Watching Rory, Tiger and Phil as Augusta looms

   The Masters is just around the corner and the countdown for the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion is at 452 days … which means it’s a good time for a quick look at some of the headlines on the PGA and LPGA tours.

   The No. 1 player in the world is the 22-year-old reigning U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy. McIlroy has certainly looked strong in reaching the final of the Match Play before falling to Hunter Mahan and winning at the Honda.

   McIlroy, of course, quite famously flamed out at Augusta a year ago after seeming to take command of the tournament after 54 holes. But instead of it being the beginning of the end, it seems in retrospect, that that was just the end of the beginning.

   McIlroy bounced back with a dominant win at the U.S. Open at Congressional and now has overtaken Luke Donald to rise to the top fo the world ranking.

   All of which will make McIlroy one of the favorites when the annual rite of spring known as The Masters tees off in a few short weeks.

   The Tiger Woods comeback watch reached a fever pitch when Woods fired a final-round 62 to put some pressure on McIlroy before ending up in a tie for second at the Honda.

   But then Tiger limped off the course during the final round of the World Golf Championship event at Doral Sunday with an achy Achillies’ tendon in his left leg. He assured his fans via Twitter Monday that it was just a mild strain.

   Before his painful exit at Doral, it made sense to include Tiger among the contenders at Augusta. Heck, the guy finished fourth the last two years and he wasn’t even playing that well. He knows the course, he knows how to handle the pressure. It will be interesting to see how he fares, although the injury gives him a built-in excuse should his game suddenly go off the rails.

   Anybody who was ready to write off Phil Mickelson had a change of heart after watching him run away with the victory at the AT&T National Pro-Am at Pebble Beach.

   It was played up as Mickelson taking down Tiger since the two were paired in the final round. In reality, Mickelson played a Pebble Beach course that was not particularly forgiving like he owned the place. It was as dominant a performance as you’ll see on a really tough course.

 Phil’s done it before at Augusta and if he brings the game he displayed at Pebble, he might add a fourth green jacket to his impressive resume.

Young guns at Innisbrook

  In his advance for this week’s Transitions Championship, Associated Press golf writer Doug Ferguson notes that 22-year-old Bud Cauley will be the oldest player in his opening-round threesome.

   Cauley, who was a member of the winning U.S. team in the Walker Cup Match at Merion in 2009, was able to bypass Q-school last summer when he won enough money in just a very few starts to qualify for the PGA Tour.

 Cauley will be joined in his group by 20-year Japanese rock star Ryo Ishikawa and 21-year-old Englishman Tom Lewis, the guy who shared the opening-round lead as an amateur at the British Open last summer before turning pro and winning on the European Tour in his third start as a pro.

  The Copperhead Course at Innisbrook, where the Big East has held its tournament the last few years, is no pushover and has drawn a strong field.

  Sean O’Hair, an adopted son of Delco golf fans, is in the field and owns a victory in this event.

Teen invasion on the LPGA Tour

  As the LPGA Tour finally arrives stateside with the Founders Cup this weekend, you might be unaware that a couple of teen-agers not named Lexi Thompson had some strong showings in Australia and Asia.

   Jessica Korda won the Women’s Australian Open by draining a dramatic 40-foot putt in a playoff. The daughter of one-time pro tennis player Petr Korda, the 19-year-old was a friend and rival of Thompson’s in junior golf and is very talented.

Korda also has the built-in advantage of having a father who knows the ins-and-outs of worldwide travel while competing at the highest level of a sport. She will be a formidable rival for Thompson in the pro ranks.

  Another 19-year-old, Jenny Shin, looked like she had the HSBC Women’s Champion event in Singapore won. She had a two-shot lead heading to the 72nd hole when a sudden downpour halted play. After the delay, Shin double-bogeyed the final hole and then lost to Angela Stanford in a playoff.

   Still, Shin, who won the 2006 U.S. Junior Girls title at age 13, showed that she too is a teen to contend with on the LPGA Tour in 2012.