The Masters is one of the most prestigious and honored golf tournaments of the year. It is played at Augusta National Golf Course and is one of the four majors on the professional golf circuit. Out of 90 professional golfers invited to play in the event, there are some that are clear favorites to win the signature green jacket and $1,500,000 prize.
Tiger Woods is a clear favorite to win the masters. There is a good reason for this; after all he has won this event already four times in his career. He has played this course many times with success which means he has a clear cut winning strategy at approaching this tough course. Woods knows all the ins and outs of the course, knowing when to be aggressive and when to play it safe. It should also be noted that Tiger has been on a hot streak lately. Out of the five tournaments he has played this year, he has won three of them. Woods’ swing has been in sync lately which has allowed him to have control over his golf ball and make it so he can work the ball around the tough obstacles Augusta National presents.
Another golfer to watch is the defending champion: Bubba Watson.Last year he showed that his game is good enough to win the tournament. Something that gives Watson an advantage over most of his opponents is his ability to hit the ball farther than most and still maintain accuracy. Although his swing may be unorthodox, it produces a ball flight that is high and makes the ball start out in the right or left direction and work its way back onto the fairway. This is helpful at Augusta, because not only are some of the holes long, but they also have pine trees standing in the way of the golfer and the putting green. With Watson’s ball flight, this should be no problem for him. Watson is also popular with the fans, which means many of them will be cheering him on. Watson can use this to build up momentum which can help his chances in defending the title.
Former world number one, Rory Mcllory also has a pretty good chance at winning it all. It is true that he hasn’t played his best golf this year and that he recently switched to new set of clubs, meaning that he isn’t completely comfortable with them yet. However, Mcllory always plays well at this tournament. After all, he did almost win it two years ago at the age of 21 years old. Mcllory has an excellent short game which is a necessity at Augusta National. His ability to get the ball from bunkers, rough and awkward lies onto the fast slopped greens and close to the hole will give him a great advantage. Also, now that he’s no longer the number one player in the world, there is less pressure on him to perform. This is good for him because he is still considered younger player that hasn’t had much experience handling the pressure and expectations from the outside world.
A lesser known player that one should consider when trying to pick the winner is Keegan Bradley. Few know that he has actually won a major; this means that he has the experience of playing on Sunday with the enormous pressure of closing the deal. Bradley is one of the best putters on tour. There is almost no other person that makes as many putts as he can from inside twelve feet. Something else that will end up helping him is the way he can control his iron shots. The weather this year on tour has already shown how unpredictable it can be. Bradley’s ability to hit the ball with a lower ball flight can help him persevere through the strong winds that are accustomed on the east coast. These things could end up helping him win a green jacket.
Even though the Masters is known for players making miraculous shots and historic comebacks from underdog players, one should consider these favorites when trying to predict the winner of the green jacket.
