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By Andrew BothPA SportsTicker Golf Writer
AUGUSTA, Georgia (Ticker) - Gary Player has the utmost respectfor Tiger Woods, but he does not believe that the current worldNo. 1 is history''s greatest ball-striker.
"The best golfer I ever saw in my life from tee to green was BenHogan," Player said Monday as he prepared for this week''sMasters at Augusta National.
"I''m not saying he was the best scorer (but) I never saw anybodyand there never has been anybody who hit the ball like Ben."
Left unsaid, however, was that Woods has a better short gamethan Hogan, which is why Woods has won 13 major championshipsand is rapidly closing in on the all-time record of 18 held byJack Nicklaus.
"If Tiger stays healthy and nothing unforeseen happens, heshould break all records, but you can never take for grantedthat it''s going to happen," Player said, adding a note ofcaution to those who assume Nicklaus''s record will go by thewayside sooner rather than later.
"Strange things have happened in golf. Look at (David) Duval,(Seve) Ballesteros, Ian Baker-Finch, you can go on and on, guyswho never came back. But Tiger has such a great mind, he shouldshatter all records."
Player, 72,, is competing in a record 51st Masters, and judgingby the spring in his step, he''s as excited to be here as when hefirst stepped foot on the course in 1957.
A three-time champion - he won in 1961, ''74 and ''78 - he wasreluctant to say which was his most savored victory. Whenpressed, however, he admitted that his first victory wasparticularly special simply because it was his first, while histhird win also brings back great memories because of the way heachieved it.
"I came back in 30 (on the final nine holes to win by onestroke) and I touched the hole three times. Just as well theydidn''t all go in, because if I''d shot 27 I would never have beenre-invited," Player said. "Most people my age are dead, so tobe able to come back here and walk around easily is a thrill.You never take it for granted."
Player, one of five players to win the modern career Grand Slam,remains the only South African to don the green jacket,although several of his compatriots have come close in recenttimes. In the past six years, no fewer than four South Africanshave finished runner-up - Retief Goosen twice (2002 and lastyear), Ernie Els (2004), Tim Clark (2006) and Rory Sabbatini(last year).
Player spoke to a half dozen reporters in an informal interviewunder the old oak tree outside the Augusta National clubhouse.The tree is the unofficial meeting place each Masters for golf''smovers and shakers.
Stand there for long enough and you are pretty likely to spoteverybody who''s anybody, from the game''s top administrators, tocoaches, agents, tournament directors and equipment companyCEOs.
You might spot Nike founder Phil Knight chatting with TigerWoods'' agent Mark Steinberg, while five yards away R&A bossPeter Dawson is talking with PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem.The scene was relatively quiet on Monday, but come Tuesday andWednesday it will be the place to do business, or at leastcultivate old relationships and form new ones.
EVEN MONEY: Tiger Woods is even money, give or take a little,with most bookmakers to win the Masters, and that sounds aboutright to Geoff Ogilvy.
Ogilvy, however, says wouldn''t bite at those odds.
"I''d probably take the field if you offered me that bet, butit''s probably not far off with the form Tiger''s showed lately,"said the Australian. "You''d rather have 90 guys on your sidethan one."
Ogilvy, by the way, is tied as the fourth favorite at 25/1 withone betting agency, after finishing first and tied for second inhis past two starts. He ended Woods'' six official tournamentwinning streak at the CA Championship in Miami, before comingclose at the Houston Open on Sunday.
But despite being the man in form, other than Woods, Ogilvy hasnot been invited for a pre-tournament interview in the mediacenter.
"It doesn''t worry me too much," he said of the snub. "There''s alot of people in front of me, probably 30 guys who are moreinteresting than me."
Actually, that''s debatable, because Golf Digest last yearlabeled Ogilvy as the best interview in golf.
TRIVIA QUESTION: When did the Masters reinstate its old policyof inviting PGA Tour tournaments winners?
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER: Johnson Wagner was the last player toqualify for the Masters, courtesy of his Houston Open victory,but don''t expect too much from him this week.
Apart from being mentally drained after his first tour victory,Wagner is also a first-timer on a course that does not treatrookies well.
"Last night was crazy," he said. "My management group hadarranged a flight for me to get here with my wife and caddie,and someone to drive my RV from Houston," he said. "I don''t evenknow where it is. I haven''t really had a second to sit back andthink about what''s happened.
"We landed about midnight last night and I probably fell asleepat 4:30. I''m going to get some sleep tonight and I can run onadrenaline at Augusta National for months I think."
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Gary Player, speculating that today''s proswill be considered short hitters by future generations - "In 30years time you''ll see guys hitting it 450 yards. We''re buildingsuper human beings.
TRIVIA ANSWER: This year, after scrapping the eligibilitycategory for eight years, from 2000 through 2007.
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