Masters 2014: Stars Who Need Strong Finish at Augusta to Kick-Start 2014 Season

When one door closes, another one opens.

For the first time in his career, Tiger Woods will miss the Masters, per Golf Channel:

While the tournament will be without one of the biggest names in golf, it makes the field wide open. The fear factor that Tiger's creeping around the corner is now gone.

These three golfers will no doubt be breathing a sigh of relief, as they head into Augusta National Golf Club looking to get their respective 2014 campaigns back on track.

Phil Mickelson

Eric Gay

With the lofty standards Phil Mickelson has set for himself, the fact that he's gone this long without winning a tournament feels like years. I mean, The Open Championship was almost eight months ago.

The 43-year-old will also be entering Augusta with some question marks in terms of health.

He withdrew in the third round from the Valero Texas Open over the weekend. Despite that, Mickelson was quick to allay any fans' fears, per John Strege of GolfDigest.com:

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"My back's feeling great, my body's been feeling great, I felt as good as I have all year," Mickelson said. "My speed is back, I was hitting the ball hard, driving it great. I pulled a muscle on my downswing trying to hit the ball hard on the second hole. It just killed and wouldn't subside for 10 or 12 seconds.

"I'm going to go back to San Diego for a couple of days and have a doctor take a look at it, but there's really not much you can do for a pulled muscle. I hope I'll be OK to play the Shell in Houston, but I just don't know."

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Since winning the Masters in 2010, Mickelson has been inconsistent at Augusta. He finished 27th in 2011, third in 2012 and 54th in 2013.

Between his underwhelming play and back problems, Mickelson has a great chance to wipe the slate clean for 2014 at the Masters.

Rory McIlroy

Wilfredo Lee

You can't get past Rory McIlroy's collapse at the Honda Classic. He pretty much had it all wrapped up and then threw it away with a double bogey on No. 16 and a bogey on 17.

After a performance like that, McIlroy almost deserves everything he gets when it comes to the narrative that he chokes under pressure.

Augusta never has been very kind to the 24-year-old. His highest finish was 15th in 2011, which was also the year he shot an 80 in the final round.

Between his dumb mistakes and lack of tournament preparation heading into the Masters, it's easy to see why some might dismiss McIlroy as a possible favorite for 2014.

However, he's shown some signs of moving forward in his career and turning potential into actual production. There would be no better way to demonstrate that than, at the very least, cracking the top 10 at Augusta.

Jason Day

Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

Everything was going well for Jason Day this year. He finished second at the Farmers Insurance Open and then won the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship a little less than a month later.

Then came the thumb problems.

He withdrew from both the Cadillac Championship and Arnold Palmer Invitational citing the issue.

Day's thumb is bad enough that he's considered questionable for the Masters, per GolfChannel.com's Jason Sobel:

However, the 26-year-old's preparations will be unaffected, per Rex Hoggard of GolfChannel.com:

Heading into the tournament, the field itself is a list of the walking wounded. Mickelson has back problems, while Hunter Mahan, Bubba Watson and Nick Watney are dealing with injuries of their own.

Writing about Day's thumb in context of all the other injuries, CBSSports.com's Kyle Porter argued that "This seems to be the most severe of the injuries on this list," so there is some reason for concern.

However, Porter still put Day's likelihood of playing at 70 percent. The world's No. 4 player should be there for Round 1.

Day has a chance to show that the thumb is no longer a major issue and that it won't prevent him from getting right back to where he was in January and February.