Masters 2017 predictions and picks: Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy favored again at Augusta

The music is playing. Jim Nantz’s ties are laid out for the week. The grounds are immaculately manicured and the stage is set.

It’s time for the Masters, a tradition unlike any other and one that can be especially difficult to handicap. There are champions who come out of nowhere and others who are already the legends of the game. Predicting what will happen in a golf tournament is always difficult, even with a smaller field like at the Masters. But that doesn’t mean we don’t give it our best shot to discuss and dissect what we think will happen this week at Augusta National.

Emily: Soren Kjeldsen — He beat Rory McIlroy in match play after chalking up four missed cuts earlier in the year and at 150/1 it doesn’t get much dark harsher than that. Oh, and he finished T7 at Augusta in 2016.

Trevor: How about a guy like Tyrrell Hatton? He could be this year’s Danny Willett and not just because they are both British. His starts on the PGA Tour this year have gone T4, 10, T4, T17. Not bad. With so much hype around the big names, this could be another year where an under the radar guy slips on a green jacket.

Brendan: Adam Hadwin is the guy here. He’s got a ton of game, been brilliant over the past month, and is a rookie with a legit chance at contending. He’s in the top 10 on Tour in strokes gained-putting and that’s always a club that will suit you well at Augusta.

Kyle: It’s Hadwin. I ranked him probably unreasonably high in my 94-1 countdown at 21, and he’s inside the FedEx Cup top 5 in points with some big names for a reason. One point of concern? The relatively small Canadian isn’t a big hitter, and that might not be the best archetype for a player looking to have success on a blustery, wet Thursday and Friday at Augusta.

Emily: He may not be a BIG NAME, but Danny Willett did win the Masters last year so that has to count for something. Not enough though, as only three golfers have repeated as Masters champs and Willett — who has failed to break into the top 35 on the PGA Tour since his stunning 2016 victory — will not join Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo, and Tiger Woods in the record books, nor make it to the weekend in 2017.

Also, Bubba Watson. He has two Masters wins but other than that his play at Augusta has been rather pedestrian and he seems to have lost his fast ball (and should lose those hideous pink Volviks) along with the 20 pounds.

Brendan: We thought Bubba would be the favorite here for years, with his booming drives faded between the pines via that left handers advantage we hear so much about these days. But he is playing a neon pink putt-putt ball that springs off the putter and has him 199th on the PGA Tour in strokes gained putting. He’s been a non-factor all year and seems checked out from the game right now. This is a course where he could just show up and contend without any form, but it doesn’t look good for the two-time green jacket winner right now.

Kyle: The hardest of passes on Bubba this week. Did you realize it’s been over a year (last year’s WGC at Doral) since he’s been in contention? Sure, sure, he’s played well here. But right now, it doesn’t seem that Bubba’s playing well anywhere. He’s probably a prime candidate for the Knox pairing on Saturday morning — or worse. A few others I’d stay away from: Jimmy Walker, Willett, and Adam Scott. Playing well leading into a major is important, friends.

Emily: It’s difficult to say never, but It’s almost impossible to imagine him ever being “tournament ready” for Augusta, or, really, anywhere after the way things have transpired. With his most recent and exceedingly short-lived “comeback” comprised of coming in 15th out of 18 at the Hero World Challenge, a missed cut at Torrey, and that dreadful one-day outing in Dubai, we’re extremely close — if not already there — to proclaiming Tiger done, even if Mark Steinberg won’t do the honors.

Brendan: Of course. It may just be for two days but I think he will tee it up in another Masters.

Kyle: He will, I think no question. Mike Weir’s corpse is still scuffing it around this place! Bernie Langer played in the second to last pairing last year at 58. Yes, Cat will be back. He might should 85-86, but he’ll be back.

Emily: Jon Rahm is everybody’s favorite and for good reason, but another somewhat anonymous Brit, Tommy Fleetwood, could be this year’s surprise first-timer.

Trevor: So many good names to choose from here. Hadwin shot 59 at the CareerBuilder Challenge and added a win at the Valspar. We learned at the Ryder Cup last year that Thomas Pieters is a bad ass. But I think Rahm finishes as the high rookie. He’s finished top 10 in each of his last four events including almost stealing one from DJ at the Match Play.

Kyle: Hadwin, Rahm, the Toms — plural (Fleetwood, Pieters). There’s plenty of options here. If you’d like to keep an eye on a real deep cut, watch out for Curtis Luck. Aussie amateur seems destined to be next, though he struggled mightily at Arnie’s tournament.

Emily: 9-under - the same winning score Jack Nicklaus posted when he won his final major in 1986 (see: this year’s winner below).

Kyle: I’ll say 8-under. Winds on Thursday and Friday won’t be fun in Amen Corner, but things should open up enough nicely on the weekend to get things closer to double digits.

Brendan: It will be soft for the first couple days, buuuut it also looks like it will be quite blustery. So I don’t think anyone is going to post some super low number in the first couple rounds. I don’t think it will be as rough as last year, but it doesn’t look like one of those Masters that becomes a birdie-fest. I think 10-under gets it done.

Emily: Really difficult to pick against D.J., who’s on fire, but Augusta has not been a place where favorites often come out on top. He’ll bomb the crap out of the course, though, and contend all week.

Brendan: Even if he doesn’t play his best, he’s still likely to finish in the top 10, right? DJ is on that kind of heater right now and overwhelming the best fields this game has to offer. He’s the favorite for a reason. I’m not picking him to win but he will be there in the top five, which will make Sunday all the more thrilling.

Brendan: He’s never finished worst than second in his first three Masters starts, which is outrageous when you don’t attach pictures to it. Of course, there are pictures and we’ve dissected everything that happened at Amen Corner ad nauseum for a year. He’s played well in the first quarter this year and there’s no reason to think he’s not the man to beat at every Masters given the way he’s plotted this course in his first three years. He’ll be back in the top 10 but not in that final Sunday pairing for the first time in his Masters career.

Emily: He’s put too much pressure on himself to complete the career grand slam so it will be another disappointing non-win — though a fourth straight top-10 finish — for Rory.

Emily: His mother’s illness weighs heavily on him, making it a monumental task to focus as much as one must to score well at Augusta. He’ll likely finish outside the top 10.

Trevor: I think it will be another tough week for Day. The last few weeks must have been a strain mentally and physically.

Trevor: His press conference will be great and he’ll do enough crazy stuff to make everyone thinks he has a chance before fading.

Brendan: Phil is such a joy to watch, follow, and listen to at Augusta. He has said it’s his favorite place in the world and it’s not an exaggeration to say he’ll contend here well into his 50s. After missing the cut last year, I think he’s back playing the weekend again but he said he feels like his season is really just getting started after two offseason surgeries. I don’t think Phil contends again this year.

Emily: Wouldn’t that be the ultimate, “How do you like that, Johnny Miller?” if Rickie were to scuffle into a green jacket? Alas, not gonna happen, but Fowler has been playing well (one win and three additional top 10s since the MC at Torrey) so we could be looking at a top 10 for Rickie this week.

Brendan: Looooove Rickie this week. He’s back in form and hopefully has banished that opening round 80 last year from his memory. Rickie is going to place inside the top five and play in the final Sunday pairing. But it’s just another close call.

Emily: One of the best players never to win a major, and that streak continues this week for Garcia, who is likely to have something of a lackluster tournament.

Kyle: VAAAAAAAAAAAAAMOS. Garcia’s playing extremely well and seems in line for a top-15 finish here, but I’ll save my cheerleading act for the next three majors — where he’s got a far better track record.

Trevor: It’s hard not to pick DJ considering how well he’s played this year. He played really well last year too. It’s also really hard to pick against Rory. It might be a little soft which will benefit him greatly. HOWEVER, I just can’t pick against a guy that has finished first and second twice in three career starts. Going with Jordan Spieth in a tight one.

Emily: Gotta go with Phil. He’s 46, the same age as Jack when Nicklaus won his final Masters, so he has that (and a special love for Augusta where he has performed so beautifully over the years) going for him.

Brendan: It’s time. The course will be softened up. There’s less mania and pressure compared to prior years. He’s in form and seems and seems more comfortable here with the spotlight also on a few others. We’ll get the sixth man ever to complete the career grand slam on Sunday.