Woods has been in stunning form since last year's Open at Hoylake

The 31-year-old Woods, the world number one, is once again the firm favourite.

A fifth Masters victory for Woods, 10 years after his famous first, would be his 11th win in his last 15 strokeplay tournaments and 13th major triumph.

But Mickelson, who also won in 2004, will not give up his title without a fight and is desperate to recover the form he showed at Augusta last year.

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The American rivals, however, have experienced contrasting fortunes over the last 12 months.

Woods, under pressure after a poor run in the majors, played in 2006 despite being distracted by concerns about his father Earl's health.

Mickelson, on the other hand, was in superb touch having won the last major of 2005 and his final warm-up event for Augusta by a remarkable 13 shots.

It seemed golf was finally going to get a genuine head-to-head battle for supremacy to rival those fought out between the likes of Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer, Nicklaus and Tom Watson and more recently Nick Faldo and Greg Norman.

Mickelson has struggled of late but has looked relaxed so far this week

But the rest of 2006 followed a very different course.

The change was not immediately apparent, though. Woods lost his father, and sporting mentor, to cancer not long after the Masters and took nine weeks off to grieve. His return at the US Open in June saw him miss his first cut at a major as a professional.

The 36-year-old Mickelson, meanwhile, was playing himself into position for a third straight major victory - the three-quarter mark of his very own "Lefty Slam".

But then came a remarkable finish which saw the big-hitting crowd favourite double-bogey the last to hand victory to Australian Geoff Ogilvy.

Mickelson's season unravelled fast after Winged Foot and his dismal showing at the Ryder Cup in September summed up a terrible second half of the season.

Woods, in contrast, has been almost unbeatable since claiming his 11th major at the Open last July. A 12th followed at the USPGA in August and he has been utterly dominant so far this season.

Another win here and he will be three quarters of the way to a second "Tiger Slam", having held all four majors at the same time between 2001 and 2002. He will also be within five victories of Nicklaus's record haul of 18 majors - the goal that appears to be driving the relentless Woods onwards.

And now he comes to his favourite venue, the place that saw him win his first major 10 years ago in a stunning performance that arguably changed golf and certainly changed the course.

Stenson has won twice in 2007 already and hits the ball a mile

Considerably longer than the rolling par-72 set down by Alister Mackenzie and Bobby Jones in 1932, the "Tiger-proofed" Augusta National is now a mighty 7,445 yards - the second longest course in major history.

This means that as well as Woods and Mickelson, the other fancied players this week come from the ranks of the game's most powerful hitters - Augusta "nearly man" Ernie Els, world number three Adam Scott and 2000 champion Vijay Singh.

But there is also hope among the 97-strong field for Europe's chances of a first major winner since Paul Lawrie at Carnoustie in 1999.

A few months before that surprise triumph, Jose Maria Olazabal picked up Europe's 11th Green Jacket in 20 glorious years for the Old World's golfers at Augusta.

Twenty nine majors have now passed since Lawrie's victory but the likes of England's Paul Casey (who plays with Woods), Luke Donald and Justin Rose all come to this colourful corner of Georgia with high hopes, as does Henrik Stenson.

The big-hitting Swede is now ranked sixth in the world and certainly has the right combination of power and finesse to go well at Augusta, but course specialists like Olazabal and even Bernhard Langer will fancy their chances too.

It would also be a mistake to write off last year's European Order of Merit victor Padraig Harrington. The Irishman has a poor Masters record but is a proven winner in the States.

Legends are like London buses at Augusta, they travel in threes

Colin Montgomerie, however, has been telling everybody that his poor Augusta record is not about to change this year.

One European champion that will not be taking his place alongside the 26 other players from this side of the Atlantic is three-time winner Nick Faldo - the 49-year-old Englishman is sticking to TV commentary this year.

But the Masters would not be the Masters without a few other evergreens teeing it up for old time's sake. And chief among those this year, although he would rankle at the thought of being out there only for nostalgic reasons, is Gary Player.

The 71-year-old South African, a three-time recipient of the Green Jacket, is playing in his 50th straight Masters - a record that ties Palmer's number of appearances at Augusta, which is fitting as the hugely popular American has been persuaded to be this year's honorary starter.

And at the other end of the Augusta experience spectrum will be the likes of Scottish amateur Richie Ramsay - the US Amateur champion who is playing alongside Mickelson - and Jeev Milkha Singh, the first Indian to qualify for the season's first major.

But great stories as they are - and there will be all over the sumptuous Augusta lay-out this weekend - they are unlikely to be the defining stories of this year's Masters.

For that it is unlikely anybody need look any further than the incomparable Woods and the Mickelson-led chasing pack.