THE Masters has finally arrived – seven months after it was originally scheduled to take place – and Augusta is going to look a little different this time around.
Tiger Woods will finally get to defend his green jacket, but can he add to his 15 major championships?
At 25/1 he’s not a bad price, but there’s a reason he’s so long right now…
Woods missed the cut at Winged Foot and finished T72 at the Zozo Championship last month in his only two events of the new PGA Tour calendar.
And all the talk is about favourite and US Open winner Bryson DeChambeau.
Bulked-up DeChambeau has been on a rampage since packing on the pounds and breaking records off the tee.
And he’s even threatening to debut his new 48inch driver which he’s been carrying over 400 yards with in preparation.
His success has even seen Rory McIlroy and co trying to add swing speed to catch him up.
And while DeChambeau’s distance will be an advantage at Augusta National he may be too short a price at 15/2 to tempt you in.
SunSport’s David Facey tipped 30/1 Collin Morikawa at the PGA Championship earlier this year, and has given us his top picks for The Masters with odds correct at the time of publish.
Hot shots
Dustin Johnson
The world No 1 – who celebrated his £11.2m FedEx Cup win with stunning fiancee Paulina – may have benefited from his enforced break after being diagnosed with coronavirus.
He will be fresher than most at Augusta.
In sizzling form before his break, with five successive top six finishes, including a win at The Northern Trust, where he lapped the field.
Odds: 12-1
Jon Rahm
About time he took a Major by the scruff of the neck, and a tied fourth at Augusta in 2018 followed by another top ten finish last year suggests this is the course where he could do it.
Two wins since the shutdown ended, and also finished a close second in his final warm-up event.
Odds: 11-1
Live contenders
Patrick Reed
On the radar for a second Masters win since he bagged a World Golf Championship title in Mexico at the start of the year.
Looked the likely winner midway through the third round of the US Open, before suffering a meltdown.
Can’t see the same thing happening at Augusta.
Odds: 25-1
Xander Schauffele
It was a toss-up between him and fellow American Patrick Cantlay, and if the Masters had been down the road at East Lake, Schauffele would have been an even stronger fancy.
But the world No 7 could still go one better than his share of second at Augusta last year.
Odds: 14-1
Outsiders
Lanto Griffin
A deadly putter who seems to have the ideal temperament for Augusta – probably inherited from his ‘hippy’ parents.
Last year’s Houston Open winner was right in the mix among a world class field at the Zozo before slipping back with a closing 72.
That experience will have toughened him up.
Odds: 150-1
Abraham Ancer
The fearless Mexican has not added to his 2018 Australian Open win, but three runner-up finishes on the PGA Tour in the last 15 months suggests his next victory cannot be far away.
He has moved quietly to the brink of the world’s top twenty, and will hold nothing back at Augusta.
Odds: 80/1
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