The field is ready to go for this week’s Augusta National’s 87th Masters Tournament. And we are ready, too, as this year’s Masters won’t fall short of storylines.
The 87th Masters Tournament: What to watch for at Augusta National
Lots to keep an eye on during this year’s first major of the PGA season.
Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports
It begins with the drama (or no drama?) with several LIV golfers returning to a PGA tournament. Players like Cameron Smith, Patrick Reed, Dustin Johnson, and Bubba Watson will all be part of the field. For now, everyone appears to be welcoming each other – just not with open arms – but welcoming each other nonetheless to make the year’s first major tournament one to remember.
The PGA and Augusta National will immediately play into the drama when play begins as the first round will mix in some major names from both sides playing alongside each other.
No one knows what may truly transpire between both sides. Both PGA and LIV golfers will get their chance to formally kick things off together on Tuesday during the Champions Dinner where last year’s winner Scottie Scheffler will play host.
“Gathering all those guys together in a room, I mean, it should be a lot of fun,” Scheffler said recently about both sides coming together. ”It’s a historic group of people, Masters champions, and I’m sure that we’ll all put our personal opinions aside and just have a good night and just kind of enjoy what the night really is.”
Scheffler was last year’s No. 1 golfer heading into the tournament, and he is once again heading into this Masters Tournament ranked No. 1 as well. He will look to become only the fourth golfer to win back-to-back titles at the Masters after Jack Nicklaus (1965-1966), Nick Faldo (1989-1990), and Tiger Woods (2001-2002) were the only three to have done it previously at Augusta.
However, second ranked Rory McIlroy and third ranked Jon Rahm are looking to make sure Scheffler doesn’t earn a second consecutive green jacket. The three are ranked as the Top 3 in the world, respectively, and many oddsmakers have shuffled them around for odds to win at Augusta National.
Interestingly, DraftKings Sportsbook has all three golfers at the top three spots for their odds on favorites to win the Masters. Scheffler and McIlroy are tied with the same line of +700 and Rahm with a +900 line followed by Jordan Spieth (+1600) and Patrick Cantlay (+1800) to round off the Top 5.
Rahm looks to win his first Masters Tournament after his best finish at Augusta was fourth place in 2018. McIlroy on the other hand aims for a career grand slam with a Masters win with three majors already under his belt — the 2011 U.S. Open, 2012 & 2014 PGA Championships, and the 2014 Open Championships.
Then, of course, you have Tiger Woods. The five-time winner at Augusta set a goal this year to play in all PGA Tour Majors — Masters obviously included. Woods, albeit considered a longshot by some and perhaps many, looks to win his sixth Masters Tournament which would tie him with Jack Nicklaus as the only two golfers to don the green jacket six times.
This year’s Masters will be played April 6-9 with tee times made available closer to Round 1 on Thursday.
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