"Expectations" seems to be the key word as the 2013 Masters draws near. From four-time winner Tiger Woods to reigning champion Bubba Watson, much is expected of golf's finest in its most prestigious event.
Unlike Woods, Watson and three-time green jacket winner Phil Mickelson, there are a lot of quality golfers flying under the radar with little to no expectation of winning at Augusta National. Golfers like Lee Westwood—who has never won a major—and Sergio Garcia (likewise) have come close so many times, but the ship has sailed on expecting them to pull away for a green-jacket finish.
But as we have seen so many times in the previous 76 years of the Masters, anything can happen between Thursday morning and Sunday evening. It's not just hyperbole to suggest Augusta National is a different animal than any other course these golfers will play on tour this season.
Will Westwood or Garcia finally break through the invisible barrier that has kept them from major glory? Can Tiger, Phil or Bubba add another green jacket to their resume?
We'll examine some of those storylines, as well as that of another top challenger who has failed to find Masters glory (despite his best efforts in 2011) and a sleeper to keep an eye on.
Perhaps the best golfer to have never won a major, Westwood is running out of time. At 39, his window of opportunity is beginning to close.
The world's No. 13 golfer came as close as ever in 2010, finishing second behind Phil Mickelson, who claimed his third green jacket that year.
Westwood has at least one top-three finish in each of the four major tournaments, but poor timing and misfortune have kept him from joining the prestigious group of winners.
At 25/1 odds, the 39-year-old is among the favorites to win at Augusta this weekend, though. He has played in seven tournaments this year, posting a top-25 finish in four, including top-10 performances at the Honda Classic and Shell Houston Open.
Given his history in majors, it's impossible to count him out this weekend, but it's also hard to count on him finally breaking through the barrier that has kept him from major-tournament glory.
Lefty has been inconsistent this year, but Augusta has always been kind to the 42-year-old. No matter how poorly he has played leading up to the Masters, he always finds a way to be in the running on Sunday.
Mickelson won the Waste Management Phoenix Open in early February and finished third at the World Golf Championships in March, but a missed cut at the Arnold Palmer Invitational two weeks later raised some questions about his preparedness for this weekend.
Inconsistency is part of golf, though, and Mickelson is a seasoned veteran with enough experience at Augusta (20 years) to know what to expect this weekend. Given his 10/1 odds to win a fourth green jacket, it seems everyone is on board with another strong showing.
There isn't a golfer in attendance this weekend with loftier expectations than Woods. With three wins in five tournaments this year, the world's No. 1 is the odds-on favorite to win his fifth green jacket.
Woods has 3/1 odds of winning at Augusta this weekend—evidence of both his strong play and confidence level this season. Tiger is back, and he'll look to avenge two brutal rounds and a 40th-place finish last year.
Tiger has looked extremely calm in interviews and on the practice range this week, but will that carry over to his play this weekend? We'll find out, but there's certainly reason to believe he can add to his incredible resume at Augusta with another first-place finish.
The image of Rory McIlroy's collapse at the 2011 Masters has to play a part in his preparation for this weekend, and an inconsistent start to the year only adds to the doubt of the 23-year-old earning his first green jacket.
McIlroy posted a second-place finish last weekend at the Valero Texas Open on the heels of a mediocre outing at the Shell Houston Open and his withdrawal from the Honda Classic in early March. Last weekend's performance may have signaled a turnaround for the world's new No. 2 golfer, but he'll need a good performance this weekend to prove it.
McIlroy won the U.S. Open in 2011 and the PGA Championship in 2012. Perhaps he'll continue adding to his major-tournament trophy cabinet at Augusta this weekend. We'll find out Sunday.
With 8/1 odds of winning, McIlroy is second only to Woods in Bovada.lv's betting odds. No one will be surprised with a first-place finish, but it's far from guaranteed.
First-time Masters participants have won the tournament just twice, and one of those times was its inaugural campaign. Despite that fact, first-timer Jamie Donaldson will be a player to watch this weekend.
The world's No. 33 golfer is by no means a favorite to triumph at Augusta, but he headlines a field of under-the-radar players who could surprise a lot of people by the end of Sunday.
The 37-year-old has played some of the best golf of his career in the last year, including a seventh-place finish at the PGA Championship in August.
With 250/1 odds of winning this weekend, it wouldn't be a bad idea to keep an eye on him as a deep sleeper who could emerge from the pack later in the tournament.
No comments:
Post a Comment