Choosing 10 storylines for the Masters is like choosing a single March Madness memory as your favorite. Sitting there on the fringes of each list are a plethora of other choices that are so good that not only could they make the cut, they could top it.
But because scarcity creates value or so I was told in college economics , I've limited myself to 10 narratives as jumping off points for the 82nd Masters.
Most are obvious hello, world , but some might not be if you haven't been paying attention for the last few months. Let's start where we always start when it comes to golf and the Masters , the Big Feline's den. Want to watch the Masters this week? The final piece of Tiger Woods' Masters comeback : So far we have seen Woods compete in five different events this year.
He has truly contended in two of them and scared the top of the leaderboard in two others. I haven't seen anything to prevent me from thinking that he can vie for and feasibly win a major championship, but with this appearance at Augusta National, the comeback resume will officially be complete. If Woods becoming the Vegas favorite for this tournament is startling, the fact that he hasn't won a green jacket in nearly 15 years should be even more so. Not that he hasn't had chances. Since beating Chris DiMarco in , Woods has seven!
However, he has only played this tournament one time since That was when he finished T Tiger has been a total thrill so far in , a far cry from what many of us probably including him thought he would be in his return.
It's not that I didn't think he would be good -- his institutional knowledge of this sport is worth several strokes per tournament -- it's that I didn't think he would be averaging over yards off the tee and be ranked third on the PGA Tour in club head speed. The short game is tidy, too -- Woods is ranked in the top 20 in strokes gained around the green and with his putter. Thus far in Woods' comeback, it hasn't really mattered that he hasn't won. It's only mattered that the on-ramp to Augusta has been rife with green lights all over the place.
Invites are also extended to the amateur champions from certain countries and regions, among other categories.
Below is a list of qualifiers by category. Christian McCaffrey is healthy and playing, but he isn't the top-ranked RB this week! D'Ernest Johnson has a great opportunity to flex his skills with the Browns' depleted at running back.
England leads Poland by three points and has a healthy goal-differential advantage entering the final group game. Stenson -9 F -2 T5 R. Leishman -8 F -2 T10 T. Finau -7 F -6 T10 D. Johnson -7 F -3 T12 C. Hoffman -6 F -5 T12 L.
Oosthuizen -6 F -3 T12 J. Rose -6 F -3 T15 P. Casey -5 F -7 T15 R. Henley -5 F -5 T17 J. Paul Casey T4 in : Casey has three straight top-six finishes, which is a thing I had to stare at for five minutes to confirm. Again, three straight top-sixes! That's a Spieth-ian number.
The difficult part to reconcile is that Casey, even after taking the Valspar Championship in March, only has two wins on this side of the pond in his career.
Still, he's playing some of the best golf of his life and could force Augusta National to rethink what type of material it uses to make the forearm sleeves in its jackets. Adam Scott Won in : Scott has finished in the top 20 in six of the last eight years at the Masters including a win.
It's almost always a question of putting when it comes to Scott, though, and he noted at the end of that he's going to go to the not-anchoring style of putting that certainly looks like anchoring used by Bernhard Langer and Scott McCarron.
Thomas Pieters T4 in : Pieters had a tough post-Masters , but I'm still purchasing stock and the exchange rate is solid. His length and ball flight off the tee are ideal for Augusta National. He predictably played the par 5s in 9 under last year when he finished top five. If he plays the other 56 holes in even par, he's in a playoff.
Star to superstar. Marc Leishman T4 in : There's a bit of a misnomer maybe just by me? The reality? He only has four top 10s at majors, and only one of those has come outside The Open.
His T4 in when he played with eventual winner Adam Scott late on Sunday is his best finish at Augusta. And yet it's still easier for me to see him winning on Sunday than most of the guys on this list. Props to Leishman for having the reputation that probably outpaces his reality. Tommy Fleetwood Cut in : His game shapes up better for one of the opens, but his form hasn't changed since last year's career breakout.
I'm not sure the hair and blade collar would play at the Champions Dinner, but he'd be an awesome winner. Charl Schwartzel Won in : Schwartzel only has two top appearances in eight tries, but one was a win and the other was a solo third behind Justin Rose and Sergio Garcia in Wait, Schwartzel finished solo third last year?!
That's right. After opening with a 74, the South African shot on the weekend to fall three shots shy of a playoff. I wouldn't wager on him, but he's at least in the conversation. Patrick Cantlay T47 in : Remember the name because you're going to be saying it for a long time. I remember as a patron watching Cantlay hole out for eagle in on the first nine back when he was low am as a student at UCLA. The labels have changed for both of us , but his game has only gotten better.
Tony Finau First appearance : He probably won't win in his first appearance, but I think he has the best shot of the first-timers. Course plays to a par 69 with his length -- currently averaging over yards off the tee, which is No. Like, really hot. Henrik Stenson T14 in : It's amazing to me that Stenson has never finished in the top 10 at this event.
Earlys star whose game seems to have slipped ever so slightly since his Open Championship win in and doesn't perform great at Augusta to begin with. I don't love him here. Of course, he's been lights out in so far so he'll probably win by five. He might upend Stenson as low Swede at Augusta this year.
He has gone, in my mind anyway, from being one of the more overrated players in the world to one of the more underrated in the span of about six months. I don't think he will win, but I know he thinks he can which at this level can take you pretty far … maybe not all the way to Sunday afternoon, but he could make it interesting. Goodness, I'd pay an entrance fee into his presser if he won, too. See the dynamic load of my shoulder allows me to wear a 42 long whereas most people my size would be in a 42 regular.
Daniel Berger T10 in : He sure gets lost in the young American debate, doesn't he? Berger can be streaky, but he has a strong albeit small resume at this course. Two top 30s in two appearances, and he has the sense of the moment you absolutely need to win big time golf tournaments. Kevin Chappell T7 in : If I were to ask you about the top 10 at the Masters, you wouldn't be able to name the next two guys on this list between Chappell and Ryan Moore. Chappell is to me a Tier 2. Moore is much of the same.
In other words, it would be a surprise if Chappell or Moore win the Masters. It's always been feast or famine for him at this course, though. In 13 appearances, he's only made the cut seven times, but one of those was a fat W back in Tough to see him repeating that barring some crazy weather that really neutralizes what the big boppers do well.
Matthew Fitzpatrick T7 in : His babyface-ness makes Spieth look like Thomas Bjorn with a full-blown winter beard by comparison. Might get his credential and his driver's license checked by the security guard at Magnolia Lane. Martin Kaymer T16 in : The two-time major winner has five missed cuts to just one top 20 in 10 appearances here. He infamously changed his swing to contend at Augusta National. Kevin Kisner T37 in : The last six winners of the Masters have all been terrific drivers of the golf ball.
Danny Willett in was the "worst," and he still would have ranked in the top 40 in strokes gained in Kisner's ranking this year is well outside the top He's good enough to overcome it, but the margin for error is small. Brian Harman Cut in : It's a stunner to me that Harman has never made a cut here, but it's true. In fact, he's only played in one Masters, and he shot to get the weekend off. Don't be surprised when he's in, say, the fourth-to-last pairing on Saturday, though.
Loves the moment. Lives for big weekend pairings. Scared of nobody. Branden Grace T18 in : Grace has five top 10s in major championships but none at Augusta National.
He has such a low ball flight that I'm not sure his game is conducive to this course. Although, if he or anyone gets hot with the putter, all bets are off. Related: There are no trains at Augusta National. Tyrrell Hatton Cut in : After finishing in the top 10 in the last two majors of , Hatton missed the cut at all four in He's rebounded from that, though, and played some magnificent golf in And hey, he won't have to worry about bumpy greens at Augusta.
Ian Poulter 7th in : I'm so glad he made it. The more characters the better. And yes, I realize who I ranked just behind him. Patrick Reed T22 in : If Reed ever wins this event, I'm praying it's in a year after Spieth has won it so Spieth can suit him up in an alternate jacket lined with stars and stripes.
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