It’s that time of year again. The first major of the year is upon us.
The Masters at Augusta is the best tournament in the golfing calendar with the iconic green jacket being the ultimate prize and this year promises to be as dramatic and enthralling as ever.
Rory McIlroy is showing that he could soon become the dominant force in the sport. The Northern Irishman has played three events on the PGA Tour this season and finished in the top three on each occasion, including winning the Honda Classic in Florida.
McIlroy’s impressive start to the season propelled him to world number one, but Luke Donald’s win at the Transitions Championship yesterday meant the Englishman regained his top ranking.
With neither player due to compete before the first major of the year, it is Donald that will go to Augusta as the world’s best player.
McIlroy will be returning to the tournament that he dominated for three rounds last year before he famously shot 80 on the final day. He has shown since last April that he has the bottle to win a major, as he did at the US Open, and therefore will go to the Masters as the man to beat.
Over the past 15 years, that tag was always associated with Tiger Woods and such is his record at Augusta no one should be surprised if the four-time Masters winner is right in the hunt on the final day.
It’s not just Woods’ record at Augusta that makes him a real contender, it is the fact he has shown glimpses of getting back to his best this year. The 62 he shot in the final round at the Honda Classic was the lowest round Woods has posted in 17 years on the PGA Tour and demonstrated that, should he be able to stay free of injury, he will surely go on to win tournaments on a regular basis again.
The achilles injury he suffered in the final round of the WGC Cadillac Championship last week initially put his Masters place in jeopardy but Woods is due to play in the Arnold Palmer Invitational this week to prove his fitness one week before the Masters.
Should he get through this week without any setbacks, Woods will have the best chance to add to his 14 major titles since the 2008 US Open.
Meanwhile, defending champion Charl Schwartzel is amongst a group of players who go to Augusta National with a real chance of claiming the green jacket.
Three-time Masters champion Phil Mickelson has returned to form this season, winning at the AT&T at Pebble Beach and climbing up to 13th in the world rankings. As well as winning at Augusta in 2004, 2006 & 2010, Mickelson has 10 top tens at the Masters and therefore is always likely to be there or thereabouts when the prize money is divided out.
Americans Hunter Mahan, Keegan Bradley and Steve Stricker are all currently in the top 15 of the FedEx Cup rankings and so go to Augusta full of confidence, while Dustin Johnson, Nick Watney and Rickie Fowler all have the ability to make a challenge.
However should he play as he has done so in the early stages of the season, the Masters is there for Rory McIlroy to win.
His final round blowout last year makes it easy to forget just how well he played during the first three days. Rounds of 65, 69 & 70 gave McIlroy a four-shot lead and showed he knows how to get round Augusta.
That combined with the fact that 12 months on he is a major champion, has reached world number one status and has already won this season makes McIlroy the most likely winner of the 2012 Masters.
Such is his talent, should McIlroy play to his potential, only Woods could stop him from winning the green jacket that slipped through his grasp last time around.
Whatever happens, the combination of the world’s top players and the most beautiful golf course in the world means we are all in for a treat come Thursday 5th April.
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