Augusta, Ga.– Rory McIlroy And collin morikawa Recovering from back injuries.
world number 1 golfer Scotty Scheffler She has a new baby and hasn’t played in about a month.
For those and other reasons, the 90th edition of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club feels more open than others.
“It makes this event a little more special and makes it even more fun to go out there and play against the best,” the 2018 Masters champion. patrick reed Said.
Does this year’s Masters feel more open than it has in the past?
Mark Schlabach: Scheffler has not been as impressive, and McIlroy and collin morikawa to pass struggling with back injuriesSo it feels like it’s open. I think there may be 10 to 12 golfers who can win the green jacket this week, and the previous major champions mentioned above may not even be favorites due to their injuries and long layoffs.
Maybe these are the stars of the LIV Golf League john rahm Or Bryson DeChambeauOr former Masters champion Reed, who left the Saudi Arabia-financed circuit before the season and is returning to the PGA Tour this autumn. Reed has five top 10s at Augusta National since 2018, tied with Rahm. xander schaufele And cameron smith for most.
“I feel like with how deep golf has gotten, especially in the last year-two years, that the fields are obviously getting a lot stronger,” Reed said. “I think this week’s field is really strong as ever. I feel like before it used to be five or six, maybe seven guys. I definitely feel like this year you have 10 to 12 guys that have a really legitimate chance to win the green jacket.
“It makes this event a little more special and it makes it even more fun to go out there and play against the best.”
Schauffele is playing as well as any player on the PGA Tour and could win his third career Grand Slam. The same could be done by Morikawa, who was playing brilliantly before his injury, and brooks koepkaWhich has already won five major championships.
Paolo Ughetti: Here are the world rankings of each player who has won each of the last seven Masters Tiger Woods In 2019: 6th, 1st, 14th, 1st, 3rd, 1st, 2nd.
In other words, over the past decade, the tournament has consistently produced high-level winners. And notably, over the last four years, Scheffler, Rahm and McIlroy have all been among the week’s top favorites.
This year feels different. Yes, Scheffler is still in trouble, but his form has dropped from a bit from historic to actually good. McIlroy hasn’t played his best so far this season and is still in the honeymoon phase after his dramatic win last year, and Rahm has played great golf on the LIV but has played poorly in majors the past few seasons.
It feels as if there is a void ready to be filled this year by some random winner or some unexpected player who has shown form so far this season. i.e. players like cameron young, jacob bridgeman, matt fitzpatrick And Akshay Bhatia And chris gotterup –All of them have won a competition this season. In fact, it feels as if there is someone in the top 25 of the Official World Golf Ranking this year – Patrick Reed! – Sunday is a real opportunity to wear a green jacket. We may be late getting a slightly unexpected winner, but it could also mean we get a tournament with a lot of big names contending going forward.
Is Scotty Scheffler still a favorite?
Schlabach: If Scheffler gets his form back, I think he’s still the player to beat at Augusta National. He won his first start of the season at American Express on January 22, then posted consecutive top-five finishes at Phoenix and Pebble Beach, California.
Yes, Scheffler’s swing didn’t look good in two starts during the Florida swing, but that’s not why he finished 56th. He tied for 24th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and 22nd at the Players. Because he couldn’t make the top 10, many people are wondering what’s wrong.
Now Scheffler’s wife, Meredith, has gave birth to her second sonRemy, who was born on March 27, will probably have a clearer and more focused mind.
Yes, Scheffler’s ballstriking metrics haven’t been that good the last few seasons. He ranks 82nd in strokes gained: points on tour (.080); He was the first in that state to enter each of the last three Masters.
But his putting lights are out. He ranks 17th on Tour in strokes gained (.547) and has gained strokes on the green in each of his last 12 starts. It’s scary for the rest of the area.
Ughetti: Literally, figuratively, spiritually and actually – yes, Scheffler is still a favorite and should be. We’re making mistakes and shrugging when we look at what he’s done this year, but the world No. 1 has essentially set such a standard for himself.
As I mentioned above, apart from perhaps Reed, there is no other player with Augusta experience and recent form who can even make a case for Scheffler being a close favorite.
Make no mistake: Scheffler has not looked like his dominant self. Their efforts paid off: The outlook numbers are far worse than in recent years, which is worrying. And there was also a clear undercurrent of frustration when he played below his standards. And yet, Augusta is Scheffler’s happy place and there’s no better week than this.
What do you expect from DeChambeau and Rahm this week?
Schlabach: DeChambeau won his last two starts at the LIV Golf League in Singapore and South Africa, and I think he will be highly motivated to play well this week.
McIlroy played mind games with him in the final round last year, and it seemed as if DeChambeau’s 3-over 75 over the final 18 holes had taken him out of the mix.
After struggling at Augusta National early in his career, DeChambeau was in the top 10 after each round at the last two Masters – the only other golfer to do so was Scheffler. He’s figured out how to attack the course, and I’d be surprised if he’s not in the hunt again this week.
Ughetti: Rahm may be the hottest player at the Masters this week. He has been performing brilliantly at LIV (one win and no worse than a fifth-place finish in five events) and yet it is unclear how much his form will or might change at a place like Augusta.
Rahm’s major record since moving to LIV has been mixed – he has three top-10 finishes, one missed cut and two finishes outside the top 30. Here, the two-time major champion has finished T-45 and T-14 since his win in 2023.
It would be foolish to count Rahm out at Augusta, especially with her game trending in the right direction. For him, winning a second green jacket will go a long way in cementing his place among the top players in the game.
How do you think the course will go this year?
Schlabach: Everything has been dry in Georgia for a few months, so I’m sure the greens are holding firm – and they’ll only get sharper if that’s what Augusta National wants this week.
“I think speed on the greens will be as important as ever, because they will be firm and fast,” Schauffele said. “To keep three putts off the card is a big accomplishment. I think that’s always a big goal at Augusta. Then positioning.
“If you can be really disciplined, make sure your good shots are great, but make sure your bad shots are in the right spots, that’s how you need to play to stay in contention on this property, and I think everybody knows that. The hard part is to do that.”
Ughetti: It’s early, but we could be bracing for a firm and fast Masters. There is no rain forecast and the course already appears to be quite bouncy and dry.
Smith said, “I think the course is in good condition, and it’s pretty firm already. It looks like the grass is really filled in. It’s always in good condition here, but it feels like there’s a little more grass right now.” “It’s a little stuffy, and there’s no rain in the forecast. They can really do whatever they want, I think. It’ll be firm and fast, I think.”
Players are expecting the courses to only get stronger, faster and more challenging. Over the weekend, with the weather set to reach the 80s, we can expect a good performance not from any player, but from the course itself. Accordingly the cream should reach the top.
choose sleeper for the week
Schlabach: Bhatia is only 24, but he’s already a three-time winner on the PGA Tour, most recently at the Arnold Palmer Invitational on March 8.
Now ranked 19th in the world, Bhatia has the skills to win the green jacket. He ranks sixth on the tour in strokes gained: total (1.646), eighth in approaches (.792) and 10th in putting (.730).
He has also performed well at some major events over the past few seasons, finishing 16th at the 2024 US Open and 13th at The Players in March.
Additionally, three left-handed golfers have won the Masters – Phil Mickelson, bubba watson And mike weir. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Bhatia become the fourth. If not this year, then sometime in the near future.
Ughetti: Are we sleeping a little on Koepka, the renowned head hunter? Tellingly, since Koepka won the 2023 PGA Championship and finished T-2 at Augusta that year, he has not been able to finish in the top 10 of any major in his last 10 attempts, including missing three cuts at majors last year.
Koepka, now back on the PGA Tour, has slowly regained his form. He missed the cut at the Houston Open but had finished in the top 20 in his last three matches before that. It would be a bit of a surprise if Koepka wore the green jacket on Sunday, but there’s certainly a way for it.
As far as long shots are concerned, how about jason day (+10000)? He finished eighth last year and has been hovering at the top of the leaderboard on tour recently.
