8 April – 11 April

Tee-off is scheduled for 8 April, with the final hole being played on 11 April. The 2010 US Masters is the first major in the 2010 PGA tour and, as such, often carries the weight and excitement of months of speculation in the lead up to the tournament.

The Tiger Woods factor

Though many would like to draw attention away from it, it is rumoured that the 2010 US Masters will be the first major tournament the returning Tiger Woods will play in since his highly publicised personal scandal. The player, who had taken an indefinite leave of absence from golf, seems to have put his worries behind him and, if he does compete, will surely be the bookie’s favourite to win the tournament. Outside of just Tiger, major sponsor Nike will see first-hand if their decision to keep Tiger Woods, while other sponsors like Gillette dropped him, pays off.

A place for records

The 2010 US Masters will have a tough time following the record-breaking act last year’s Masters resulted in. The final hole, contested between Argentine Angel Cabrera and Kenny Perry saw Perry all but throw away a sure lead with a double bogey and Cabrera needed the assistance of a tree to stay in contention.

In victory, Cabrera became the lowest ranking player to ever win a major, only the second Argentine to win any major, and the very first Argentinean player to win one of the biggest accolades in all of Golf – the US Open.

The 2010 US Masters, the official ‘major’ curtain raiser to the 2010 PGA Tour, starts 8 April 2010.?

The opening game

The opening game of this year’s 74^th IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship will take place in Gelsenkirchen at Veltins-Arena, with a capacity for a potentially world breaking 76,152-strong audience. On 7 May Germany and the United states will take to the ice for an ice hockey extravaganza.

Groups and venues

The competitors have been divided into four groups. Group A consists of Russia, Belarus, Slovakia, and Kazakhstan, who will play in Cologne along with Group D. Group B is made up of Canada, Switzerland, Latvia and Italy, and Group C’s teams include Sweden, Czech Republic, Norway and France. Group B and C matches will take place in Mannheim. Finally, Group D comprises Finland, the USA, Germany, and Denmark.

Rounds

The preliminary round will see Ice Hockey World Championship groups compete against each other in a round-robin. The group’s three best-placed teams will move on to the qualifying round, where the twelve teams, split into two groups, will hit the ice. Following the qualifying round, the four best teams will compete, with the two last-placed teams dropping out.

Then it’s onto the semi-finals for the winners of the quarter finals. The two losers of the semi-finals will play for the coveted bronze medal, while the winners of the semi-finals will compete for gold – the ultimate ice hockey achievement.

A full game schedule can be downloaded on the IHHF website.

Get into the ice hockey fever

Why just sit at home and watch the games? Get on the ice yourself and you will fully be able to appreciate the skill that goes into the Ice Hockey World Championship. All you need is some ice to play on, a helmet and some protective gear (stay safe!), a hockey stick and some friends to join in the fun. If you’re more into watching sport than playing it, support your team with a hockey shirt.

The 2010 IIHF Championship is set to be one to remember, so be sure to follow your team all the way to gold this year.