The 2017 Masters rooting guide: Who and what to pull for at Augusta

Hello, friends.

The Masters needn’t ever yearn for storylines. Golf’s perhaps most iconic event (at least here in the United States) always provides an idyllic setting for golf theater on one of the sport’s best tests. And, yes, that’s still true even if Tiger Woods won’t be in the field this week on the 20-year anniversary of his dominant 1997 win.

Here’s everything you need to root for this week at Augusta — from the best stories, to rules scenarios, to good weather on the weekend.

Tragedy and hardship isn’t at all new to Jason Day’s life — if anything, it’s paved the road to the successes he’s had in professional golf. He’s lived through an abusive, impoverished childhood at the hands of his father, who passed away from cancer when he was just 12 years old. He battled alcoholism as a preteen. In a sport that skews to favor those from middle or upper-class upbringings, Day is an outlier.

None of that’s even to mention the more minor issues Day’s overcome in the last two years even as he rose to the top of the game. He contended at the 2015 U.S. Open while literally collapsing with vertigo on the course multiple times. His immune system’s let him down in a number of tournaments in the last 12 months. His wife, Ellie, was hospitalized after literally run over by a full-speed LeBron James.

Day’s a candid, emotional open book when it comes to what he’s feeling, and he’s paid a price. It’s led to jokes and criticism from golf media and fans — something gratuitously, terribly stupid when considering that Day probably shouldn’t even be here in the first place.

The one constant in his tumultuous life — other than Ellie — is Day’s mother, Dening. She gave nearly everything she had financially through Day’s early life to support her son’s golf dreams but now faces a battle with lung cancer that Australian doctors considered terminal. Her prognosis has received better news since having surgery in the United States, but it’s still going to be difficult for Day to play this week.

If he’s able to win on Sunday, it’ll undoubtedly be for his mom. And what an amazing, emotional moment it would be. Pull for him on Sunday — and his mom in the coming weeks and months. Cancer sucks.

Golf’s getting younger — and 2017 is proof positive of that. Exactly two players above the age of 30 have won non-alternate field events in 2017 — 33-year-old Marc Leishman and 32-year-old Dustin Johnson. Neither are exactly, um, old. You can thank the coming-of-age of the Woods-inspired generation for most of this.

But that’s not to say that wily ol’ vets can’t get it done anymore. The Masters seems to be good for at least one Old Dude interloper per year. Last year, it was 58-year-old Bernhard Langer — who didn’t even have a sponsor on his visor until he ended up in the penultimate pairing on Sunday.

There’s plenty of strong candidates this year, too. Langer is still dominating senior golf worldwide and could probably still make cuts regularly on the PGA Tour at 59. Fifty-seven-year-old Fred Couples is back, healthy, and playing well on the Champions Tour after missing the 2016 tournament. He’s always a strong bet to carry the flag for the Old Dudes at Augusta — finishing in the top 20 five time in six starts since turning 50.

After Lexi Thompson had the ANA Inspiration stolen from her over the weekend by a viewer, golf’s now had two embarrassing rules situations that have completely compromised major championships. Both of those events were either supervised by the LPGA or the USGA. But don’t worry. The Masters has been guilty here too. A call-in TV viewer created the biggest story in golf in 2013 at the Masters when Tiger Woods was nearly disqualified for an “illegal” drop.

I’ll say this while mincing no words: Golf’s rules are stupid. Stuff like this drives people away. But it’s golf! Integrity of the game! Ivory towers! Pleated pants! THINK OF THE DAMN CHILDREN. No, no. Like I said. That’s all stupid. The overcomplexity creates just another barrier to entry to a game that already has far too many. Golf already asks for four or so hours of your time if you’d like to watch an entire final round. It asks for many more hours and a truckload of money to go pick up the game. People don’t need another reason to tune out — they’ve already got plenty.

The governing bodies of the USGA and R&A are attempting to simplify the rule book to account for things like, you know, intent — but that won’t take effect until 2019 at the earliest. Here’s a quick fix! Fans shouldn’t be able to call in and report rule issues. And video replay shouldn’t be used hours after the fact to determine if a minor violation occurred. Hope like hell there’s not a Dustin Johnson or Lexi Thompson situation at Augusta. It’ll be an embarrassment for golf — and it’ll only drive fans away.

If you know someone who likes to call in rules violations, please place their phone in an airlock and fire it into deep space.

Make no mistake: Jordan Spieth should have at least two green jackets — maybe three. And at just 23, he could be making his way toward history.

Instead, things happen. Bad shots happen. And it’s hard not to wonder the place that now-infamous mishap on the 12th last year has had in Spieth’s mind since the second wedge splashed-down. Those kinds of miscues can cause lasting damage, even for players seemingly destined for stardom. Spieth, though it feels like he’s been around for a while now, is still America’s brightest young star. It’s best for American golf if he punches back strong at Augusta this week.

Augusta’s forecast for this week wasn’t looking particularly promising but seems to be clearing for a beautiful weekend as we get closer to Thursday. That doesn’t mean conditions won’t be a factor. A wet and stormy early week from Monday to Wednesday should make Augusta fairly supple, and high winds on Thursday and Friday could make the golf course unwieldy — especially for shorter hitters.

It’s common for golf fans to want the established stars — Rory, Jordan, Day, Phil, DJ — to add to their major championship collection. But golf has used green jackets to validate new stars in recent years, and there’s nothing wrong with guys who have the talent to win multiple major titles grabbing their first. That’s as fun, or maybe even more fun, than the big stars adding to their spoils. Bubba Watson, Adam Scott, Spieth, and really even Danny Willett all kind of fit that mold as first-time major winners in the last five years at Augusta.

Sergio or Rickie Fowler could get the major monkey off their backs this week. Younger stars like Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Daniel Berger, or Thomas Pieters could fit the bill.