test at Chester-le-Street.Botham said: On that Durham pitch Id expect to see Root do well with the bat, hell certainly be looking to make up for his disappointment at Headingley. Broad looked in good nick at Leeds as well and agaiin Id expect him to get more out of the wicket. Air Max Plus Saldi. Ben Stokes missing out injured will be a loss but Chris Woakes should now get a chance and the more England players that get experience, the stronger the whole squad becomes. Jonny Bairstow’s return to the England team came about in the fifth ODI against New Zealand last summer. Bairstow scored an unbeaten 83 from 60 balls Beefys BetsEngland win - 1/4Root top England bat (1st inns) - 5/2Broad top England bowler (1st inns) - 5/2England win/Root top runs/Broad most wickets - 14/1Root top England bat/Broad top England bowler - 12/1Watch live coverage of Englands second Test with Sri Lanka, from 10am, Friday, Sky Sports 2. Also See: Anderson takes 10 in England win WATCH: Players of First Test England fixtures/results Sri Lanka fixtures/results ' ' '