One of the highlights of the sports calendar arrives this weekend at Augusta National with The Masters. Let’s take a look at who will perform well, and most importantly, how will he perform?
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Golf is one of the most difficult sports to predict the winner; hundreds of participants trying to hit a tiny ball into a tiny hole from incredible distances is a pretty fickle thing. But we will give it a shot! Assuming you’re playing fantasy golf, here are four golfers to keep an eye on this weekend and who will be competing for that coveted green jacket:
Collin Morikawa (+1,800)
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Morikawa has won a major each of the last two seasons, and what better tournament to keep that streak alive than the Masters? He needs this and the U.S. Open to complete the career grand slam, and that feels like a question of when, not if. He’s played some great golf lately, including winning the last major of 2021 and the Olympics. I expect to be in the final group on Sunday.
Jordan Speith (+2,200)
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Admittedly, this is a bit of a homer pick. I love Speith, and I just can’t seem to quit him. He hasn’t won a major since two presidents ago, and he hasn’t played particularly well either. Yet I still believe he can win any tournament he enters. I think Speith could be a good long-shot gamble here at +2,200.
Viktor Hovland (+2,000)
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I’ll forgive you if you don’t know who this is, but you should get to know him. He’s been tearing up courses in 2022, with a couple wins and five top-10 finishes already. I feel confident in saying Viktor Hovland will be in the final handful of groups on Sunday.
But the winner of the 2022 Masters will be…
Jon Rahm (+1,100)
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After finally winning a major at the U.S. Open last season, Rahm seems like a more confident, more complete player. In the last three Masters, Rahm has finished T-5, T-7 & T-9; that’s pretty damn impressive. I think this is the year Rahm finally breaks through at Augusta and slips on that green jacket.
But who am I rooting for?
Tiger Woods (+4,500)
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One of the best sporting events I have ever watched was Tiger winning the Masters in 2019. It was like watching a phoenix rise from the ashes, a truly thrilling experience. While a win seems highly unlikely this weekend, him even teeing off on Thursday about a 13 months removed from potentially having his leg amputated is a remarkable achievement. If he wins this weekend the world will lose its collective mind, but we should all just smile seeing him doing what he loves again.
There you have it! The players to watch, and more importantly, who to gamble on this weekend at The Masters.