Masters 2014 Favorites...

[ztexz]

1. Zach Johnson

2. Jason Day

3. Harris English

4. Jordan Speith

5. Dustin Johnson

[Kieran123]

1. Rory McIlroy

2. Jason Day

3. Tiger Woods

4. Graham DeLaet

5. KJ Choi

[Foursum Golf]

No particular order:

Jason Day - seems to step up during the big events and plays well at majors

Dustin Johnson - has been in contention a lot this year

Zach Johnson - steady player, has shown success at Augusta

Bubba - hate to say it, but he's been hot and has done well at Augusta

Phil Mickelson - obvious

Matt Kucher - steps up when it counts, has had a decent year so far, has had decent finishes at Augusta

[saevel25]

Patrick Reed, cause I like his confidence

Rory, he's been playing well, vindication time

Dustin Johnson, playing well, might be his time

Bubba Watson, looked good couple weeks ago, and he's a LEFTY!!

Angel Cabrera, You get him at the US open or the Masters and he's always up there.

[Crim]

I'm just going to go with personal favorites...

1. Graeme

2. Rory

3. Donaldson

4. Reed (I want more Reed's ego twitter posts...)

5. Padraig (lol)

close favorites: Tiger, Victor

[albatross]

Dufner

Day

Bubba

Dustin

Dark Horse-   The Mechanic-  I seriously think this guy could pull it off. I know he hasn't really gotten it done on American soil and is getting old, but the guy has the game and mental make up to do it at Augusta.  How awesome would he look with the green jacket and a big stogie?

[9iron]

1....J.Day

2...Rory M.

3...Adam Scott

4...Bubba

5...D. Johnson

I like your picks, except remove Bubba and add in Zack Johnson.

[Jmdmbike]

Here goes:

Tiger Woods

Dustin Johnson

Jason Day

Sergio Garcia

Matteo Manassero

[Hammer 4]

I may be wrong, but didn't Jason Day withdraw from the Bay Hill event due to a broken thumb or something..?

[Spyder]

I seriously think Dufner will lock it up this year. I'm also backing my words with money, so he better not let me down lol.

[ChrisP]

I like the way Dufner's playing. He's been posting some good finishes of late. I usually bet the week of the Masters, but if I were to bet today, I'd prolly put a few bucks each on Zach Johnson and Phil Mickelson. Also can't go a Masters without mentioning Angel Cabrera's name as a guy to watch out for. No matter how he's playing coming in, he seems to always show up at the end. He's been in the final Masters pairing on Sunday in 3 of the last 5 championships.

[9iron]

I like the way Dufner's playing. He's been posting some good finishes of late. I usually bet the week of the Masters, but if I were to bet today, I'd prolly put a few bucks each on Zach Johnson and Phil Mickelson. Also can't go a Masters without mentioning Angel Cabrera's name as a guy to watch out for. No matter how he's playing coming in, he seems to always show up at the end. He's been in the final Masters pairing on Sunday in 3 of the last 5 championships.

I'll never forget that drive on 18 that he pushed only to have it bounce off a tree back to the middle of the fairway. They say you need some luck to win these majors.

[tmac20]

I seriously think Dufner will lock it up this year. I'm also backing my words with money, so he better not let me down lol.

I don't think he has good enough putting for Augusta. He looks so nervous standing over the 4 and 5 footers.

[Conrad]

Yeah Dufner really struggles with the flat stick under pressure. Add to that the bowling alley greens at Augusta and you've got issues. He's been at the top of the leaderboard the past few years after the first couple rounds and then fades. That putter gets heavy on the weekend.

I generally look at 3 factors that seem to always hold up at Augusta.

1. Course knowledge

Guys just don't win at Augusta without getting around there at least a few times before in their careers and not just practice rounds. You need a few years as a competing player to really learn the course. Angel Cabrera can get off the couch and contend nearly ever year at Augusta. Tiger and Phil are the same way. Freddie Couples always finds his way up the leaderboard early on. He knows the course better than most and it shows even if his back can't hold up for 4 days.

2. Putting/Short game.

You have to have that part of your game clicking on all cylinders that week. Guys like Lee Westwood and Hunter Mahan seem to always get exposed as the tournament goes on. You could catch lightning in a bottle for a week and get hot with that part of your game but usually guys with suspect short games fade on the weekend.

3. Shot Trajectory

Hit it high, hit it far and bend it both ways. Well I think the length part of that is a bit of an overrated aspect of what it takes to win at Augusta. Length helps on any course but if you've got other parts of your game on key then you can rely on wedge play and accuracy (ZJ, Immelman, Weir...). Guys who hit the ball high seem to always be at an advantage though. If you can hit towering iron shots into most of the greens you can stop it quicker than the guy who doesn't hit it quite as high. Tiger has been the perfect example of this. Rory, DJ and Keegan are all guys who hit moon balls with their irons. I think the most overrated formula for winning at Augusta is hitting a draw. Yes you should be able to draw the ball especially with the driver but most of the approach shots should actually be fades. Fades stop quicker and generally are easier to control the spin with. Jack hit a fade for most of his career and he dominated at Augusta. When Chamblee gets on his soap box and tells us Tiger will never win at Augusta again without a draw I just wanna puke.

[atb5079]

Yeah Dufner really struggles with the flat stick under pressure. Add to that the bowling alley greens at Augusta and you've got issues. He's been at the top of the leaderboard the past few years after the first couple rounds and then fades. That putter gets heavy on the weekend.

I generally look at 3 factors that seem to always hold up at Augusta.

1. Course knowledge

Guys just don't win at Augusta without getting around there at least a few times before in their careers and not just practice rounds. You need a few years as a competing player to really learn the course. Angel Cabrera can get off the couch and contend nearly ever year at Augusta. Tiger and Phil are the same way. Freddie Couples always finds his way up the leaderboard early on. He knows the course better than most and it shows even if his back can't hold up for 4 days.

2. Putting/Short game.

You have to have that part of your game clicking on all cylinders that week. Guys like Lee Westwood and Hunter Mahan seem to always get exposed as the tournament goes on. You could catch lightning in a bottle for a week and get hot with that part of your game but usually guys with suspect short games fade on the weekend.

3. Shot Trajectory

Hit it high, hit it far and bend it both ways. Well I think the length part of that is a bit of an overrated aspect of what it takes to win at Augusta. Length helps on any course but if you've got other parts of your game on key then you can rely on wedge play and accuracy (ZJ, Immelman, Weir...). Guys who hit the ball high seem to always be at an advantage though. If you can hit towering iron shots into most of the greens you can stop it quicker than the guy who doesn't hit it quite as high. Tiger has been the perfect example of this. Rory, DJ and Keegan are all guys who hit moon balls with their irons. I think the most overrated formula for winning at Augusta is hitting a draw. Yes you should be able to draw the ball especially with the driver but most of the approach shots should actually be fades. Fades stop quicker and generally are easier to control the spin with. Jack hit a fade for most of his career and he dominated at Augusta. When Chamblee gets on his soap box and tells us Tiger will never win at Augusta again without a draw I just wanna puke.

Good analysis. I really think ZJ has a nice shot this year. He certainly has the experience at this point, playing a little better this season, and he loves Augusta. For the shorter players, he is definitely one of my picks. I just feel Jason Day now has enough experience to win this. He has contended so many times, played real well this season and seems like the logical next great player to finally get a major. Augusta will fit for him this year.

[SteveBamford]

Some interesting observations here. Agree with the course experience line and I also think that players who have a high approach shot apex have a real advantage on the fast Augusta greens.  One thing I haven't read on this thread so far is how we think the unseasonal cold weather that Augusta has in February will affect the course.  With sub air systems you can see the greens still being fast, but the fairways?

5 from me in no particular order:

1) McIlroy

2) DJ

3) Dufner

4) Mickelson

5) Oosthuizen

[treebound]

Didn't something happen to a significant tree on one of the holes?  If so, and if it has or hasn't been replaced, does anyone think that will factor in at all?  Just curious.

[iacas]

Didn't something happen to a significant tree on one of the holes?  If so, and if it has or hasn't been replaced, does anyone think that will factor in at all?  Just curious.

I don't know if it's been replaced. The Eisenhower tree on 17.