It's Thursday the 6th of April, and to say I'm excited would be the understatement of the century. As you'll know I am a huge sports fan and I love a big occasion like a Soccer world cup final, a Hurling All Ireland final or Grand Slam rugby decider, but up there with all of them is the Masters at Augusta.
Today is the first day of a glorious week, the week of the first golfing major of the year and my favorite of the four golfing majors. There is just something special about Augusta National that sets it apart from all other golf courses and tournaments. Ask any golfer what course they would love to play most and the vast majority will opt for the lush green fairways of Augusta National Golf Club. I often ponder how much I would pay for a chance to play the course and I reckon I would give €1,000 to €2,000 to play it just once, but the funny thing is even €1,000,000 would not guarantee a tee time, as it is not about money, but rather status and who you know, so my best chance to ever either play it or even attend the event is to hope one of my sons becomes a professional golfer, yes an extremely long shot!
It's only a few short hours before the first balls are hit by the professionals and already the fairways and greens on site have seen some action with some of the best young players in the world teeing it up in the Drive, Chip and Putt contests that are held for kids from the age of 6 up to around 15. I watched some of the coverage earlier this week and the kids are amazing, seven year olds swinging it better than lots of adults at my home club! Yesterday the pros took part in the par 3 contest, which deep down nobody wants to win, as the winner of the par 3 contest has never gone on to win the overall prize since the par 3 contest was added to Masters week back in 1960. Golf is already a mental minefield, so the last thing any of the top players need is another thought bouncing around their head. So, with the exception of maybe Padraic Harrington who has won this 3 times, you don't often see the top players looking to win it, it is just a formality and a bit of fun before the real deal begins.
Instead what you usually see is lots of smiles and laughing, at least one hole in one and pros giving their kids, caddies and wives a shot or two as part of their novelty round.
It's a good way to ensure that they don't win it! Yes, golfers are superstious. I did not watch much of it yesterday, but I see that our own Seamus Power from Ireland had not one, but two hole-in-ones and they were made on consecutive holes! How nuts is that!! Follow this link if you want to see the two aces.
When Thursday finally comes and the wait is over for another year, the excitement is palpable. All of the preparation, the hours on the range, thousands of putts and chips, then hopefully a good night's sleep and then it's show time!
Somebody unexpected usually gets off to a rocket start with three quick birdies in six holes, but they never keep it going. What Augusta gives, Augusta doth take away just as quickly. It just takes one wayward swing and a birdie hole can suddenly become a double bogey.
It is not a golf course that you can take for granted by any means and the greenkeepers will have it playing nicely for practice on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday only for the real course and real greens to show their teeth on Thursday when the pros tee it up.
Questions abound. Who will we see slipping the green jacket on come Sunday evening? Will anyone melt down on the back 9? Will we see a late surge through Amen corner? Will a form player prevail or is a shock on the cards? Well, that last question may be impacted by weather, as I believe that Saturday is to be a bit of a washout, so anybody used to playing in wet slobbery conditions may well prevail.
Questions galore as we all lap up the kaleidoscope of colours we've grown accustomed to around Augusta National. The pink and white of the azaleas are a feast for the eyes, as the lush green manicured fairways wait anxiously for the worlds best players to toil tirelessly for the biggest prize in golf - The Masters title. A Title win will bring with it a lifelong invitation to play the Masters, which players like Bernhard Langer (winner in 1985 and 1993), Sandy Lyle (Winner in 1988), Larry Mize (Winner in 1987), Fred Couples (Winner in 1992), Vijay Singh (Winner in 2000) are utilising this year and it is always nice to see one or two of these veterans having a good tournament and Langer would be my pick to finish the best from those I just mentioned. It will be Larry Mize's last year and although it is a lovely tradition, I do think that they should maybe hang the boots up once they stop being competitive and make some space for a younger player to tee it up, as after 30 or 40 times competing and living that dream, maybe move over and let somene else's dream come true?
Even those who know nothing about golf or sport in general will be familiar with the scene that is Augusta National Golf course in in the US state of Georgia. This pristine golf course is what Wimbledon is to tennis players; what Wembley is to footballers. It is arguably golf's biggest stage and a stage upon which all of the world's greatest want to bring their A-game. I really believe that both Scottie and Rory will bring their A games this week and we are in for one heck of a masters.
One of the nicest things about the Masters is their appreciation of history and of the golfing greats of yesteryear. Not only do they allow previous winners of a green jacket to return to this golfing amphitheater each year as I was mentioning above, but they also include three of the greatest golfers ever to play the game to drive in the competition each year. I am of course talking about the three amigos Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player.
With the passing of Arnold Palmer in 2016, there are only two of the great three left standing, but they are still very much part of the build up to the Masters, and will again drive off the competition this year.
It makes think who will be the players to take on this responsibility into the future and of course Tiger Woods will be top of the list, he is one of the best of all time, with an unbelievable 15 majors to his name, only 3 short of Jack Nicklaus. Another name that would have been on the list for this job would have been big Phil, but his behaviour, comments and downright greed over the past few years means that he is no longer the Augusta legend of yesteryear, and even though Phil has three green jackets, I believe he has tarnished and spoilt his legacy and will not tee it up alongside Tiger into his 70s and 80s to get things going in 2040s and 2050s.
So unless you were living under a rock for the past few years or have absolutely no interest in golf, you will have heard about the LIV tour and how they have tried to and succeeded in disrupting golf.
Just in case there is anybody reading that is not up to speed, LIV Golf is a professional golf tour that broke away from the PGA tour as a splinter organsiation. "The name "LIV" refers to the Roman numerals for 54, the score if every hole on a par-72 course were birdied and the number of holes to be played at LIV events."
The breakaway has caused lots of controversy, as it splits up the best players in the world from the rest, although to be fair the majority who did go to LIV are past it or on the fringes anyway, with the exception maybe of Cam Smith, Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka. Those three really surprised me and with LIV tournaments not giving any qualifying points for majors, it won't be long until we start seeing fewer and fewer LIV players teeing it up at Augusta and the other golf majors The US Open, The US PGA and the British Open.
The main controversy around LIV Golf is where the money comes from, as it is financed by the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia. There is a train of thought which views LIV as part of efforts by the Saudi monarchy to improve its public image through sports. The same monarchy has which has been widely called out for its corruption and human rights abuses, so Greg Norman and any of the LIV tour players that switched over are now viewed as greedy and narcissistic by many golf fans.
The weather is going to be a factor this weekend and for me that could well play into Rory's hands more than Scottie, as lets face it, any Irishman on the planet has seen and played in more rain than any Californian, that just goes without saying. The other thing to consider with the weather is that it can throw up unexpected winners, such as Trevor Immelman or Zach Johnson, who both won green jackets when the weather was unseasonably cold and/or wet.
Does that mean we are in for a surprise this year? I don't think so, as Rory and Scottie are both so primed, but if the weather really turns and they get unlucky with when they play, who knows?
As you can see Thursday and Sunday are fine, but Friday and Saturday is forecasting a lot of rain, so anything can happen. Those out early Friday will have the better of the scoring I reckon, and we might even see some rain delays and some Friday rounds finishing on Saturday morning.
Any player who harbours ambitions of winning this golf tournament needs to do certain things well. Driving it well helps, a stellar iron game is a must and exemplary putting counts for a lot, but of equal importance is playing the longest holes well, namely the par 5s.
You cannot afford to be complacent or overly risky, as bogeys and doubles are waiting for those who miss ever so slightly. There is water, creeks and all sorts of nasties waiting for a wayward approach and let's remember that Augusta National is extraordinarily undulating meaning that you are almost always playing of some type of sideways, downhill or uphill lie and these are all factors in the potential for wayward long iron approach shots. If I was teeing it up at Augusta I would be targeting to play the par 5s in 5 to 8 under and really give myself a chance.
The thirteenth hole will be very interesting this year, because Augusta bought some adjacent land and have now extended this hole by some 40 yards, so if it is into the wind or is raining, only the very longest hitters will get there in two which will be a big advantage to smashers like Rory and Cameron Champ. I'm intrigued to see how Champ goes as the bookies have him at 175/1 which I am surprised by given that in 3 starts, he made 3 cuts and finished no worse than T26, including a 10th place last year. Ok, that brings me nicely to my last topic, which is the contenders, and I already wrote about the players I think will go well yeaterday, so I will include that here again for those who did not get a chance to read it.
Scottie Scheffler is 26 years old folks, 26 years old folks. For me he seems to carry himself and speak like somebody twice that age. He is the model pro golfer in terms of temperament and is the anthesis of guys like John Rahm, Shane Lowry and Tyrell Hatton who allow the red mist to descend, and believe me folks that costs you golf shots, I have absolutely zero doubt about it. Scottie personifies this for me, especially with his spectacular rise to recent dominance.
As with all golfers, throughout 72 holes of a golf tournament, there will be bad bounces, mishits and bad fortune. The card will have pars, birdies and hopefully an eagle or two, but over 72 holes, there will be bogeys. The thing that must be avoided is double bogeys and worse, those are what absolutely ruin your chances of being the winner at the end of the week, because more times than not, the winner will have a clean copy book, which includes bogeys, but seldom includes worse.
The key here is temperament and not allowing the emotions to get in the way and Scottie has this down to a tee, afterall even the greatest golfers of all time hit bad shots occasionally, but what separates them is what they do after a bad shot, which will be often a safe shot back out of trouble and par save or at worse bogey.
I will be shocked if Scottie has any double bogeys or worse this week and this is why he is one of my strong picks to join a short list of players who have won back to back Masters titles - those being Tiger, Jack and Faldo - now wouldn't that be a nice list to join.
This week we may well see history, with Scottie joining that list or Rory joining the career grand slam list of Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods. Whatever happens it is building up to be a great week's golf.
This will be Rory's 15th Masters, which of itself is pretty amazing, given that Rory is still just 33 years of age. For a while now this has been the one that Rory has really wanted to win. He famously choked here in 2011 after carding a swash-buckling opening round 65, and solid -3 and -2 rounds in rounds 2 and 3 leaving him sitting pretty on -12 and leaving a younger 
I think for a long time at Augusta he has carried around that ghost. Sure he bounced back at the 2011 US Open and won that maiden major. He wasted little time adding four more majors in 2012 and 2014 to bring his total to 5, but there the major story ends, until perhaps this week. I believe last year's closing round 64 and a 2nd place finish finally vanquished those ghosts of 2011 and I feel that he has never been more ready to add his 6th major, and it will be by far the sweetest in my opinion, as he will have had to wait 9 years. If we think about that, it's the same amount of time as from when he was just 13 to his first major in 2011. That is a long time folks.
The key for Rory this week is not a fast swash buckling, and if he chases that, chances are he won't make the cut. However Rory has been working a lot with mind coach Bob Rotella and his mind and temperament has never been in a better place, so the opening round will see limited risk taking and if I was to have a guess, I would say he shoots -2 70 and quietly gets about his business. Nobody wins a golf tournament on a Thursday, but lots play themselves out of contention with 74s, 75s, 76s, which means chasing things on Friday and you don't want to chase things at Augusta National, except perhaps on the back 9 on Sunday when risk can be very well rewarded.
To win at Augusta, you have to putt well. You might be the best ball striker or the longest hitter, but if you don't putt well you will not be getting sized up for a brand new green jacket come Sunday evening. This is a part of Rory's game that seems to come and go, but he has worked a lot with putting expert Brad Faxon, which can only help and he recently ditched the old Taylor Made Spyder in favour of the Scotty Cameron Tour-Only 009-M. I suspect that this may well be the one that he wins majors with, the Masters 2023, maybe, but if not certainly another major in 2023, he is on the cusp, I can smell it.
Xander is not getting much of a mention at all this week. I have listened to Podcasts, read Previews and heard many opinions, but the man from San Diego has not been talked about at all from what I can see.
The 29 year Californian has been quietly getting about his business and he will be very happy to be flying under the radar here and while Scottie, Rory, Tiger and others grab the headlines, he is quietly preparing for the week and I really feel strongly that he will finish in the top ten and at odds of 25/1, I see him as a value e/w pick. What form does he bring into the Master? Pretty decent form actually.
That's four top tens in his last nine starts and all nine are top forties, so I think Xander will be well and truly in the mix on the back nine this Sunday. He has previous form around this golf course in recent times as well, with a T2 finish in 2019 and a T3 in 2021. Yes, there was a blot on the copy book last year, so it is important he gets things moving with an under par 70 or 71 on Thursday and that should set him up nicely for a good week.
One of the biggest surprises in golf for me recently, and there have been a few, was Cam Smith leaving to join the LIV tour. I remember hearing rumours and I thought surely not. All the talk this week has been about the big three of Scottie, Rory and Rahm who have been fighting it out for world #1, a spot inhabited by Scottie for now, but had Cam not left for the non-qualifying LIV tour, where money talks, he surely would have been part of a quartet instead of the trio.
Yes, he lacks competitive golf this year so far, but the 29 year Australian has strolled around Augusta six times as if it was his local pitch and putt course, not one bit phased, so I fully expect him to be in the mix and is another of my sleeper picks for the week.
The drive down Magnolia lane can do something to a player. We have seen it so many times before where a player struggling big time with their form manages to find their midas touch around Augusta. Will that happen this week for Cameron Champ? Well it is unlikely and that is why he is a rank outsider, the bookmakers rarely get it wrong, which is why they are always up, but I see value here.
Cameron Champ has played here very year for the past three years and has finishes of T19, T26 and T10 last year, so he clearly likes this golf course and has the cuts made and scores to prove just that. From those 12 rounds, there are three 68s, so he knows how to go low around here and the par 5s especially will suit his huge length of the tee.
There is rain forecast, so that long length of his could give him a distinct advantage on the par 5s, especially with number 13 playing 35 yards longer this year.
The photo used is not my own was sourced from Youtube screen grabs and https://www.masters.com and https://golf.com/news/liv-pga-tour-inside-story/ The masters records are screen shots from here https://www.masters.com/en_US/players/player_list.html
