Els and Mickelson paired for Masters

Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson, two of the big guns at this week's Masters, have been paired together for the first two rounds …

Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson, two of the big guns at this week's Masters, have been paired together for the first two rounds on Thursday and Friday.

Irish hope Padraig Harrington tees off alongside Craig Stadler and amateur Kevin Marsh, while Ireland's other main contender Paul McGinley plays with Fuzzy Zoeller and Charles Howell III.

Amateur Brian McElhinney, from County Donegal, will tee off alongside twice winner Tom Watson and US Open champion Michael Campbell.

Mickelson pushed the Els into second place with his closing 18-foot birdie putt two years ago when both were bidding for their first victory in the event.

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The pair, with 15 top-10 finishes at Augusta between them, are in the penultimate group to tee off in the opening round - not going out until 1.30pm local time with Japan's Shingo Katayama.

Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh, the top two players in the world, are not drawn together but will be able to keep an eye on each other.

Singh, winner in 2000, starts at 10.12am with Swedish debutant Henrik Stenson and American Arron Oberholser - followed by defending champion Woods at 10.23 with Australian Robert Allenby and also Edoardo Molinari, who last year became the first Italian to win the United States amateur championship.

Sergio Garcia, Europe's top player, is paired with last year's runner-up Chris DiMarco and Australia's Geoff Ogilvy - while Luke Donald, third last year on his first appearance, has twice winner Jose Maria Olazabal and former US PGA champion David Toms for company.

Ryder Cup captains Ian Woosnam and Tom Lehman should have plenty to talk about after being drawn together. The match at the K Club near Dublin is now only five months away.

The action starts at 8am - 1pm British Summer Time - and first European into action is three-time champion Nick Faldo at 8.33am.

The 90-strong field contains players from a record 22 countries.