By Ian Woosnam

I went out on Tuesday for the first time this week as the course was closed on Monday following some very heavy rain.

It is playing extremely long, is still wet as well and I presume we may well be playing lift, clean and place on the fairways.

When it is as wet as it is at the moment it plays more like a normal golf course where you can fire it on the fairways and then fire it on the greens.

It is when it dries out that you wish that you could have had more practice rounds!

Anybody that can hit the ball a long way is going to be at a big advantage this week.

When I tackled the first hole on Tuesday, I hit a drive and a five iron - and I was hitting the ball pretty well.

But when you get someone like Jose Maria Olazabal, who is not quite catching his drives at the moment, he has to take a three iron for his second.

But the longer hitters are going in with an eight iron - obviously a big advantage.

The greens have taken the rain pretty well and are probably only a medium pace for Augusta, which is still 12 or 13 on the stimpmeter.

That means they are still fast but it does mean it is easier to get the ball into the right position to give yourself an uphill putt.

Tiger Woods is an outstanding favourite and it does not matter which tournament he plays in.

He hits the ball such a long way around this course, where he has such a good record, he obviously has a great chance.

I have not seen him play during the practice rounds as he tees off very early due to the crowds being so big.

He tends to be out about 6am in the morning and is done and finished by 10am as so many people want a piece of his time.

Davis Love has been working with Butch Harmon (Tiger's coach) and looks like he has changed his swing a little bit.

He is playing up to his best again, has got the length and I would not be surprised if Davis is up there at the end of the week.

Whoever contends will have to drive the ball well this week as the fairways have been tightened up a little bit.

The rough may only be a couple of inches long but when you try to hit anything longer than a five iron it is extremely tough - so long and straight off the tee is required.

As far as my form is concerned, I have played quite well in Dubai and Qatar but have not had much chance to play tournament golf since then as I have had three weeks off.

I have had just one practice round and another nine holes at Augusta so it is not really enough of a preparation really.

But when I have taken a rest I seem to have come back and done quite well - I am hitting the ball nicely and am looking foward to the challenge.

I have not had a chance to play with many of the European contingent as I just had the one practice round with Jose Maria Olazabal.

I have not actually seen that many players at all as a lot did not seem to turn up too early on Tuesday because I think that they thought the weather was going to be really bad again.

Some came in the afternoon and got stuck with the bad conditions again as it continued to rain all day.

You would have to say that Padraig Harrington heads the European challengers after his second in the Players Championship.

He played fantastically last year and has put a lot of dedication into his game.

He is hitting the ball a long way as well so must be another with a great chance.

Darren Clarke has made a few little swing changes and it is helping him to clear through the ball a bit better which is giving him more length and a more consistency.

He also seems to have changed his putting stoke and is just going up to the ball and hitting it while not thinking about it too much.

That is what you have got to do these days - have a go at everything.

He seems to be a little more aggressive and is enjoying it more and if that is the case, he will always have a chance of winning tournaments.

Justin Rose plays at the event for the first time and I don't think he will ever see the course in softer condition.

He has got the sort of game, as he gets more and more mature and stronger in the years to come, to challenge for this tournament - though perhaps not this year.

With the way the course is playing you have more chance of the younger players, such as Rose, Charles Howell and Adam Scott, contending.

When it is really hard, that is when the experience of playing here regularly comes in - hitting the ball in the right position on the green.

At the moment, you can attack the flag a little more and this could be the year for some of the younger guys to perform really well.

Ernie Els and Retief Goosen should be right there challenging and it can only be a matter of time before they win this event.

They both have the game, the length and the skill to be knocking on the door and looking for the Green Jacket.

I have got nine holes to play on Wednesday morning, probably the back nine, before having a bit of a relax before playing in the par three competition.

Then it is just a matter of taking it easy before teeing off on Thursday morning.

I am a bit disappointed with the draw as I am off at 8.30am local time, which is the third group out, and looking at the forecast it could well be wet and cold.

With the course playing this long you could do with all the help you can get, the sun shining and warmer temperatures, so it is certainly going to be a challenge.