AUGUSTA, Ga. – Tiger Woods is still the main attraction at the Masters, where he shattered scoring records as a 21-year-old and already had three green jackets by the time he was 26. But he is no longer the main event.

Phil Mickelson is the defending champion when the 69th Masters begins today, and many believe he is primed to join Woods, Nick Faldo, and Jack Nicklaus as the only back-to-back winners of a green jacket.

His victory Monday in the BellSouth Classic was his third of the year. And his confidence soars even higher just driving down Magnolia Lane, walking upstairs to the champions locker room, being on a golf course where a year ago he birdied five of the last seven holes to capture his first major.

“Being able to come through when I needed to gives me a little extra confidence,” Mickelson said.

Vijay Singh is no. 1 in the world, and has been for all but two weeks in March. And while his only victory this year came in the second week of the season, he is the only player who seems to be around the top of the leader board no matter where he plays.

Ernie Els is seeking redemption at Augusta National. Retief Goosen is seeking recognition. Those two South Africans, along with Mickelson and Singh, all have won majors in the nearly three years since Woods last captured a coveted Grand Slam event.

“If you look at guys who are at the top in the world ranking, and the guys who have won major championships, you know they can handle the heat,” Woods said. “You know they’re not going to make a mistake.”

On perhaps the most famous stage in golf, the latest battle begins to unfold today with a Masters that is being billed more as a free-for-all than a heavyweight prizefight.

And while top players are getting most of the attention, another familiar theme threatened to intervene.

A line of violent thunderstorms began working its way toward Augusta National yesterday afternoon. Weather already has interrupted play in eight of 14 tournaments this season, and one forecast said the course could get as much as an inch of rain about the time the Masters begins.

“See you Friday,” Woods said jokingly as he left the course after a nine-hole practice round, knowing that his 1:33 p.m. tee time might be pushed back.

If nothing else, rain figures to soften an Augusta National course that has been firm and fast, with players remarking they had never seen the greens this fast. That could be an advantage for the longer hitters, though accuracy is underrated at the Masters.

As for Woods, one of the tour’s longest hitters, no one doubts he can win because he is the best at limiting his mistakes, and because he has already won twice on the PGA Tour this year.

But which Woods will show up? One week he looks like a world-beater, the next week looks like he doesn’t know where his ball is going. The dominance he showed in 2000, when he was no. 1 by a mile after a nine-victory season that included three straight majors, is no longer there.

Instead, the best players in the world are all as tightly bunched as fans who squeeze in behind the ropes to watch them slug it out.

“It’s a totally different ballgame at the moment, with guys playing at a better level than a couple of years ago,” Els said. “Yeah, it’s a little different out there. But Tiger is still Tiger. He’s always a player you’ve got to really watch, even when he’s not playing very well.”