This is the Masters – the biggest and the best of all of the golf grand slams. Created in 1934, the Masters have become the Holy Grail of the sport and now every player in the world will do anything to win that Green Jacket.
Highlighting how difficult this tournament is to win, Australia has won just one Masters – Adam Scott last year.
So, with the tournament about to get underway, it’s time to outline who has the biggest chance of winning, starting with the defending champ.
Adam Scott
Adam Scott will enter the 2014 Masters hoping to become just the fourth player to successfully defend his title. He will join Tiger Woods, Nick Faldo and Jack Nicklaus if he is able to do so.
At the Champion’s Dinner on Tuesday night, Scott served fried Calamari, Australian Wagyu Beef and the Aussie classic Pavlova for dessert.
Scott is confident of his chances of collecting his second Green Jacket and the bookmakers seem to agree, listing him as the favourite.
I am not so confident. Don’t get me wrong, I love Adam. He’s a great ambassador for Australian golf and is very talented – he’s not the World Number 2 golfer for nothing.
However history shows us that defending champions almost never repeat at Augusta National and Scott will face stern competition from a number of stars, even allowing for the absence of Tiger Woods.
Adam Scott has been in patchy form to start the 2014 season. He has competed in five tournaments, gaining three top ten finishes, a twelfth place and a 25th. That 25th-placed finish came in the World Golf Championships in early March and was a particularly disappointing tournament for Adam, finishing five over par after the four rounds.
However he bounced back from this poor performance with an absolutely stunning performance at the Arnold Palmer Invitational just a couple of weeks ago, by delivering a tournament record 10 under in the first round.
Following a four under in the second round it seemed as though Scott had an unassailable lead and would stroll home to an easy victory over the weekend. However, this did not turn out to be the case.
He stumbled on Sunday, delivering a disappointing four over round that featured five bogies and eventually fell to third place. This brought back memories of the 2012 Open Championships and last year’s Australian Open in which he stumbled on the final day and on the final holes after being in a seemingly unbeatable position.
I fear that Scott’s inconsistency will cost him a shot at winning the 2014 Masters, however expect him to be in with a shot entering the weekend.
Jason Day
The second of seven Australians in this year’s Masters will be Jason Day. The bookmakers have Day as the third favourite for this tournament and he has admitted that he has a “target on his back”.
Having won the World Golf Championships Match Play title and finishing tied for second in his first ever Masters Tournament just three years ago, it is not surprising that he is seen as a genuine chance of winning the tournament.
After taking a one-shot lead into the 16th hole of the final round of last year’s Masters, Day is very comfortable at Augusta National and he always plays well at this course.
Unfortunately, Day has not competed in a tournament since he won the Match Play championships due to a thumb injury and this injury has the potential to derail his shot at a Green Jacket.
While it might seem like a minor injury, the thumb plays a key role in a golf swing. When making minor adjustments and attempting to finesse the ball into the hole, it is the thumb which makes these movements.
Additionally, when driving the ball, it is vital that the hands are steady and the club does not move when it comes into contact with the ball.
Lift your thumb off the club due to the pain of the impact and the ball could go anywhere. If his thumb is healthy, expect Day to feature heavily in the final round come Sunday afternoon. If not, who knows what will happen, but it might not be pretty.
Rory McIlroy
The Northern Irishman is a two-time Grand Slam champion however he has struggled in his five appearances at Augusta National, with a fifteenth place in 2011 being his best finish. This was a tournament in which he dominated until he fell to pieces in the final round and gave up a four-shot lead to finish ten off the pace.
The past two tournaments have seen McIlroy finish 40th and 25th and he has struggled to cope with the pressure of being labeled the next Tiger Woods.
McIlroy is another golfer who has been in patchy form leading up to the Masters, though much less patchy than his 2013 season. He came second at the Honda Classic in February and, in Houston just a week ago finished seventh, including a final round 65, which was a tournament best.
However mixed in with these top finishes are a 25th and a 17th.
In 2011 there was a reason he had a four-shot lead entering the final round. His game is suited to the fast greens and he is able to draw the ball, a vital requirement at Augusta National.
McIlroy definitely has the game to win his first Masters title, but does he have the mental fortitude? He is certainly much more mature than the 21-year-old boy who fell to pieces three years ago.
He has since won two Grand Slams and a Ryder Cup, has got engaged to a fellow sporting superstar and he has seemingly learned how to cope with the celebrity status that comes with being one of the best golfers in the world.
But until he holds a lead entering the final round at Augusta, we will never know if he has learnt from his mistakes or if he still suffers from the yips.
Phil Mickelson
Mickelson is the 43-year-old veteran who has won the Masters three times, most recently in 2010, and always seems to deliver at what is seemingly his favourite course.
His Masters resume makes for impressive reading, 46th as an Amateur, DNP, 34th, DNP, seventh, third, missed the cut, 12th, sixth, seventh, third, third, third, first, 10th, first, 24th, fifth, fifth, first, 27th, third and a disappointing 54th last year. He almost always performs at the Masters and judging by his Augusta results alone, you’d have to think that he will figure when push comes to shove on Sunday afternoon.
But if you took a look at his recent performances alone, you wouldn’t give him a punters chance of winning his fourth Green Jacket. He hasn’t placed in the top ten since August of last year. His performances have been very disappointing since his victory at The Open Championships in Scotland last July.
He has also been incredibly inconsistent, he finished 12th at the Houston Open last week, he missed the cut at the Texas Open two weeks ago, came 16th at the World Golf Championships in early March and missed the cut at the Honda Classic in late February.
Mickelson might be in a bit of a rough spot at the moment, but when it comes to the Masters, recent form can be thrown out the window. Mickelson’s historic form at Augusta National means that he is my pick to collect the Green Jacket after four rounds of gripping golf action.
While Mickelson is my tip for the victory, he will likely be threatened by Scott, Day and McIlroy along with a number of potential smokies, including 2013 runner-up Ángel Cabrera, Dustin Johnson and Spanish veteran Sergio Garcia.
Whoever it is, I look forward to a thrilling weekend of action. Hopefully it is an Aussie finishing in Green.
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