The PGA Tour heads to Georgia this week for the Masters. A field of 87 players will tackle Augusta National Golf Club, with the winner slipping into a coveted green jacket.
Be sure to join the all-new Golf Channel Fantasy Challenge - including a new One & Done game offering - to compete for prizes and form your own leagues, and log on to www.playfantasygolf.com to submit your picks for this week’s event.
Sergio Garcia won this event last year in a playoff over Justin Rose. Here are 10 names to watch in Augusta:
1. Jordan Spieth: There are players with more momentum this week, and perhaps fewer questions. But none can rival his recent history at Augusta National. Spieth cruised to victory here in 2015 and only last year finished worse than second for the first time. He showed just enough form in Houston to think that a second green jacket could be just around the corner.
2. Justin Rose: The pieces are all in place for Rose to get the victory that barely eluded him a year ago. The Englishman was a hard-luck runner-up to Garcia, two years after he was beaten only by a historic performance from Spieth. No one has been more consistent at Augusta over the last five years, and his putting now ranks 13th on Tour after he was outside the top 100 for years. Cracked the top five in both Tampa and Orlando last month.
3. Justin Thomas: Thomas came within one match of the world No. 1 ranking last month, and there’s plenty of reason to peg him as the top player in the world based on current form. The only knock against him is a relative lack of success at Augusta, where he has made the cut in both prior appearances but has yet to break 70.
4. Rory McIlroy: McIlroy’s standing on this list no doubt improved with his eye-popping final round at Bay Hill, where he got back into the winner’s circle and stamped himself as a serious contender as he tries for the fourth time to round out the career Grand Slam. He boasts four straight top-10s at Augusta National, albeit without any real chances to win any of those events come Sunday.
5. Dustin Johnson: It’s hard to believe that one year ago Johnson entered as one of the biggest Masters favorites in recent memory, only to withdraw minutes before the opening round. His back is not an issue this time around, and he’s still world No. 1 even if his romp at Kapalua feels like more than three months ago. Prior to last year’s WD, Johnson was T-4 here in 2016 and T-6 the year prior.
6. Phil Mickelson: Mickelson spent the whole spring talking about rounding his game into form for the Masters and ending his five-year victory drought before driving down Magnolia Lane, then he went and checked both boxes. A playoff win over Thomas in Mexico got the monkey off his back, and the three-time winner built plenty of momentum with a West Coast stretch that included three straight top-6 finishes.
7. Sergio Garcia: If it’s somehow possible for a defending Masters champ to fly under the radar, Garcia has found a way. One year after the Spaniard earned the biggest win of his career, he returns to Augusta a new man and a recent father. But the form that led him to victory last year is still there, as evidenced by recent top-10s in Mexico and Tampa.
8. Tiger Woods: The great debate is where to slot Woods on a list like this, but there’s no doubt that he merits consideration after a resurgent spring. Three straight top-12s have combined to give him his best prospect for jacket No. 5 since his ball caromed off the flagstick five years ago. Woods is now 13 years removed from his last Masters win, but he has had several brushes with contending over the weekend since.
9. Bubba Watson: Watson has become a hot commodity among Masters tips, with wins in both L.A. and Austin over the last six weeks to surge from fringe discussion to a spot among the betting favorites. He has two green jackets in his closet to attest to his ability to handle the demands of the course, not to mention a resounding victory in his most recent start. But Watson also has yet to finish better than T-20 at Augusta in seven trips outside his two wins.
10. Paul Casey: Like Mickelson, Casey shed a lengthy victory drought (on the PGA Tour) with his come-from-behind win last month in Tampa. The Englishman has been a regular contender at Augusta National, finishing T-6 or better each of the last three years, and he has finished T-13 or better in four of the last five major championships overall.
