On Sunday night we’ll crown the 89th Masters champion from among a field of 95 players. We take a look at what storylines we might be in for and how history will be rewritten at the end of the 72 holes.
Most likely winner? This has been billed as a Scottie vs Rory show but Scheffler really should be out there on his own. He’s won two of the last three Masters, by three (which included a closing four-putt from nowhere) and four shots. When the World No.1 gets in with a sniff he’ll put the fear of god into everyone. He’s a closer with the most ridiculous attitude and, even with the Christmas Day injury, there’s very little that Scheffler can’t do.
Most unlikely winner? Jose Maria Olazabal and Mike Weir are propping up the betting while there are five amateurs in the field. You could probably write a line through around 50 of the field so the prospect of a big outsider rarely happens at the Masters.
The winner we’re not talking about? Russell Henley is the World No. 7 but many of us would struggle to be able to tell you five things about the American. However, his form at Augusta tallies with his rise in the game – MC-31-21-11-15-30-4-38 – so he’s only missed one cut and that came on his debut in 2013. His fifth win on the PGA Tour came at Bay Hill last month so he’s bang in form. He’s deadly accurate with the driver and does everything very well and, if he was 6ft 2in and with the looks of a film star, we’d all be talking about him a lot more. Plus he’s a Georgia native.
Best swansong win? Many of the greats were good enough to post one final Major victory when most had written them off – see Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods here and Phil Mickelson as recently as 2021 at the PGA. It might seem a little early in the piece but the likes of Sergio Garcia, who is quietly fancied by many this week, and Justin Rose would fit into this category. Both are in their mid 40s and both have enjoyed some big weeks at Augusta.
Historic winner? Should Brooks Koepka add a sixth Major then he would move two clear of Rory and alongside Nick Faldo, Phil Mickelson and Lee Trevino. Should Mickelson do the unthinkable at the age of 54 then he would move into very exalted company: Bobby Jones, Arnold Palmer, Gene Sarazen, Sam Snead and Harry Vardon.
Most popular winner? Wherever you are in the world then Rory McIlroy would probably be at the top of most people’s lists. The career Grand Slam is one thing, for many of us it would just be retribution for 2011. He’s too good to only have four Majors, then again he’s only 35 so is probably on course for how his career should play out.
Most unpopular winner? This is pretty subjective but Angel Cabrera is back for his first start since 2019 having spent much of the past few years in prison. It’s often forgotten that he could easily be a two-time champion at Augusta having lost in the play-off to Adam Scott in 2013.
Possible winning score? For the last four years the winning score has sat between 10 and 12-under. The outlier in recent times was Dustin Johnson’s 20-under winning total when the tournament was played in November. The weather looks to be playing ball so you would suspect that we might see one or two get to 13/14 under.
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