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What players are saying at the Masters

Sean O'Hair, Tiger Woods (C) and Mark O'Meara (R) skip their balls on the 16th hole during a practice round prior to the start of the 2012 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia

What players are saying going into the 76th Masters, which starts on Thursday: TIGER WOODS (USA) Age - 36 World ranking - 7 Playing in 18th Masters Best Masters finish - Winner in 1997, 2001, 2002, 2005 "It's all about understanding how to play this golf course. This is my 18th year, so I've spent just about half my life playing this tournament." RORY McILROY (NIR) Age - 22 World ranking - 2 Playing in fourth Masters Best Masters finish - T15 in 2011 "It's nice to be getting all this praise and everything, but you have to take it with a pinch of salt. I definitely don't have the achievements that Tiger has or nowhere near the level of success that he's had over the last 15 years." PHIL MICKELSON (USA) Age - 41 World ranking - 14 Playing in 20th Masters Best Masters finish - Winner in 2004, 2006, 2010 "I think there's a very good chance that a young player, inexperienced fearless player that attacks this golf course can win, if you don't need to show it the proper respect." LUKE DONALD (ENG) Age 34 World ranking - 1 Playing in 8th Masters Best Masters finish - T3 in 2005 "Obviously Tiger is always the guy that pushes the needle the most and obviously Rory gets a lot of attention now. But for me, that's probably a good thing. I can kind of go about my business and just get on with things." LEE WESTWOOD (ENG) Age - 38 World ranking - 3 Playing in 13th Masters Best Masters finish - Second in 2010 "I'm exited to play in the Masters and I'm excited just to come here. I'm not so excited that everybody is playing well obviously. I wish that everyone was playing poorly." CHARL SCHWARTZEL (RSA) Age - 27 World ranking - 8 Playing in third Masters Best Masters finish - Winner in 2011 "Now all of a sudden that I've done it (won last year), I almost expect myself to win. I feel like I'm playing good enough. I feel like if I've done it before, why can't I do it again." MARTIN KAYMER (GER) Age - 27 World ranking - 6 Playing in fifth Masters Best Masters finish - Never made the cut "A few tee shots at Augusta don't really suit my eye, but it's obviously a great course and it's up to me to try to find a way to play it. Hopefully playing a practice round with Bernhard (Langer, a past champion) will help me." HUNTER MAHAN (USA) Age - 29 World ranking - 4 Playing in sixth Masters Best Masters finish - T8 in 2010 After winning last week in Houston - "I take a lot from this week but Augusta is its own animal so I’m looking forward to the challenge. I feel very capable of playing great golf and I feel like I showed myself I don’t need to be perfect to win."