2007 Masters Predictions

The 2007 Masters begins today. It’s a great day to be a golf fan! (On the other hand, it’s not so great to be the spouse of a golf fan.) The season’s first men’s major championship has arrived, and everyone has a clean slate as far as predictions go. The Sand Trap staff members are included in this group and have once again voiced our opinions in what has become a tradition for us come majors time.

This year, Tiger Woods will be attempting to win his fifth green jacket and third straight major while Phil Mickelson will be trying for his third green jacket in four years. The spotlight will be on those two golfers for the most part, but there are plenty of guys talented enough to win this time around.

Were any of us brave enough to pick against Tiger? If so, who did we pick to knock off the world’s best? Finally, which golfers may sneak up on the field and contend, and what are our opinions of the ever-changing Augusta National? All this and more can be found below. If you have anything to add, please comment below or discuss it in the forum. Now let’s get this show on the road!

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Thoughts on the Course

Erik J. Barzeski
Who cares, I get to watch it in HD this year! I hear it’s going to be spectacular…

Too bad the ruination of the course continues, or at least has not reversed course (no pun intended). Lengthening the course – that’s fine. But I do have a problem with the bastardization of the “St. Andrews” theme Bobby Jones and Alistair MacKenzie originally dreamed up – a wide open course without much (or any) rough that rewarded shots played from the proper angle. The inclusion of rough – let alone all the trees blocking spectator viewing angles and crowding the driving areas – were awfully stupid mistakes. Here’s to hoping that in future years Billy Payne realizes the error of Hootie’s ways, but for now, I enjoy watching many, many other golf tournaments more than I enjoy The Masters.

Donald MacKenzie
I’ve seen some of the players this week say that the changes that seemed so jarring over the last couple years don’t feel so foreign anymore. I don’t care. It still pains me to see rough on this golf course. I don’t care if the winner shoots 30-under. This is one course, one week of the year, where I want to see these guys play bombs-away golf, then see who’s putting the best to determine the winner. Maybe new Augusta National Chairman, Billy Payne, will reverse some of this foolishness. But seeing Augusta with rough is like seeing condos lining the Old Course at St. Andrews.

Jeff Smith
One of golf’s most exclusive and best known courses, Augusta National will prove again that it is a formidable challenge. Its slick greens and perplexing angles will prove difficult to master.

Cody Thrasher
Augusta National has changed a lot in recent years, but the winning scores haven’t changed very much in the process. Some years, the winning score creeps into the teens, and sometimes it stays around even par. The only thing I care about is how good of shape it’s in, and we already know that it looks phenomenal once again. The length of the course will take some of the shorter hitters out of the tournament early, but we should be used to that by now. Amen Corner will wear down the world’s best, and the final few holes will provide a ton of excitement. Some things never change, and that’s a good thing in this case.

Dave Koster
I feel about the same about Augusta National as I did last year. At least they didn’t make it longer and easier for Tiger to win.

Jack Waddell
These days when I think of Augusta National, I think it’s a shame. It’s a shame they’ve tricked up the course with extra length, ridiculously narrow fairways, and the euphemistic “second cut” of rough. Instead of protecting the course from the bombers, they’ve made it a bomb-and-gouge paradise. Too many great players no longer have a chance. It’s just a shame. So shame on Hootie Johnson.

Alan Olson
I wasn’t a big fan of the changes made to the course in the last few years. Now it’s just a tricked-up cousin of the U.S. Open.

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Winner and Score

Erik J. Barzeski
Tiger woods, 276 (-12). He could win his 19th major as early as the 2008 British Open (I’m not saying he will), and he’s in rare form right now. He Tiger Slammed here in 2000-2001, and he may be gearing up to do it again at Oakmont. Plus you know Tiger really wants Lefty to put that jacket back on his shoulders.

Donald MacKenzie
Tiger Woods at 11-under (277). Sure, I could try to be fancy and pick Henrik Stenson or Stuart Appleby. But the fact remains that this is Tiger’s course for at least another 15 years, and betting against him at Augusta is a losing proposition over time. I’ll play the odds this year.

Jeff Smith
Tiger Woods, 279 (-9).

Cody Thrasher
Ernie Els, 277 (-11). Els has been knocking on the door this season and has knocked on the door many times in his career at The Masters. The Big Easy has the game for Augusta, but can he somehow find a way to outlast Tiger and Lefty to get his prized green jacket? I’m betting on it.

Dave Koster
Tiger Woods at -13 (275). Phil will have to put the green jacket back on Tiger.

Jack Waddell
Duh! Tiger Woods at 279 (-9). While he’s run a little hot and cold this year, he is simply fearsome in majors. They are the point of his existence. In a championship that has devolved into a contest of driving length and putting skill on scalped greens, no one has the skill set to match Woods.

Alan Olson
Adam Scott with a score of 279 (-9). Yes, I am quite insane.

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Dark-Horse Winner

Erik J. Barzeski
Arron Oberholser. He’s come back from an injury this year and his controlled game off the tee (with some length) as well as his solid short game could keep him in contention.

Donald MacKenzie
Ernie Els. The Aging Easy hasn’t gotten it done at Augusta, where he should really have at least a couple wins. If he could pull it off this year, after making wholesale equipment changes, that would be a big surprise. Maybe Phil Mickelson will have the Callaway Golf guys teach Ernie the two-driver platoon system.

Jeff Smith
Henrik Stenson. As I’ve said before, it wouldn’t surprise me in the least to see Stenson grab a win at a major this year. He’s playing well and could very well sneak one out.

Cody Thrasher
Steve Stricker. Stricker has the perfect golf game for major championships. He is a little short off the tee for Augusta National, but his gritty short game should put in him prime position to contend. I’ll be very surprised if Stricker doesn’t finish in the top 10 this week.

Dave Koster
Justin Rose. He’s enjoying a great start to the season and there isn’t a better place to win your first major than at Augusta.

Jack Waddell
Tiger has proven himself human on a few occasions this season. Should such a lapse occur at Augusta, I suppose somebody has an outside chance. Among the small group of players I see contending, Vijay Singh gets my vote. He’s been playing very well, he’s won here before, and he’s capable of getting it done.

Alan Olson
Steve Stricker. He played well last week and is from my home state.

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Biggest Disappointment

Erik J. Barzeski
Phil Mickelson is all over the place. He’ll make the cut, but won’t be in serious contention Saturday or Sunday.

Donald MacKenzie
The weather. No, not at Augusta. The northern part of the country, which was teased with some great spring weather, is going back into the deep freeze for the rest of the week. It’s just plain cruel to make us watch the Masters when it is hovering around freezing outside. Do what you want with us in March, Mother Nature, but once Masters Week rolls around it’s time to let us get out on the golf course!

Jeff Smith
Adam Scott’s short game will prevent him from taming the Augusta beast.

Cody Thrasher
Adam Scott has one of the prettiest swings in the world, but his short game stinks compared to Tiger, Ernie, Lefty, etc. A sub-par short game isn’t the recipe for success at Augusta National. Sorry youngster, maybe the British Open or PGA Championship will suit you a little better.

Dave Koster
Jim Furyk. One of my favorite golfers, but he’s had a couple fourth-place finishes and a sixth… and that’s it. Furyk has never really been “in it” at Augusta. I’ll be pulling for him, but I’m thinking a T-22 is about where he’ll finish on Sunday.

Jack Waddell
It has to be Phil, the defending champ. It’s my opinion the weight loss and conditioning in the off season are hurting him, at least in the short term. His swing depends on exquisite timing and, so far this year, that timing is way off because his body is just different enough now. He can carry a dozen drivers this week, but he won’t contend.

Alan Olson
Retief Goosen will not make the cut.

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Largest Surprise

Erik J. Barzeski
An amateur golfer will appear on he leaderboard midway through Sunday, but won’t pull out a top-10 let alone a victory. A short hitter will again finish in the top three at Augusta this year, as Mike Weir, Chris DiMarco, and Tim Clark have shown is possible.

Donald MacKenzie
That Arnold Palmer finally consented to become an Honorary Starter. Deep down, there’s still a part of Arnie that thinks, “You know, if I could find a couple more yards off the tee and make a few putts, I could still give those young guys a run for their money.” (Don’t think Jack Nicklaus doesn’t feel this way, too.) I’m glad that he’s decided to fully embrace the role of elder statesman, and I hope we see Arnie (soon to be joined by Jack and Gary Player) striking a ceremonial tee ball for years to come. I’ve missed watching Byron, Sam and Gene starting the proceedings these last few years. Having a ceremonial starter is a great reminder of the traditions of the Masters.

Jeff Smith
Aaron Baddeley will be in the hunt on the weekend. It will be his best major championship finish to date. He’ll begin to be viewed as a future major winner.

Cody Thrasher
The lack of star power on the first page of the leaderboard when Sunday rolls around will be surprising. Tiger, Ernie, and Henrik Stenson are all set to contend this week, but all the other top-10 golfers will have trouble taming Augusta National. Look for names like Stricker, Baddeley, Olazabal, etc. to appear on the first page of the leaderboard this year.

Dave Koster
Brett Wetterich will finish in the top 10 in his first Masters appearance. He was nearly my dark-horse pick. Wetterich has the length to compete at the “new” Augusta, and the rest of his game is very good and compliments his length well. Keep your eye on the new guy.

Jack Waddell
I think it’s going to be the lack of success by the South African contingent. Neither Ernie nor Retief are playing well. Ernie hasn’t adjusted to his new Callaway sticks, and Retief is in a slump so deep he’s unrecognizable. Trevor Immelman, with one missed Masters cut under his belt, may improve, but won’t contend. Tim Clark won’t reprise his second place finish last year. Rory Sabbatini’s brain will implode from the tortoise pace at Augusta before he ever puts on a green jacket. And that’s too bad, because I like them all, save Sabbatini.

Alan Olson
2006 U.S. Amateur Champion, Richie Ramsay, not only makes the cut but comes in with a top-ten finish.

Photo Credits: © Andrew Redington/Getty Images, Unknown.