If reliving the past is possible, then Mike Weir doesn't mind staying away from the glare on Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson and hiding in the azaleas this week at Augusta National, waiting to pounce.
Weir never has been one to seek out publicity anyway, but he's more than happy to go about the business of focusing on his second Masters victory six years after his history-making moment in 2003.
"I was kind of under the radar going into that event, so it's kind of nice in a way to again be going under the radar and (concentrating on) prep work to get ready without the things that take place if you're Tiger or Phil," said Weir, who started the 2009 season in fine form.
In his first three events, Weir had a couple of top-three finishes including a second at Pebble Beach, but he has cooled off in his past four tournaments and says the trip to Augusta may rejuvenate him this week.
"The season has been pretty solid, although the last few weeks haven't been exactly what I wanted," Weir said. "It feels like the season's almost starting. I know I've played seven events, but this really gets everything happening for me."
Weir will be in good company in the long shadows cast by Woods and Mickelson in the early going. Woods' thrilling win at Bay Hill a week ago, clinched by his 15-foot birdie putt on 18, sent a message that he's back in form after surgery last year. Mickelson, on the other hand, has wins at Doral and Riviera.
A Tiger-Phil showdown is something that everybody seems to crave, even if that rarely happens, but there will be a few other characters looking to crash that party. You'll also hear a lot in the early going about Padraig Harrington, Geoff Ogilvy and the Shark, Greg Norman.
As much as the above-mentioned names deserve consideration, the pre-tournament hype could just as easily give way to a different story by the time Sunday rolls around.
Consider that the final pairing last year consisted of long shots Trevor Immelman, the eventual champion, and Brandt Snedeker. In 2007, it was another underdog, Zach Johnson, slipping on the green jacket. The guys in the shadows now could very well be highly visible on Sunday.
What seems so likely now is often changed by unpredictable factors such as the weather and what it will do to the ever-changing landscape at Augusta, which has been adjusted only slightly for 2009 compared to other years.
"Augusta has proven that there's a lot of ways to win out there and it hasn't been just a bombers' course, which it maybe has been in the past," Weir said.
"Guys like myself, Zach, Trevor -- he might be a little longer than myself, but not a real big bomber -- so there's ways to get it done at Augusta, which brings a lot of players into the mix," he added.
"The golf course can play so many different ways," Weir said. "The year I won, it was very, very long, about as long as I remember it playing, but it was wet, so even though you had a long club in there, the ball would stop.
"Other years we've played, it has got dried out. I think it was the year Zach won, it was very fast, very firm, very windy, so then, precision really become a big factor and putting becomes an even bigger factor," Weir said.
"Just the way the par 5s have played the last few years, it has taken the advantage away maybe from the longer hitters. Even for them to go into some of those greens, 13 and 15 in particular, as fast as those greens have got, there's no gimme birdies like maybe in years past," he added.
With the luxury of relative anonymity compared to players such as Woods and Mickelson, Weir can go about the business of checking out the minor changes at Augusta, which actually will play about 10 yards shorter, at least on the scorecard, than last year.
"They've moved a few tees around," Weir said. "They've moved the tee up about 10 yards on No. 1 and I think they've done that on No.7 too.
"I think they've added a couple of new pin placements from what I've heard. They always find a way to find some interesting spots. Every hole's a challenge out there," he added.
That makes picking a winner so early in the week such a challenge as well, despite what the pre-tournament hype might suggest.
