Quick, name the holiday this year that will be filled with fluffy bunnies, chocolate and Easter egg hunts! Did you say Easter? Close, but no cigar. Yes, Sunday is Easter, not to melt your life-size chocolate bunny that grandma got you. But in the golf world, Sunday will be a holiday all on its own as players strive for the famed green jacket, hoping not to catch a glimpse of red.

Kids around the country will hear, “Everyone is a winner,” in their communities annual Easter egg hunt, but only one winner will be crowned at The Masters in Augusta, Ga., on Sunday afternoon.

The stage is set and a tiger is lurking along the freshly mowed fairways at Augusta National Golf Club, ready to pounce just around Amen Corner. There is more drama heading into this weekend than your high school prom.

That creature stalking his prey is none other than Tiger Woods who is back on the scene. No, not because of his three porn mistresses (who only has one?) teaming together for a tell-all movie to be released this week. Nope, it has nothing to do with his infamous sex scandal from 2009 that led to one of the greatest downfalls in sports.

Woods is back in his golf form that kept him ranked No. 1 in the world for 623-straight weeks, after a convincing five-shot win in the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill on March 25, where he looked as dominant as ever in that bright red shirt.

In the “Dear Tiger” section of his Web site (in which he responds to fans’ questions) in 2009, Woods revealed exactly what makes red his Sunday best.

“I wear red on Sundays because my mom thinks that that’s my power color, and you know you should always listen to your mom.”

Anyway, one contender in the field this year is 22 year old Northern Irishman, Rory McIlroy, who was the commander of his own fate at the 2011 Masters Tournament. He was four shots clear heading into the final round a year ago and still led by one as he made the turn, before giving way to one of the greatest collapse’s in golf history.

It all started on No. 10 with a triple bogey, followed by a three-putt bogey on No. 11. You would think things could only get better from there, right? Instead, McIlroy took a turn for the worse with a four-putt bogey on No. 12 and an awry tee shot on No. 13 that found a creek, causing McIlroy to pull his cap down over his eyes. It was that bad—McIlroy himself couldn’t even watch.

His tee shot on the 10th ended up amidst a group of cabins, the defining stroke on a day when he shot 80, turning what could have been a defining victory into a crushing defeat. For McIlroy’s sake, I only hope Woods isn’t around this weekend to transform him into the “Shank-o-potamus” that we witnessed last year. Poor guy.

But for Woods, the win at Bay Hill last month is something of a momentum boost. At age 36, he is two years ahead of the pace of golf legend Jack Nicklaus when he won his 15th major championship. Only four majors victories behind the Golden Bear, Woods finds himself regaining his popularity on the golf course and in position to make a run at the historic mark. I’ll admit I’m guilty of joining the bandwagon once again.

And it is a chase that will begin this weekend. His poise and ball striking is unparalleled by any PGA Tour player at the moment and the high he is riding is something not even a few porn stars from his past can shake.

Can there be a better plot line than the youthful prodigy against the hungry tiger? Each is still trying to overcome their haunted past, aiming for greater heights and golf glory. While McIlroy seems to have a leg up on the throne of the golf world, it is a path that is widening itself for the return of Woods.

As an audience, we can only hope this year’s edition of the Masters is as competitive as last year. It will be thrilling to see who can take the green jacket from South African Charl Schwartzel, the 2011 champion.

I’ll take Tiger. You got the field. Oh, and may no egg be left behind!

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