It’s that time of year again, where the golfing world turns it’s eyes towards Augusta National Golf Course for the first Major of the year. The pristine grass, beautifully pruned flowers and tall majestic pine trees, lay home to the most anticipated tournament of the year. It signals the beginning of the Golfing year and coincides (usually) with the turning of the weather here in the UK, bringing with it the promise of longer days, sunny weather and a summer of Golf.

This year the tournament build up has been dominated by 2 things, as always Tiger is number 1 and this year he is joined by the emergence of LIV Golf and the players who have defected to the rebel tour. Tiger and Rory McIlroy have been vocal opponents of the the Saudi backed Golf League but LIV itself has some of the biggest names in the sport backing it. 18 of the players who will tee it up out of the 90 odd man field are now LIV Golf, and their taking part alone shows the calibre the league now comprises of. Only Major winners, Masters Winners, World Amateur Champions and the highest ranked players in the world get an invite to walk the famous fairways, so, just receiving an invite is proof that they are in the top echelons of the sport.

As always I’m incredibly excited, it is the only tournament I watch regularly unless Tiger is in contention or I have some time off to watch the British Open, I still have hopes to play there one day although I know I am a fair way from that at the moment. The tournament brings back memories of some of the amazing shots hit in previous years, everyone remembers where they were when Tiger chipped in on 16 and who can forget Phil’s shot out of the trees or Bubba’s miracle play-off win. One thing is for sure Augusta isn’t finished creating history, and who really knows who Scottie Scheffler will be helping into the famous Green Jacket?

That being said here’s my views on a few of the favourites, and a couple of players I think you should look out for and why:

• Scottie Scheffler- World number 1 for a good reason, his erratic looking footwork aside, he plays the game like a true great. Clutch around the greens and handles pressure seemingly as if he was born to do so, you can’t be far off if you decide to back Scottie. Only really worth it if backing as an outright winner on his own, I’ll be very surprised if we aren’t at least talking about him come Sunday evening (or Monday looking at the weather forecast). Also part of the late start times on Thursday and as a result could be sitting in the clubhouse by the time the bad weather hits on Friday.

• Rory McIlroy- I won’t pretend he’s my favourite player but there is no doubt he’s one of the leading players of his generation, as always talk is about whether he can complete the Career Slam. Usually a form player, Rory doesn’t really bring much into The Masters, a Missed Cut at the Players followed by a surprise Semi Final loss in the Match Play. However, a soft Augusta yielding lower scores will undoubtedly suit Rory, who has never won an event at worse than -14 to par. Some of his most famous wins have come around softened Major courses. I don’t think 2023 is his year to win, but a back door Top 10 with a low Sunday is pretty likely.

• Jordan Spieth- It looked at one stage as though Jordan would be the one to challenge Tiger’s record, he didn’t seem to miss inside 20ft and at one point actually lead the Approach Play stats. However, wayward misses off the tee and seeming loss of his ability to putt saw him slip down the rankings and out of contention for 2 or 3 years. Big swing changes followed and a win in 2022 seemed to signal he was back, only for him to fall out of form once again, 2023 though has seen him trending with numerous Top 10s, all that is missing is a win? Augusta has always been kind to previous Champions, seeming to rekindle form in players just for the week, course knowledge is a big factor and Jordan knows how to play here. He is my pick of the bigger names to have a good week.

• Brooks, DJ and Reed- As LIV rebels I have put them together, Brooks has found some of the form that saw him dominate for a 2 year period, a win in Orlando on Sunday saw him holing big putts and showing the sort of front running we became accustomed to. DJ is a previous Champion and Scoring Record holder for the Tournament, he has always been prestigious ball striker and when his Putter hots up he is very hard to beat. Reed it could be argued is the polar opposite to DJ, an average ball striker with one of the very best Short Games around, he showed some form in Orlando and as another previous winner he could be a good outside bet. If you got Brooks at 60/1 before his win on Sunday you’ll be sitting there quite smug I’d imagine.
• Morikowa, Zalatoris and Rahm- Quite a few people will have backed these guys, and I’ll probably end up being wrong but none of them are winning this week in my opinion. Collin changed Short Game coaches and has shown some glimpses but remains too one dimensional around the greens for me. Will has done well at Augusta before but I just don’t see him winning this week, he may well place but I think that’s as good as he’ll go. Rahm a few weeks ago was playing the best golf in the world, he has runs of serious form which are usually followed by a slight drop off and I think that’s what you’ll see from him this week.

Outside bets and lesser known players:

• Keith Mitchell- A beautiful Short Game, which is key around Augusta. If his Approach Play in on expect him to feature as a good E/W bet.
• Max Homa- Probably my favourite player on Tour at the moment, he’s turned into a future Major Winner in the past 18 months. Only Rory and Scottie can match his record over this period with numerous wins, primarily a Fader of the ball off the Tee, Augusta may not suit him but DJ and Trevino to name but 2 who have dispelled that famous myth before.
• Shane Lowry- It almost seems unfair to put Shane in this list as a Major Winner and Top 4 in 2022, but I also couldn’t leave him out. There is always one player who has a break through result the year before and goes on to Challenge for a run of years, I believe Shane could do that this year. Tough weather won’t faze him, having grown up in Ireland and his ability to control his ball flight is incredibly impressive. I wouldn’t be surprised to see his name once again in the top few come the back 9 on Sunday.
• Charl Schwartzel- My best outside bet, a previous winner who’s found some form on LIV. When injury free and playing well he remains a top top player, and I think he could surprise a few this week.

Notable mentions-

• Cam Smith, showed glimpses of form in Orlando having had a large amount of time off, you can’t discount the best golfer of 2022 though!
• Tiger, just being there is a miracle, he couldn’t go one better than 2019 could he? Ben Hogan survived a car crash and went on to win more Majors, one things for sure, the golfing world would go bonkers if he did.
• Bryson, Mr Par 67, if he turns up and shoots 4 level pars he wins, easy right?
• Sandy Lyle, I can guarantee one thing Sandy won’t be winning but he will be hanging up his clubs at Augusta and I can’t think of a better place to do it for the legendary Scot.

Come Monday or Tuesday, I’ll probably have to admit I was way off but that is my tips and reviews of some of the players I think will have good or bad weeks at Augusta, let me know your tips and here’s to a great week of Golf.

James