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Masters aTwitter with tweets

Augusta - England's Ian Poulter said he does not think 14-time major winner Tiger Woods, mired in a win drought of nearly 18 months, will finish in the top five at the 75th Masters, which starts on Thursday.

But that comment sparked some back and forth remarks that spilled over into the newest medium for golf stars to spread their words to fans, rivals and friends - the microblogging social network websites of Twitter.

Poulter was correct a year ago when he predicted Woods would finish in the top five at Augusta National despite a five-month hiatus from the sport in the wake of his infamous sex scandal that led to his divorce from Elin Nordegren.

Asked about Poulter's negative reply to the same query this year, Woods remarked, "Well, Poulter is always right, isn't he?"

Woods, who discovered Twitter last year in what he called a bid to have a more direct dialogue with fans, was asked to reply in a length that met the 140-character "tweet" maximum.

"I think I already did, didn't I?" Woods said.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Woods had not tweeted this month, so it was left to noted abundant Twitter poster Poulter to make messages about the matter.

"I was asked last year if Tiger would finish top 5 I said yes. I was asked this year I said I don't think so. Now I'm an ass, quality press," Poulter posted.

He followed up with: "You can't win with the press, you answer a question honestly, now I'm the one who looks a prick. The press can do that to you. Thanks boys."

Poulter finished his comments on the subject with: "Note to self when asked about Tiger always bullshit & say what they want to hear, or you will be ridiculed. Noted not answering anymore."

Plenty of other Masters players have plenty to say on Twitter, including world number two Lee Westwood of England, last year's Masters runner-up, who on Wednesday tweeted about the jammed parking lots outside Augusta National.

"The lots are chocca! Everybody wants to be at the masters on Wednesday!" he said.

Northern Ireland star Rory McIlroy showed his appreciation to fans who wished him well on his Twitter page.

"Thank you to everyone for the good luck messages for Augusta. Very much appreciated! Feel like my game is coming along nicely," he wrote.

Woods said he writes his own messages, having been accused in past tweets of delegating the duty, and said he enjoys it.

"It has been fun," Woods said. "I was pretty leery to begin with. I was a little leery, because I haven't gone at it that way. I haven't exposed myself to that medium yet. It was quite interesting starting out, because you get all of these followers, and next thing you know, they ask just a variety of different questions.

"To have direct access to the fans and be able to basically talk to them directly is pretty neat."
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