78th Masters Tournament
Augusta National Golf Club; Augusta, GA USA
Purse:  $8,000,000
Champion: $1,440,000; FedExCup Points:  600

This week the golf world descends on Augusta National Golf Club for the 78th playing of the Masters.  With all due reverence to the Christmas holiday season, the Masters Tournament (to golf fans) is “the most wonderful time of the year”.  The tournament suffered a substantial blow however when four-time champion and World Number One Tiger Woods announced that he would not be playing this year due to recent back surgery.  While the show will certainly go on, not having Tiger in the field (for the first time since 1994) has cast a shadow on the season’s first major championship.  Tiger will be sorely missed.  Even Phil Mickelson (as difficult as it may be to believe) noted missing Tiger in the field this week.  Speaking of Mickelson, the three-time Masters champion looks to add a fourth green jacket this week, joining Woods and Arnold Palmer as the only four-time winners, trailing only Jack Nicklaus with six.   

Tournament Notes

• Defending Champion:  Adam Scott; Runner-up:  Angel Cabrera
• 49 of the top 50 in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) are in the field of 97.
• Past champions are eligible for life; 19 are competing this year including: Scott, Bubba Watson, Charl Schwartzel, Phil Mickelson (x3), Angel Cabrera, Trevor Immelman and Zach Johnson.
• 24 first-timers including six amateurs.
• Cut is top 50 and ties and anyone within 10 shots of the lead.
• Course yardage:  7,435 yards; Par 72 (36-36)
• Weather forecast:  Perfect.  Low to mid 70s, warming to low 80s on Sunday.  Only Saturday is showing a slight chance of precipitation at 10%.  Winds light and variable all four days.

Ten Names to Watch (OWGR/Odds):

• Rory McIlroy (OWGR #9; 10/1) – Runner-up in Abu Dhabi and the Honda Classic this season.  T7 last week at the Shell Houston Open closing with a final round 65.  Five previous Masters trips with no Top-10s and a missed-cut in 2010.  Best finish was T15 in 2011. 

• Adam Scott (#2; 10/1) – Defending champion and has three straight Top-10s at Augusta.  Has another chance this week to overtake Woods as world number one.  Last three PGA Tour starts:  T12 at Honda; T25 at WGC-Cadillac and solo 3rd at Arnold Palmer.  Scott led the Arnold Palmer after 18, 36 and 54-holes but faded to a final round 76. 

• Phil Mickelson (#5; 12/1) – Reigning Open Championship champion and three-time Masters champion (most recently 2010).  Was in final Sunday pairing in 2012, ultimately finishing T3 but ballooned to a T54 here last year.  Injuries have caused Mickelson to withdraw (WD) from two tournaments this season (Farmers Insurance and Valero) but played all four rounds last week finishing T12 at Shell.  Interesting enough, Mickelson has yet to register a Top-10 in nine 2013-14 PGA Tour starts.    

• Jason Day (#4; 14/1) – Played in third-to-last pairing in 2013 and 2011 Masters (WD in 2012), finishing solo-3rd and T2 respectfully.  Last seen on Tour winning the WGC Accenture Match Play.  Has been inactive since due to injury.  Inclusive of the Match Play, has only made three starts to his 2014 season.  Aussies are a hot ticket though, winners of three of the last four and four of the last eight PGA Tour events.

• Matt Kuchar (#7; 18/1) – Kuchar has had an afternoon pairing in each of the last four Masters’ Sundays.  Third-to-last pairing in 2013 (finishing T8) and third-to-last pairing in 2012 (finishing T3).   Comes into this Masters edition in excellent form finishing T4 two weeks ago at Valero and solo-2nd last week at Shell.

• Sergio Garcia (#6; 20/1) – T8 at last year’s Masters ended an eight-year Top-10 drought for Sergio at Augusta (his last being a T4 in 2004).  However, he is on some string of great play having finished in the Top-20 or better in his last 13 consecutive starts worldwide.  Included in those were victories in Thailand (Asia Tour) and the Qatar Masters (European Tour).  Many pundits have stated that Garcia will benefit most this week from Tiger’s absence.   

• Brandt Snedeker (#19; 33/1) – Off to a slow start to his season with only one Top-10 in nine events.  Has not played since the Arnold Palmer but closed there with a 68 en route to a T8.  Was in final Sunday pairing in last year’s Masters, but shot 75, eventually finishing T6 (his third straight Top-20 Masters finish).  Also had a T3 in 2008 which included a final round 77.

• Jason Dufner (#16; 33/1) – The bigger the tournament the more this guy gets left out of the conversation.  Not sure why.  T4 in the last two US Opens and won the 95th PGA Championship last year.  Last three PGA Tour starts:  Sweet 16 at the WGC Match Play (finishing T9); T9 at WGC-Cadillac; and T14 at Valspar.  Three-for-three in made cuts at the Masters with a positive trend T30, T24 and last year’s T20.

• Lee Westwood (#37; 40/1) – Westwood has zero Top-10s in eight PGA Tour starts this season but is coming off four rounds of par or better last week at Shell finishing T17.  Has three Top-10s in his last four Masters starts including runner-up in 2010, T3 in 2012 and T8 last year.  His worst finish in his last four Masters is T11 in 2011.

• Angel Cabrera (#83; 50/1) – Has missed four of six cuts to start his PGA Tour season with his best finish (T43) coming last week at Shell.  Runner-up at last year’s Masters losing in a memorable playoff to Adam Scott.  2009 champion was also in the final Sunday pairing in the 2011 Masters eventually finishing solo-7th.  Has 51 professional wins worldwide.    

My Golf Channel Fantasy picks:  Group 1:  Sergio Garcia; Group 2:  Brandt Snedeker; Group 3:  Lee Westwood; Group 4:  Fred Couples