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The Roar

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US Masters preview: Adam Scott to take it out, Jason Day to finish high

Adam Scott. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Editor
7th April, 2016
11

The US Masters is coming up this weekend, and with a strong Aussie contingent in the field, there’s serious hype building around the biggest of the majors.

Augusta, Golf’s most hallowed turf, hosts its 80th Masters, and even though Tiger Woods has withdrawn with injury, golf’s who’s who are participating.

The big three are there, and the form golfers are tipped to battle it out with them in a field of just 90.

Jason Day is favourite with the bookies, with former World No.1 Rory McIlroy and last year’s runaway winner Jordan Spieth right there alongside him.

However, they face stiff competition from the three men striking the ball most purely on tour right now – which at Augusta is crucial to getting chances on the slippery greens. Adam Scott, Henrik Stenson and Dustin Johnson, should their putts hit the mark, are in there with a shot.

Alongside them are 16 former Masters champions, and other key players like Branden Grace, Hideki Matsuyama, Ryan Moore and Louis Oosthuizen.

All in all, it’s shaping up as a great week.

Talk this week has been of Augusta National’s famously protective greenskeepers’ desire to ‘Spieth-proof’ the course, after the former No.1 fired an incredible 18-under last year.

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If they could make the greens any faster, then the word is they’ve done it. Holding chips and approaches close is going to be exceptionally difficult, and putting is going to be more giggle than hit – expect plenty of balls flying five feet past the hole, making for tricky two putts.

So, what should we expect over the four days every golf fan loves to get up early for?

The course
The amount of space Augusta National has left is quickly running out. No longer can they push the tees back to compensate for new club and ball technology hurting the pride of the club.

Amen corner is typically where players make their move, with the second shot at the par-five 13th, nicknamed Azalea, possibly the most famous shot in the sport. Play to the skinny green (lengthwise) or lay up in front of the creek.

This is make or break, though at an unimposing (by modern standards) 510 yards it’s an easy enough decision for most players who spank their drive.

The back nine presents reward for players who are dialled in, but can punish those who are wayward. The front nine is about survival – one of the toughest stretches on the PGA Tour.

While many Masters memories are made on the back nine, with the ‘will he, won’t he’ gambles and the water – so much water – Masters dreams are often crushed on the front nine on Thursday. It can be that tough.

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This year promises to be no longer, but slipperier after Spieth’s 2015 heroics. People who work at Augusta National are famously prickly when it comes to people tearing up their course, so the greens will be slick.

Players might even complain, but that will be half the fun for the viewer.

Form players
Jordan Spieth may have won last year, but he’s not ready to win right now. There’s too much not going right for the Texan at the moment.

Dustin Johnson is similar. He’s crushing balls off the tee, but making mistakes on his irons, and isn’t putting as well as he did to put himself right in contention at the US Open last year.

Bubba Watson, on the other hand, never seems to be out of form. That man knows exactly how far he slices it, and hits it high enough to take trees out of play. Unfortunately the enigmatic American has been sick early this week, although with Bubba it could be a blessing or a curse – he’s so consistent you just never know.

Henrik Stenson is another player hitting the ball solidly, and who has featured up the top of lots of leaderboard in the past 12 months, but is it Henrik’s time? I think not.

Rory McIlroy can’t exactly be termed a form player, but he is certainly on the way back after losing the number one ranking. His showing at the World Matchplay was not good enough to make the final, but good enough for fourth place.

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And for a roughie, I like European Tour stalwart Rafa Cabrera-Bello, who beat McIlroy for third at the Matchplay two weekends ago.

Aussies
Adam Scott, Jason Day and Marc Leishman have all been at the pointy end of Majors for the last 36 months, and are three of the most consistent players on tour. Cameron Smith will also feature after his performance at the US Open last year.

Scott is arguably the form player on tour right now. He won two tournaments in a row just a month ago, featured at the top of the boards in Jason Day’s win at the Arnold Palmer invitational, and had two top tens immediately preceding this. He’s rightfully at the top of the Fedex Cup leaderboard, and is my favourite to win the tournament.

Day is the other in-form man right now. After coming down with illness early in the season, leading to some uncharacteristically sloppy performances, Day has responded strongly. He chipped, pitched and putted his way to the World Matchplay crown in his last outing, and put on a clinic at the Arnold Palmer invitational three weeks ago.

Leishman is always around, but can’t seem to get that win. The big Victorian has the game, it’s just about whether he has the temperament to sustain it over four days in a major. It’s coming soon, and it could very well be this week.

Who to watch on the first day
With the coverage starting early in Australia due to the 24-hour Masters channel Fox Sports have going, Steven Bowditch will be off early tonight at 10:20pm. Scott’s off in the middle of the night, so you can probably kiss that one away unless you’re pulling a night shift somewhere. Leishman and Smith are also middle of the road.

But tomorrow morning is all about Jason Day. He’ll be off just before 3am our time, and will likely complete his round somewhere around 8am. So get up, have a coffee, and watch the highest player on tour around Amen corner.

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Who will win
I think Adam Scott will win, but as we know picking golf is a mug’s game.

So my two contingencies are Jason Day and Patrick Reed, and my smokies are Cabrera-Bello and JB Holmes.

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