Dr John Carlson
Registered User
Augusta National
It's that time of year again. The biggest week in golf. The 88th playing of the Masters Tournament. Let's look at some pressing questions heading into Augusta...
Over the past 24 months or so, a sort of 'big 3' has emerged among the elites, in Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, and Rory McIlroy. Rahm has taken his talents to the Middle East, Rory has been on cruise control to start the year... while Scottie has separated himself and is drawing comparisons in the media to the GOAT by somehow improving on his consistently elite play from last year. Two wins and a runner-up heading into this week, Scottie is coming in at +350 or +400 depending on the sportsbook, making him the heaviest favourite to win at a major since Tiger at the 2013 Masters. Will he claim his second Green Jacket?
McIlroy will always command the spotlight at Augusta, and that spotlight only grows brighter with every passing opportunity that slips by in his quest for the final leg of the career Grand Slam. Shockingly missing the cut twice in his past 3 appearances, it has been a mixed bag for Rory here lately, as many speculate that the pressure, both from himself and the media, to win this event weighs too heavily on him for his own good. Soggy conditions over the first two days this week (if the forecast holds true) should be favourable for him, but will his tendency towards poor Thursdays leave him on the outside looking in?
The tournament has famously not been won by a first-time player since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979. We have had close calls, most notably Jordan Spieth's runner-up in 2014, but none have been able to break the trend. This year we have one of the strongest crops of first-timers ever: Wyndham Clark, Ludvig Aberg, and Akshay Bhatia to name the most prominent of the bunch. Clark already has major championship pedigree, Aberg looks to be a generational driver of the golf ball, and the 22 year old Bhatia is coming in hot with a win this past week in Texas. Will one of them play a part on Sunday?
Obviously, focus will be on Tiger Woods, who is playing in his first tournament since withdrawing at Riviera due to illness. The GOAT is still capable of showing flashes over 18 holes, but has been mostly unable to string together four healthy rounds since the car wreck. This week he will go for his 24th consecutive made cut at Augusta, which would be the all-time record. The ability is still there - but is the health?
bet365 has the following listed as the favourites:
Scottie Scheffler +350
Jon Rahm +1000
Rory McIlroy +1000
Xander Schauffele +1600
Brooks Koepka +1600
Jordan Spieth +1800
Hideki Matsuyama +2000
Ludvig Aberg +2200
Viktor Hovland +2500
Joaquin Niemann +2500
Wyndham Clark +2500
Will Zalatoris +2800
Cameron Smith +2800
Justin Thomas +2800
Patrick Cantlay +3000
Anything stand out?
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