It is that time again when the first Major for the year is upon us. The who’s who in Golf will descend upon Augusta National this week to take part in the 76th edition of this time honoured event.
Many great legends of the game have played their part in the history of this great tournament. Names like Horton Smith who was the first ever Masters Champion back in 1934. He also backed up to win again in 1936. Ben Hogan also has 2 victories along with Tom Watson, Byron Nelson, Seve Ballesteros, Jose Maria Olazabal, Ben Crenshaw and Bernhard Langer.
The Great Sam Snead has won three times. So to have Gary Player, Jimmy Demaret, Nick Faldo and Phil Mickelson. Arnold Palmer has won four Masters (58,60,62.64) as well as Tiger Woods (97,01,02,05). Then there is the ‘The Golden Bear’ Jack Nicklaus who has won a remarkable six Masters Tournaments! (63,65,66,72,75,86).
Now we come to 2012 and another player will get his chance to join this list of golfing royalty. Who will be wearing the Green Jacket on Sunday afternoon?
Many believe that this year is especially difficult to pick the winner as many players are hitting form at just the right time. And looking at the field you would have to agree with them.
Tiger Woods is the bookies favourite at around 4/1. After a 2 year victory drought on the PGA Tour he won the Arnold Palmer Invitational two weeks ago by a staggering 5 shots.
Rory McIlroy (6/1) is World No.2 and is in red hot form with his last 3 tour events showing a 3rd, 1st and 2nd place finishes. He also wants to wipe out the memory of his horror final round 80 from last years tournament when he was 4 shots clear going into the final round.
Phil Mickelson (12/1) won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am in February, then lost in a play off a week later in the Northern Trust Open, and just last week he maintained the form with a 4th in the Shell Houston Open. And there is the added incentive of equalling Tiger on 4 Victories.
Luke Donald (16/1) is our current World No.1 Player and is coming off a play off Win in the Transitions Championship. He was also T4th here last year.
Lee Westwood (25/1) is the World No.3 and looking for his first Major victory. He has had Top 3 finishes in all four Majors within the last 4 years. He will be keen to break the drought.
Hunter Mahan (28/1) is in career best form this season with victory in the WGC Accenture Match Play in February and victory again last week in the Shell Houston Open. He is now World No.4.
You can then add in players like Justin Rose, Bill Haas, Brandt Snedeker, Johnson Wagner, Steve Stricker and Mark Wilson who have all won on the PGA Tour this season and you then realise just how hard it is going to be to win the Green Jacket in 2012.
Add to that list Defending Champion Charl Schwartzel, 2009 Champ Angel Cabrera, 2008 Champ Trevor Immelman and 2007 Champ Zach Johnson. Need I Go On!
With this much talent on offer this week we can expect to see some fantastic nail biting golf over the four days. The scenery alone will be worth watching on your TV as the course is looking fantastic as the ground staff have been busy with their final preparations.
Augusta National is considered a national treasure and is always listed in the Top 5 of everyones list of top courses in the world. They are always making changes to the course to keep up with technology. In 2001 the course was 6,925 yards and then lengthened to 7,270 yards. In 2006 it was lengthened again to 7,445 yards. The greens were originally Bermuda however they were also changed to Bentgrass in 1981, which resulted in a faster putting surface.
So what does it take to win at Augusta National?
Precise ball hitting is a must. With the steeply contoured greens it is imperative that you hit the ball to the right area of the green to allow for an easier putt. If you fail to do this you can expect to have difficulty in getting it up and down. In fact 3 putts wont be out of the question. Being able to avoid the 3 putts is very important, as pour putters do not win Green Jackets.
While length off the tee is important it is not as critical as some people make out. Yes, the Par 5’s are where you can make up the strokes over some players, however the Par 4’s are just as important.
Experience and Wisdom will also take you a long way at Augusta National. Not only experience on the course, but experience on the big stage, under pressure when it is all on the line. Winning a Major is not for the faint hearted. Just look at all the melt downs in Major history!
So now we come to our Selections for the week. I have decided to select three players who I believe can give us a good run for our money, some at longer odds than others.
So lets get the ball rolling with-
Phil Mickelson 12/1
With 19 starts in the Masters, Phil has a very impressive record with 3 wins (2004,2006,2010), 7 Top 3’s, 13 Top 10’s and only 1 missed cut.
He has had 8 starts this season with only one missed cut. He won the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro Am in February as well as a P2 in the Northern Trust Open and a T4th last week in the Shell Houston Open which has him in fine form leading into this week. He also has the added incentive of equalling arch rival Tiger Woods with 4 Green Jackets. He is currently ranked 2nd in Strokes gained Putting, 10th in Birdie average, 6th in Scrambling, 8th in Par 4 performance and 12th in Par 5 performance. I expect to see Phil in one of the last groups on Sunday.
Bill Haas 80/1
He had a stellar season in 2011 and finished it off with victory in the Tour Championship as well as claiming Fed Ex Cup. Bill was also a successful member of the Presidents Cup team that defeated the Internationals in Australia. He then brought that form into the new season with victory in the Northern Trust Open where he defeated Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley in a Play Off by sinking a 43 foot birdie putt. Prior to that he had a T4th in the Farmers Insurance Open. This will be his third visit to Augusta National where he was T42nd last year and T26th in 2010. By claiming the Fed Ex Cup last season he has grown in confidence and this will stand him in good stead at Augusta. On an each way basis I expect him to put in a good performance and show us why he is the current Fed Ex Champ.
Henrik Stenson 150/1
The Swede is considered a long shot for the Masters however a closer look at his current form shows signs that a good performance is not out of the question. With four starts on the PGA Tour this season he has recorded a T21st in the Honda Classic, T3rd Puerto Rico Open, T25th Arnold Palmer Invitational and T21 Shell Houston Open. With six starts at Augusta his best results have been T17th in 207, T17th in 2008 and T38th in 2009. He missed the cut in 2010 and 2011 however he was out of form due to injury and is now getting back to the form we know he can produce. His current stats are also very good with 6th in Scoring average, 1st in Scrambling, 8th in GIR inside 125 yards, 4th in Putting from 15-25 feet, 5th in Going for the Green and 1st in Scrambling from the rough. At the current odds he is well worth looking at closely.
Worth Considering:
Brandt Snedeker
Keegan Bradley
Robert Karlsson
