AUGUSTA, Ga. Kyle Williams Jersey . -- 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." Eddie Yarbrough Jersey . He did one better Sunday by holing out a pitching wedge from 142 yards for eagle, capping a remarkable 28 on the back nine to win The Championship at Laguna National. Robert Foster Jersey . - Rookie Kyle Larson will start from the pole position Saturday night in the NASCAR race at Richmond International Raceway after a thunderstorm arrived just in time to wash out qualifying. http://www.officialbuffalobillsfootball.com/authentic-patrick-dimarco-jersey-womens .I dont think it comes to mind in this business, in this game, the Philadelphia Flyers forward said. You dont try to lose games.The U.S. soccer team started 2015 the same way the Americans ended last year: with a loss.Mark Gonzalez scored in the 66th and 75th minutes, rallying Chile to a 3-2 exhibition win over the U.S. on Wednesday night that sent the Americans to their first five-game winless streak since 2007.The 27th-ranked Americans led 2-1 at halftime on goals by Brek Shea in the sixth minute and Jozy Altidore in the 31st around Roberto Gutierrezs 10th-minute equalizer at Rancagua, Chile.Altidore was recently transferred to Toronto FC of Major League Soccer.After the World Cup, a lot of players dropped their levels 30, 40 per cent when they came back from vacation, U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann said. It doesnt matter if theyre in Europe or in the U.S., you cant do that. At the international level, you get exposed after minute 65, 70 if you cant go the speed anymore both ways. So theres a lot of work ahead of us, ahead of the players.Most Americans had not played in a game since at least November. They started training on Jan. 12 in Carson, California, where they play Denmark on Feb. 8.Still getting the legs back, still getting the sharpness back, Altidore said. I dont think we should hold our heads down too long.Klinsmann unveiled a 3-5-2 formation, and the Americans switched to a 4-4-2 in the second. Theyve been outscored 9-0 in the second half of their last six matches.I think we learned a lot and we can use it in the future, Shea said.With the defeat to No. 14 Chile, the Americans have lost three straight games for the first time since late 2009 and early 2010, and they have one victory in nine matches (1-5-3) since beating Ghana in their World Cup opener last June.The physical side of it made kind of a turn towards the negative for us, and thats a bummer, but its understandable, Klinsmann said.Both teams were missing nearly all Europe-based players because the match was not on a FIFA fixture date.D.C. United defender Steve Birnbaum made his U.S. national team debut, starting at right back. Two other players entered in the second half for their first international appearances: Columbus defender Wil Trapp in the 60th and Los Angeles Galaxy forward Gyasi Zardes in the 68th. LeSean McCoy Jersey. Any time you get to play for your country, its awesome, Birnbaum said.Jermaine Jones played centre back in front of goalkeeper Nick Rimando and Matt Besler on the left. Mix Diskerud and TFCs Michael Bradley were in defensive midfield, and Clint Dempsey in the centre of attacking midfield, with wingbacks DeAndre Yedlin on the right and Shea on the left. Altidore and Bobby Wood started at forward.Shea and Altidore returned to Major League Soccer this month following struggles in England. Shea signed with expansion Orlando after appearing in just three league and two League Cup games for Stoke over the previous two years. Altidore joined Toronto following an awful 1 1/2 years at Sunderland, where he scored one goal in 40 league appearances with the Black Cats.Shea scored his third international goal and first since the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Besler played in a longball and Shea ran on to it, letting it bounce three times before beating goalkeeper Johnny Herrera with a left-footed angled shot from about 11 yards.Gutierrez tied the score when he split Jones and Besler to beat Rimando with a glancing header from 7 yards off Gonzalezs cross.Altidore put the U.S. back ahead with his 26th international goal. Yedlin, who joined the team in South America following his first few weeks of training with Tottenham, made a short throw in to Mix Diskerud. He exchanged passes with Yedlin, and Diskerud crossed for Altidore, who scored with his right foot from 10 yards.Bradley nearly extended the lead to two goals in the 61st with a 23-yard shot that hit the intersection of the crossbar and a post.Gonzalez then scored with an angled 7-yard shot and got the go-ahead with a shot that may have deflected off a foot of Birnbaum and past Rimando, who had dived to parry a 25-yard initial shot by Marco Medel.You want to win, Altidore said, but I think the base is there for a good year. 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