In an attempt to predict the winner of the year’s first Major – the Masters at Augusta – WADE PRETORIUS takes a look at the field and assembles his best bets.
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Players who have won a Major but could add another:
The Masters has been incredibly kind to first-timers (Jordan Spieth, Danny Willett, Sergio Garcia and Patrick Reed in recent years) with just two players in the last 10 years winning at Augusta while already having a Major in their trophy cabinets.
Rory McIlroy
Francesco Molinari
Dustin Johnson
Rory is the standout here with tremendous form in 2019 and a win at The Players. He is looking to complete the career slam and undo the psychological damage of last year’s failure.
Molinari, loser in the WGC-Dell Match Play semi-finals, and Johnson, now No 2 in the world, are flying somewhat under the radar, which is surprising given that both of them have more than enough form to win their first Green Jacket.
Non-Major winners looking for No 1:
Rickie Fowler
Xander Schauffele
Jon Rahm
Marc Leishman
Ranked here in order of preference and after leaving out Hideki Matsuyama and Tommy Fleetwood. Fowler’s record at Augusta speaks for itself, while Leishman is another that has fared well at golf’s biggest events. Rahm played in last year’s final group and has the power game to dominate the par-5s, which is key to putting together a good score. Schauffele is making just his second Masters start, but the former Tour Rookie of the Year has been in decent form all year – his MC at TPC Sawgrass the exception – after winning the opener in Hawaii.
All four players fit in the category of players that have won at Augusta before – be it in approach to the game, profile of a past winner and current form matched with experience.
Long shots:
Tyrrell Hatton
Haotong Li
One for those chasing a bigger pay day – both players have the experience of winning, but with odds over 100-1 are not expected to contend deep into Sunday. Hatton’s fiery personality may spur him on, while Li is one of those players that can go low on any course and at any time.
Verdict: The trend has favoured players without a Major win and with healthy odds (20-1 and more), which points to the second bracket of players listed. So back Fowler, Schauffele and/or Rahm and Leishman.
