Field abuzz before start

There's something in the air at the 75th Masters Tournament, and it's not the pollen swirling around the pines.

It's the feeling that something special is about to transpire over the next four days at Augusta National Golf Club.

Defending champion Phil Mickelson heads the largest field in 45 years (99 starters), including a group of Europeans who are desperate to end their Masters drought.

It would be appropriate for a European to win since this is the 50th anniversary of Gary Player's breakthrough as the first international winner of the Masters.

Maybe one of the older stars, such as 51-year-old Fred Couples, will make a run at the record Jack Nicklaus set in 1986 as the oldest champion at age 46. Couples led after the first round of the 2010 Masters with 66 before finishing sixth.

The spectre of Augusta National and Masters co-founder and lifelong amateur Bobby Jones is even in the air. It was 40 years ago that Jones died. Perhaps one of the six amateurs in the field will make a run at the title.

"You can feel the buzz and excitement," said U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell. "There's good buzz in the locker room and good buzz in the crowd."

Three-time Masters champion Nick Faldo, who played in 23 Masters, has picked up on what McDowell is feeling.

"Augusta National has an amazing buzz now and it will continue," Faldo said.

With the mixture of Masters stars like Mickelson and Tiger Woods (winners of six of the past 10 Masters) and Ernie Els, there is no telling who will be slipping on the green jacket Sunday night.

"I think the way the world of golf has gone over the last year or so, there are so many guys that have come through and really shown their form," Els said.

Indeed, if this week's winner is an international player it would mean all four major championship titles would be held by non-Americans.

"It's open," Hunter Mahan said of the tournament. "For a while there were three guys. Now 20 that have the talent and ability to win."

"I wouldn't be surprised if there are a dozen guys coming down the stretch on the back nine Sunday," said Faldo, who will be calling the action along with Jim Nantz for CBS.

Faldo sat down and created a list of 40 possible winners this year, which is more than normal, he said.

Mahan, who is ranked 18th in the world, is included in that number.

"My game is very close to erupting and being good for four days," said Mahan, who has finished in the top-10 the past two Masters. "I feel like my game is good enough, I've played well here in the past. This is one tournament I think where experience counts."

It all starts at 7:40 this morning with honorary starters Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer.

The first group goes off at 7:45 a.m., to begin what Martin Kaymer calls the "fantastic challenge" that Augusta National presents.

At 8:18, in the fourth group of the day, Ben Crenshaw's caddie Carl Jackson will work his 50th Masters.

Before Mickelson found his "A" game and won last week in Houston, this was looking to be an even more wide open Masters.

But Mickelson's victory -- his first since winning at Augusta National last year -- moved him to the forefront of favorites.

"I played very well and it was a big confidence booster I would say, because I felt like that golf was in me this year, but I haven't been getting it out," Mickelson said. "I haven't had the same type of mental focus throughout the round that I expect. And I was able to do it very effectively on the weekend. So to be able to have that type of performance heading into here feels very good. It reminds me a lot of 2006 when I was able to put it together the week before and carry the momentum through." Mickelson seeks to join Nicklaus, Faldo and Woods as back-to-back Masters champions.

Mickelson shot 16-under on the weekend in Houston to serve notice that he is back.

"That was good for Phil because he knows how to deal with it," Faldo said. "He knows how to get ready for this. He knows how to get up for this one."

Indeed he does.

"I don't feel like an emotional letdown is a concern," Mickelson said. "It's very doable and I want to back a win up with another."

Still, the pretournament favorite seldom wins the Masters. The last time it happened was in 2005 when Woods won his fourth green jacket. He has been the favorite every year until this year.

THEN THERE ARE the Europeans, who haven't donned a green jacket since Spain's Jose Maria Olazabal won his second Masters title, in 1999.

"You've got to suggest it's time to win the Masters championship," said McDowell, who is the No. 5-ranked golfer in the world and could be the one to end the drought. "My confidence level increases every year. I feel like I've put in my time learning the greens."

McDowell is paired with Woods and Robert Allenby to start at 10:41 a.m. today.

"I have dreamt of putting the green jacket on my back Sunday afternoon here, and of course I'm definitely very driven to do the job this week," McDowell said.

The other top Europeans are No. 1-ranked Martin Kaymer, of Germany, No. 2 Lee Westwood (last year's Masters runner-up), No. 4 Luke Donald, No. 6 Paul Casey, No. 9 Rory McIlroy and No. 16 Ian Poulter.

Donald didn't help his chances by winning Wednesday's Par-3 Contest with a 5-under 22. Since its inception in 1960, no one has won the Par-3 Contest and gone on to win the Masters that year.

Westwood, who led the 2010 Masters until Mickelson went on a second-nine tear in the third round, has been waiting for this week for a long time.

Back on Oct. 7, soon after helping Europe win the Ryder Cup, he said "my main priority has to be to get myself and my golf in the best possible shape for the Masters."

"As we've seen in the Ryder Cup, European golf is very, very strong," said Scotland's Sandy Lyle, the 1988 Masters champion. "We could have a European winner this year."

On the American side, the favorites are Mickelson, Woods, Dustin Johnson, Nick Watney and Bubba Watson, who received high praise from Mickelson this week.

"I think Bubba has been playing very well, and the one thing that he does extremely well, better than most players, is he has very creative shot-making," Mickelson said. "I think that's going to lead well. If he pulls some of the shots off that he sees, he's going to be able to capitalize and make a lot of birdies on the par 4s as well as the par 5s. I think he's going to be a factor; he's been playing such good golf that his creativity and golf skills should get him into contention, not just this week, but at multiple Masters."

Woods was coy but confident about his chances to win his fifth green jacket. He may be going through another swing change and still looking to regain his form, but he is expected to be a factor. He tied for fourth last year in his first competitive golf in five months.

Kaymer said Woods' chances are "always good in any tournament he plays; and obviously he has won here many times so you should never forget about him."

Reach David Westin at (706) 823-3224 ordavid.westin@augustachronicle.com.