European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 11, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 22 a the stars and stripes thursday april 11, 1991 55th masters by Bob Green a Golf writer Augusta a. It is Nick Faldo against the Field a and history. No one has Ever won the masters three times in a Row. Faldo has two straight. No one has Ever won the grand slam of Golf. Faldo has dreams. A. A not since the glory Days of Jack. Nicklaus has one Man so dominated the pre tournament v talk. Through it All the tall englishman with the elegant swing and steady game remains a Calm craftsman going about his Husi a a a Ness. _ a a a a a i done to think of it As a third masters a Faldo said a in a trying to approach it As a major any  besides Faldo said he has set himself a much More Dit ficut target than a Mere third consecutive masters. A the ultimate goal a he said a is the grand  no one has Ever won the masters . And British opens and the pea in the same year. Only Nicklaus Gene sarafem Ben Hogan and Gary player have won All four in a career. But Faldo thinks it can be. Done. Quot a &Quot.&Quot-v. A in theory nothing is impossible is it a he said. His eyes took on a far away look As he mused aloud a you must do everything a a right. Play 16 wonderful rounds of  the first of those 16 rounds is scheduled thursday at Augusta National Golf club where 88 of the worlds finest players including 69 americans tee off in the first of the years four major a tests. A a. A. Only one other golfer has had a shot at three consecutive Mas a ters titles Nicklaus won in 1965 and 1966, but missed the Cut the next year when he shot 72-79. In fact Only three men have won any of the four majors in three successive years. And no one has done it since Peter Thompson won the British open from 1954-56. Vyv a Faldo made a run at the grand slam last year. He won the masters in a playoff Victory Over Ray Floyd missed making a playoff at the . Open when a Birdie putt on the last Hole to tee off in Triplicate 1991 masters tournament Augusta National Golf course april 11 14 Leond cud traps ged bunkers a end Ponds ged Creek ce53 Trees i roads a Ali e3 or i7_f a of rec i 4 7 i out a 4 i 4 to to m 1m Momo 10 11 11 i to 10 it 10 m Tot i 4 4 m 3 3 m 400 Tvedt 1440 he Toi facts and figures Augusta a. Apr facts and figures on the masters tournament a. A a a at itak�?55th masters championship. A a so a Augusta National Golf club. A a yardage �?.6.905. A a Par 36-36-72. A a. Data a april n-14 1 a. Format a 72 Hotes 18 daily stroke play. A Cia a after 36 holes of play. 44 leading scorers and All lied for. 44th place plus All within 10. Strokes of Lead qualify Tor final two rounds. A playoff of necessary a sudden death. Probable starting Field a 88 66 american pros 3 a Modican amateurs 17 foreign pros 2 foreign amateurs. A a a defending Champion a Nick Faldo. A former Champion in Field a Tommy Aaron George. Archer save Ballesteros Gay Brewer. Billy Caspar Charles Cody Beri Crenshaw Nick Faldo Bay Floyd. Bernhard Langer Sandy Lyle Larry Mize Jack Nicklaus Arnold palmer., Gary player Craig Stadler. Tom Watson fuzzy Zoelbel. 1 a lipped the cup then won the British open Lor the second time. V a Ben Logan is the Only player to have a shot at the grand slam and he passed on the Chance. Hogan won the first three a the masters . And British opens a in 1953, then did not play in the Ega. Nicklaus Avon the first two a the masters and . Open a in 1072. Faldo is. Approaching this masters with a single minded intensity reminiscent of the Young Nicklaus a focusing on the my Jors to the exclusion of All else. Just As Nicklaus did he has reduced his playing schedule and built it around the big four. He is giving himself every Chance. A., a a in a a lot stronger than last year a said Faldo now carrying about .21 1 pounds on a 6-foot-3 Frame a a in a generating More Speed in my shoulders and More resistance in my legs and i feel As though in a hitting the Ball  l in came to the United states in March and spent a week of intensive work with his teacher David Lead better in Florida before beginning a series of three tournaments leading up to Augusta. V a a. A a any question that the Lead up tournaments. Were anything More than preparation for the masters was dispelled by an instance of. Absent mindedness at the players championship in Ponte Vydra Fla. On the second Hole of the second round Faido tagged up close marked his tap in Par putt and was staring into the Pines while his playing partners putted out a. A then he joined them in the walk to the next tee. Only when Lanny Wadkins rom gilded him did Faldo go Back to the Green replace his Ball and finish the . A a. A a a you re not going to give me that one he a asked an Emba passed Faldo obviously caught with his mind on some other tournament in some other place. Lie. Reaches that place this week and the preparation ends. A a in a ready to get out there and get on with i Quot Faldo said. Some of his chief opposition can be expected from the other members of what Faldo Calls a the big six a the Meir who have dominated european a and world a Golf in recent years and formed the nucleus of Europe a last three successful Ryder cud  Ballesteros of Spain Sandy Lyle of Scotland and Bernhard Langer of Germany have combined with Faldo to win five of the last seven British opens and five of the last eight masters. A it is the other two members of the big six Jose Maria Olazabal of Spain and Little fan Woosnam of Wales who could form the1 greatest threat. Olazabal scored a record breaking Victory in the world series of Golf last fall. Woos Nam a two time Winner of the european order of a Crit was a recent Winner in new Orleans. Australian Greg Norman who has come so close so often in the masters has not played particularly Well since he was destroyed 67-76 in a head to head third round confrontation with Faldo in last years British open at the old course in St. Andrews. 1 Norman complained of we a riness from a Globe trotting schedule and Jack of interest after his last competitive Start a week ago in Florida. Nicklaus 51, and Tom Watson 41, have had spots of Strong play Early this year but must become More consistent on the greens if they Are to be a Factor. Off the Early season Paul Azinger and Rocco mediate have been the most consistent performers and must be ranked As americans most prominent contenders. A ,. A a each has won once and Azinger has had a second and a third in recent weeks. Mediate however is making his first masters Start and must demonstrate his 49-Inch Putter can handle augustan a Slick undulating greens. One Green in particular will be in question. The 11th, Down in the Valley in amen Corner where Faldo scored playoff vie tories in each of the last two masters was destroyed by flood Waters last year. Computer print outs on slope and Elevation were used to restore the Green to its original conformation. A they say you can to Tell any difference a Faldo said. Now the question is whether there la be any difference in the Winner. A some Augusta a. Apr Curtis strange knows what Nick Faldo is going through. He has been there. Only last year at Medinah in suburban Chicago strange was in a similar situation attempting to become the first Man in 85 years to win three consecutive . Opens. This week at Augusta National its Faldo s turn. He will be chasing an unt precedent cd third consecutive masters title. A in a Way its the same and in a Way it Isnit a strange said. A a in a never even seen Medinah. Nick comes in knowing Augusta. Lie knows the course and he knows the tournament and he knows where he a going to be staying. A that helps. A and at least up until this week i done to think there a been quite the attention a and the pressure a on Nick there was on  part of it strange said involves timing. His run at a third  open Victory took place in june. Faldor a try comes three months earlier. So there has been less time for the buildup. A a he a smart the Way he a handled it a strange said noting that in the first two months of the year Faldo was taking a break at Home in England and limited himself to one newspaper and  television. Interview. Faldo a As strange was a year ago a has been besieged with requests for interviews appearances dinners since coming to the United slates to Start his season and his masters preparations a month ago. A a there a pressure every Day Quot strange said. A the press and the Public Are aware of what a going on. Its difficult. A and it s a compliment. There a More pressure because quo the press and the Public honestly believe each of us has a Chance to do it. A if they did to believe that if i Hadnot Behoved it and if Nick did no to believe it there would t be nearly As much pressure. Quot a but. Gee. Its a hard thing to do a win one tournament three years in a Row. Let alone a  a strange had his Chance. He was within two strokes of the Lead after three rounds at Medinah then faded Over the Back nine sunday. His advice to Faldo _ a the hard part is almost done. That a the buildup to the tournament. Once the Flag goes up on thursday All that a behind you and the game takes Over and that a fun. Quot done to Over prepare. That a the no. 1 so lie should just go about his business play his practice rounds hit balls putt whatever he feels he needs to do and get out of there. A the should stay As close As he can to his Normal routine. Try not to get caught up in a lot of outside stuff. Its hard not to do that i know but that what he should try to do. A when it gets to sunday if he s still there he has to be prepared to do anything he has to do. Done to Ever give up. Nick i Heen there. He knows All that. Hell be