MARK O'MEARA

The Sunday before Masters week is unlike any other major.

Annika Sorenstam and another Swedish teenage girl decided to caddie at a European tour event long ago.

Talk about a great warmup act for the 150th British Open at St. Andrews.

Collin Morikawa will try to compete at Augusta on his terms as the world's third-ranked player begins his third Masters.

That was the longest such streak since Woods began his career making 25 in a row. Morikawa became a youthful footnote in history at Torrey Pines last year when he was in the same group with Woods. Most notable about his three-shot victory at The Concession against another stacked field was the 24-year-old Morikawa joined Woods as the only players to win a major and a World Golf Championship before turning 25. Rory McIlroy was 25 years and three months when he had two majors and a World Golf Championship, and then he won a third major the following week. He won the PGA Championship at Harding Park by changing his plan as the situation warranted, hitting driver on the reachable par-4 16th to 7 feet for eagle.

And there was a tribute to Tiger Woods, his golf idol growing up. “We don't say ‘Thank you’ enough,” Morikawa said, referring to how much Woods has raised the profile and prize money in golf. He finished at 18-under 270 and became the 24th player to win a major and a World Golf Championship title since this series began in 1999. Outside of a chunked chip on the second hole that made him scramble for bogey, Morikawa didn't miss a fairway the rest of the way and was rarely out of position. “If there was no Tiger Woods, I just the think the tour and the game of golf in general would be in a worse place.

Tirico is one of many announcers who has had to trade the press box for a home office. Tirico will be in the corner of his office in Michigan, some 1,300 miles away. The soft return of golf includes testing for COVID-19, thermal readings, social distancing and limited access. Rich Lerner from Golf Channel is doing play by play, with NBC analysts Paul Azinger and Gary Koch. You could get a lot of people become Matt Wolff fans if he has the game he showed in Minnesota, Tirico said.