Will this be the year of the ‘Tiger’?

Tiger Woods stands on the threshold of something unprecedented, winning all 4 major tournaments in the year.

Achieving the first Grand Slam in golfing history is well within his grasp Tiger Woods believes, but at the end of the day he knows it will likely come down to the rub of the green.

Looking relaxed and confident as he strode into his annual Masters pre-tournament press conference, the 32-year-old American had no hesitation in replying to the inevitable question of whether he can do what no other man has done before and win all four majors in a calendar year.

“I’ve done it before – I’ve won all four in a row,” he said referring to his consecutive wins in the US and British Opens and USPGA in 2000 followed by the Masters in 2001.

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“I think I’m the only guy who has done that – modern configuration. Majority of my career, I think this is my 12th or 13th season out here and nine of those years I’ve won five or more tournaments, so just got to win the right four. That’s what it boils down to.”

All the signs are at green for Woods coming into this year’s Masters. He is in the most commanding form of his career having won seven out of the last nine tournaments he has played in worldwide, some by big margins. He has accumulated a wealth of experience over Augusta National, where his four wins are second only to the six of Jack Nicklaus.

Once again, as was the case in 2000/2001, he is an intimidating presence in golf’s top events. He is spoken of in awe by the men who are his top rivals, many of whom admit that it would take a near miracle for them to top Woods if he is playing at his best.

Woods though says he is taking nothing for granted and insists that come Thursday’s opening round he will be faced with a raft of serious challengers. “I think most of the top guys are playing well this year,” he said.

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“I’m thinking of Vijay (Singh), Phil (Mickelson), Goose (Retief Goosen) is starting to play better. Ernie (Els) is playing better, Jim (Furyk) is starting to turn it around a little bit and Adam (Scott) is playing well – a lot of guys are playing well this year.

None though have come close to matching the form and confidence that Woods has shown during his tremendous winning streak that finally ended two weeks ago when Geoff Ogilvy of Australia won in Miami.

The American has been installed as evens favourite to win a fifth green jacket, unheard of odds at Augusta, where two-times winner Phil Mickelson is next best at 10-1. Even so, Woods said he is aware that even he can fall victim to the golfing gods as he did at the British Open in Muirfield in 2002 when bad timing sent him out into the teeth of a North Sea storm and he limped in with an 81 – still the highest score of his professional career by two strokes. “You have to have a lot of things come together in order to win a championship and more so for major championships,” he said.

“It really is hard to quantify that to people. You ask all of the players and caddies – they are the only ones who really understand the difference between winning and losing, how fine that is,” he added.