Weather : First of all the weather for the next three days is hot and humid, then a little cooler on the weekend, with only 20% chance of rain Thursday, Friday and very little wind. After rain yesterday and last night the greens are softer than usual, and the course is playing long right now.
However with the superb drainage system at Augusta, the hilly terrain and the warm weather I expect to see a hard fast course come the weekend.
When I make these top 10 Masters picks for your pool sheets I look for guys in form, guys with good track records at Augusta, great iron players (2nd shot course), creative short games, good putters, guys with bottle (nerve).
Here are my ten, and any of them could win, or none for that matter !
1. Jordan Spieth With a win and two seconds in his last three outings he is in great form and of course his only appearance at Augusta was T2 last year. More important he seems quietly confident and unflappable.
2. Matt Kuchar Top finishes in 2015 include a T2 at the Humana Challenge and a T3 at the Sony Open earlier this year, He has been T5, T8 T3 in his last three trips to Augusta. Also Matt is so consistent, rarely makes a big number, he is completely under the radar here this week. Watch out for the smiling assassin..
3. Adam Scott has gone back to the long putter this week, T14, 1st T8 T2 in his last four trips, was T4 at Doral in a very limited schedule. I think his biggest loss has been caddie Stevie Williams on the bag for most of Tiger's wins and of course for Scott's win in 2013.
4. Rory McIlroy is not my first pick this week and I hope he proves me wrong. He is not in top form like JB Holmes, Speith and Walker, and his record in 6 tries at Augusta are not great although he was T8 last year and we all remember the meltdown in 2011. However, however folks if the driver is working like it did last summer, he is better than anyone in the field.. and that's not such a big if with Rory..
5 JB Holmes has just been brilliant all year. He won last week at the Shell Houston Open and before that finished second at the 2015 WGC-Cadillac Championship and 2nd at 2015 Farmers Insurance Open to Jason Day then had a T10 at the AT&T Pebble Beach. He has only played once at the Masters last year T25. He hits it long and high so seems suited for Augusta.
6. Jimmy Walker is as hot as anyone after 3 top 5 finishes including a win at the Sony to start the year then his win at the Valero 2 weeks ago he wisely withdrew from the Shell last week to prepare for Augusta. Walker seems to have found a genie bottle after nine so so years as a pro he has 5 wins in his last 36 starts, is amongst the leaders for the Fed Ex Cup, was solid for captain Watson at the Ryder Cup, hits it long and high, is paired with Tiger and was T8 in his only Masters last year. Must be considered a favourite.
7. Ryan Moore has also been solid all year and I have a funny feeling about him. His Masters record isn't that great although he was low amateur at -1 in 2005. He has a weird swing but moves the ball with a reliable draw, perhaps not as high a ball flight as Rory and the big boys.. He is paired with Tiger and Jimmy Walker and may well beat them both.. Hunch...
8. Jason Day is healthy again and in 4 appearances has been 2nd 3rd and T20 at Augusta. He won earlier at Torrey Pines this year and it's only a matter of time until he wins a major.
9. Bubba Watson I have to include in this ten because he simply over powers this course, is in my mind the most creative shot maker in golf and has been playing well this year. I don't think he will win just because he has already won twice in the last three years, but then Bubba lives in his own little world, and he may just stun not only us but himself again !
10. Henrik Stenson has not won a major, does not have a great record at Augusta (9 trips best finish last year T14) but he is just too good not to contend here. He drives the ball long and high, is perhaps the best long iron, fairway wood player in the game, great ball striker and iron player with a nice short game. Again a bit of a hunch..but with good reason...
There is so much parity in the game now, just consider all these names I could easily put in the top 10, not to mention a certain Tiger Woods who feels he is ready to compete again, and may just shock us all, although I think making the cut and playing all four days would be a reasonable result on his return to the game.
Dustin Johnson, Angel Cabrera, Paul Casey, Rickie Fowler, Sergio Garcia, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Patrick Reed, Brandt Snedeker, Bernd Weisberger, Keegan Bradley, Victor Dubuisson, Branden Grace, Martin Kaymer, Hunter Mahan, Gary Woodland, Charl Schwartzel, Jonas Blixt....
Bryan Angus
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