The 2015 edition of The Masters is finally upon us as the world's best golfers descend on Augusta National, hoping by the end of Sunday night that they will be slipping into the famous green jacket.
The world number one Rory McIlroy arrives at one of the world's most famous golf courses with the expectation that he will complete Golf's Grand Slam and win all four majors at the age of just 25. McIlroy famously had a meltdown on the back nine at Augusta in 2011, otherwise last years win at The Open Championship would have already seen him complete an achievement only managed by five other players in history.
There is no doubting that McIlroy's long and accurate hitting, combined with his wonderfully good iron play and red hot putter on the greens can win at Augusta and he will win a Green Jacket one day. It is a matter of if 2015 is truly the man from Northern Ireland's year to do it.
And looking at his Augusta record and his form this season, I don't think McIlroy will be leaving with one of golf's iconic images on his back. His best finish at Augusta was tied eighth last year but he was eight shots off winner Bubba Watson and shot a 77 in the second round. In every year since 2010, he has had one horror round (77 in 2010, 80 in 2011, 77 in 2012, 79 in 2013 and a 77 last year) and that shows how McIlroy has struggled to get to grips with the course even as he's progressed to become the best golfer in the world.
His form this season in America has been patchy. Despite winning the Dubai Desert Classic in February and coming 2nd in the preceding Abu Dhabi Championship on the European Tour, McIlroy missed the cut at the Honda Classic and has only shot one round in the 60's in his other two tournaments on the PGA Tour this season.
The Americans have upstaged the man from Holywood this season so far and I believe they are primed and ready to do so at Augusta this week as well. Here's five Americans to put some cash on:
Jordan Spieth (12/1 at William Hill)
Still only 21, the Texan produced a superb performance on his Masters debut last year finishing in second place behind winner Bubba Watson. Spieth led by two shots early on in the final round but bogeys at holes eight and nine meant Spieth was unable to recover a deficit to his fellow American.
However, Spieth now looks even more ready to win his first Major Championship this week. He has been in terrific form since the end of 2014, winning the Australian Open in November last year and then the Valspar Championship on the PGA Tour in March this year, seeing off Patrick Reed and Sean O'Hair in a play-off.
Last week he narrowly missed out on winning the Shell Houston Open but this time he lost out in the play-off to J.B. Holmes. Despite that loss, he arrives at Augusta full of confidence in the way he is playing and determined to go one better this year. His driving distance stats might be below 300 yards on average, but he is still a long enough hitter to cope with Augusta's length and a more pleasing stat on the Spieth front is that he is taking the least amount of putts per hole this season on the PGA Tour.
Jimmy Walker (22/1 at Various)
Jimmy Walker remains a bit of an unknown outside of the golfing world. He was certainly a late bloomer in the sport, only winning his first PGA Tour title in 2013, at the age of 34.
Following that maiden success at the 2013 Frys.Com Open, Walker hasn't looked back and has won a further four times on the PGA Tour since including twice this season at the Sony Open in Hawaii and at the Valero Texas Open at the end of March, where he finished four shots ahead of a certain Jordan Spieth.
Having finished tied eighth on his Masters debut last year, Walker now looks hungry to have a real tilt at winning his first Major on his second appearance at Augusta. He finished in the top thirty of all four majors in 2014, including further top tens at the US Open and US PGA championships which shows his love of the big tournaments.
With Walker regularly hitting the ball over 300 yards and having a devilishly good touch around the greens, you'd be mad not to take those odds on him.
Matt Kuchar (45/1 at Coral)
Regular readers and people who know me, know that I am convinced Kuchar will win a Green Jacket one day. And this year he may well just slip under the radar with many of his other countrymen being talked up ahead of him.
Kuchar has a great record at Augusta over the past three years, finishing tied fifth last year which followed a tied eighth in 2013 and a tie for third in 2012. His great touch around the greens combined with accuracy off the tee and his irons make him ideally suited to the challenge of Augusta National.
If there's one problem with Kuchar, it is that he doesn't seem to have the ruthless streak to win more tournaments than he does, with his last win coming almost a year ago on the PGA Tour. Nevertheless, Kuchar is someone who comes alive during Augusta week and is certainly worth an each way bet.
Brooks Koepka (100/1 at various)
You would usually be declared mad for tipping a Masters debutant to win, but there is something different about Koepka that makes me feel he could be in contention come Sunday.
Firstly, he hits the ball a long, long way, averaging almost 308 yards this season on the PGA Tour which is bettered only by Dustin Johnson and Bubba Watson. Long hitting is absolutely necessary to succeed this week with Augusta lengthening every year.
Secondly, Koepka comes into the event in great form winning most recently in February at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, where he held off a challenge from Bubba Watson among others and shot 66-64 over the weekend to win. He also enjoyed a superb victory in the Turkish Airlines Open in November 2014, shooting a final round 65 to edge out Ian Poulter.
Only 24, he also enjoyed top three finishes in 2014 at the Dubai Desert Classic and Omega European Masters and subsequently won the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year title on the European Tour. No Masters debutant has won the green jacket since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979, but Koepka's great driving and fearless attitude gives him a chance to break that long standing record.
Zach Johnson (100/1 at various)
The 2007 winner is well worth an each way bet. He might have only had one top 20 finish at Augusta since winning the tournament eight years ago, but Johnson is one of the most solid golfers of the last decade or so and loves a good challenge.
He might not be the longest off the tee, but he is accurate and that always leaves you with a chance at Augusta considering other players go wild off the tee. He remains one of the games greatest putters particularly from short-range and has always been someone who looked like he had no trouble with the pace of Augusta's greens.
He might not win a second green jacket this weekend but at odds of 100/1, 39 year old Johnson with his experience and temperament is more than capable of pushing towards the top of the leaderboard.
The Americans are hungry to wrestle back control of golf Majors from Rory McIlroy and there are plenty more names not on this list who it wouldn't be surprising to see lead the American charge at Augusta.
It's time to sit back and enjoy four days of brilliant golf from the world's best.
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