THE 86TH MASTERS begins at Augusta National Golf Club on Thursday, and Adam McKendry has picked out his five talking points with the latest odds from William Hill…
Tiger tracking in full swing
We had to mention him, right? The whole golfing world has been ablaze with Tiger talk over the past week-and-a-half, to the extent that journalists worldwide were tracking his private jet’s movements for almost a full week as it zoomed in and out of Augusta.
That kind of excitement has fed into the patrons – as they are known within the confines of Augusta National – who flocked in their droves to follow the former World No.1 in a practice round on Monday with Justin Thomas and Fred Couples, with Jon Rahm claiming he’s seen less people following the final group on a Sunday.
Remarkably, only 14 months on from a near-fatal car accident in Los Angeles, the 15-time Major winner will tee it up at the tournament and believes he can not only compete, but win the thing. While that seems a stretch given the time he has taken out of the game, if anyone can do it, then it is Tiger.
It will not be his game that will hold Woods back, it will be navigating the unforgiving and dramatically undulating slopes that will challenge him most – if he can walk 72 holes then he will be fine, according to Couples. Woods says he’ll only be happy with the Green Jacket – chances are making the weekend will secretly be his real goal.
William Hill odds: Tiger Woods to make the cut @ 11/10
Can McIlroy Ror’ to the Grand Slam?
This is perhaps the most unheralded Rory McIlroy has been coming into a Major, especially at The Masters when he’s being subjected to the usual fanfare around completing the career Grand Slam and joining an exclusive golfing club consisting only of five other players.
One of those already to have achieved the feat is Woods, who has dwarfed everybody else in the field in terms of popularity, to the extent that McIlroy had a fairly quiet practice round on Monday when he headed out with Irish compatriots Padraig Harrington, Shane Lowry and Seamus Power – something he claimed in his Tuesday press conference he didn’t mind.
His change in preparation to how he usually approaches The Masters appeared to blow up in his face, the 32-year-old skipping the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play and instead playing in last week’s Valero Texas Open but missing the cut. However, some extra preparation at Augusta won’t go amiss.
His form hasn’t been great, finishing outside the top 10 in his last three starts, but McIlroy still possesses the game to tame Augusta. Putting it all together is another thing.
William Hill odds: Rory McIlroy to win The Masters @ 20/1
Seamus has got the Power
A fantastic quarter-final run at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play got Seamus Power an invite to The Masters on merit as World No.42 and ended a whirlwind run for the Waterford man that all started at last year’s Barbasol Championship in July.
Of course, he will hope that this is just the start of a prolonged stay in the top 50 of the world rankings, but for now he has achieved a long-held goal of qualifying for The Masters and will make his debut at Augusta National this week, less than nine months after his maiden victory on the PGA Tour.
The 35-year-old has battled just to stay on the premier circuit for several years but finally made a name for himself with his Barbasol victory, which he has backed up with four top-10 finishes since November, including holding the halfway lead at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
He is a man in form and will approach this week with no fear knowing that there is little to no expectation on him.
After all, it’s extremely hard for a player to win The Masters on their first appearance at the tournament given all the subtleties to the course that can only be learned through experience. Power could be the best of the rookies, though World No.11 Sam Burns and Saudi International champion Harold Varner III will push him all the way.
William Hill odds: Seamus Power to finish as best debutant @ 6/1
Hideki’s horror story
As far as preparations for your Masters defence go, Hideki Matsuyama’s have been about as badly as you could hope for, the current Green Jacket holder withdrawing from last week’s Valero Texas Open with a neck injury.
He is on site at Augusta and hosted his Champions Dinner at the club on Tuesday, but how much that injury is bothering the Japanese ace will only be discovered when he gets on the course in tournament conditions. Even if he does play though, he surely will not be at 100%, which is a real shame given how he started the season when he won at the Sony Open in Hawaii.
It is also a shame he approaches this year’s tournament in such shape given how good he was 12 months prior, finishing one shot clear of Will Zalatoris at 10-under-par to become the first Asian player to win The Masters and don the Green Jacket, with the video of caddie Shota Hayafuji bowing to the course in respect becoming one of the abiding memories of a superb championship.
Still, as we have seen in the case of Woods, The Masters can do weird and wonderful things to players when it looks like they don’t have a chance. Matsuyama will do all he can to defend his title and, if fit enough, he is most certainly a danger to reclaim it.
William Hill odds: Hideki Matsuyama to be the best rest of the world player @ 8/1
Ace in the pack
There are few better places to be on a Sunday than the 16th hole at Augusta National, with the pin placed at the bottom of that slope which tends to funnel the golf ball down to the hole, making it perfect for a hole-in-one. Indeed, 22 of the 27 aces that have come during tournament play at Augusta have been at 16.
Our very own Padraig Harrington and Shane Lowry have both had hole-in-ones at the short par-three, which requires players to hit a short-iron across a pond and an imposing greenside bunker to a sloping green. However, the Sunday pin placement makes it a genuine hole-in-one opportunity.
There have been two or more aces at six Masters tournaments since 2004 – including last year thanks to Corey Conners (sixth) and Tommy Fleetwood (16th) – and with players becoming more and more accurate with their iron play, there is every chance that this could be another year where the fans could be treated to multiple ones at Augusta.
And who knows, if one of them was down the stretch on Sunday, it could be the difference on the leaderboard…
William Hill odds: Two or more hole-in-ones during The Masters @ 5/4
William Hill odds above correct at the time of writing. New online customers get €30 in free bets when they bet €10 with William Hill. Just use the promo code H30. For all the latest prices, visit williamhill.com. 18+, always gamble responsibly. For more information, see gamblingtherapy.org
