By Frank Pingue
AUGUSTA, Georgia, April 7 (Reuters) - For three decades at the Masters, the roars that echoed loudest off the towering pines at Augusta National belonged to two men.
This week, for the first time since 1994, neither Tiger Woods nor Phil Mickelson will be there to summon them — and golf is quietly reckoning with what that means.
It is a jarring reality for fans who have come to associate the year's first major not just with pristine fairways and Sunday drama, but with the electric crackle
that follows those two names as they navigate their way around the course.
Woods, 50, is on an indefinite break from golf while seeking treatment following a recent car crash while Mickelson, 55, cited a family health matter for his decision to withdraw.
That means there will be two empty seats at the table when former Masters winners gather this week for the Champions Dinner in the clubhouse at Augusta National Golf Club.
"Obviously there's two that won't be with us this year, which is a shame, but hopefully they will be with us in the future, and I'm sure they will be with us in the future," defending champion Rory McIlroy told reporters.
'THEIR STATURE IS WAY MORE ELEVATED'
Even when both men were well past the prime of their careers, their presence alone was enough to send fans scrambling for a glimpse — stretching over gallery ropes, screaming their names, hoping just to make contact.
As 2025 Masters runner-up Justin Rose put it this week: "Whether they're 1,000 in the world or 500 in the world or whatever current rankings may be, their stature is way more elevated than that in the game of golf and always will be.
"Yeah, it's always a loss to not have either of them in a field anywhere."
The circumstances of their absences could hardly be more different.
Woods, who won the most recent of his five Masters in 2019, withdrew from this year's tournament following a rollover crash less than two weeks ago when he was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence. He entered a plea of not guilty.
Three-times Masters winner Mickelson, meanwhile, bowed out late last week, saying he will be sidelined for "an extended period of time" due to a personal health matter in his family.
'IT HURTS THE GAME OF GOLF'
For Australian Jason Day, who credits Woods for why he first picked up a club, the weight of the moment is deeply felt.
"The reason why I play golf is because of this tournament and Tiger," said Day. "It's hard to see him go through what he's going through, and especially under the microscope - it must be hard to be who he is and have everything, everyone look on, kind of down on him."
Woods and Mickelson sat atop the golf world beginning in the late 1990s and through the 2010s. Between them they produced a highlight reel that could fill a museum.
But the Masters, of course, has a way of producing its own drama — the kind that has fans hanging on every shot regardless of who is in the field.
The 2018 champion Patrick Reed was clear about what the sport loses when heavyweights like Woods and Mickelson are absent.
"Let's be honest, without Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson in the events, in golf, when they both step away, honestly I feel it hurts the game of golf," he said. "But at the same time, we want them to come back and be healthy and ready to go."
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Augusta, Georgia; Editing by Ken Ferris)
