AUGUSTA, Ga. -- 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." Kyrie Irving USA Jersey . 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Its the first one-ticket doubleheader hosted by the Yankees since Sept. 29, 2004, against Minnesota, according to STATS. Pittsburghs Edinson Volquez (1-3) was scheduled to face New Yorks David Phelps (0-0) Friday night in the Pirates first game at the newest version of Yankee Stadium, which opened in 2009. Phelps will now start Saturday and Hiroki Kuroda will be given an extra day of rest. He and Vidal Nuno will start in the doubleheader, the order still to be determined. This is the third postponement for each team this season. The rain gives Yankees outfielder Ichiro Suzuki an extra day of rest. He has not played since Sunday, when he hurt his back attempting a catch in Milwaukee. Once healthy, Suzuki should see more playing time because Carlos Beltran was placed on the 15-day disabled list Thursday with a bone spur in his right elbow. "Im getting better but not to the point where Im capable of swinging the bat 100 per cent," Beltran said Thursday. The Yankees (21-19) are coming off back-to-back shutouts of the crosstown rival Mets with Masahiro Tanaka winning 4-0 Wednesday, his first complete game in the major leagues. A night later, rookie Chase Whitley pitched two-hit ball for 4 2-3 innings of a 1-0 win that gave the New York a split of the four-game Subway Seriess.dddddddddddd Whitley made his major league debut in place of ace CC Sabathia, who is on the 15-day disabled list with a right knee injury. Phelps was scheduled to make his third start since replacing Michael Pineda in the rotation. Phelps first joined the rotation when Pineda was suspended 10 days for having pine tar on his neck in a game at Boston. The right-hander remained in the starting five when Pineda injured a muscle in his upper back pitching a simulated game April 29, during his ban. Phelps gave up four runs and eight hits over five-plus innings Sunday, when the Yankees lost 6-5 in the bottom of the ninth at Milwaukee. The Pirates (17-23) come to New York after a 4-3, walkoff loss Thursday, also at the Brewers. Former Yankees reliever Mark Melancon blew the save filling in for injured closer Jason Grilli. The Pirates have not won in New York since the start of interleague play, losing three in a row in 2005 and 07. They took one of three in Pittsburgh in 2008. Pirates catchers Chris Stewart and Russell Martin both played for the Yankees, and theyve seen how the new ballpark can be hitter friendly for batters swinging from the left side. "Every stadium kind of has their pros and cons, and thats definitely one of them for left-handers, and some right-handers like to go the other way," Stewart told MLB.com. "Ive seen popups over there that have sailed out." That could bode well for slugging third baseman Pedro Alvarez, who grew up in the Bronx and has eight homers. The ballpark also suits Ike Davis well. 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