Coming into Masters week, we rank the 10 players most likely to find themselves in the Butler Cabin on Sunday evening alongside Scottie Scheffler and the leading amateur.
01. Scottie Scheffler
It’s no major surprise that the world number one, two-time winner and defending champion takes pole position in our rankings. Scottie Scheffler has played in five Masters Tournaments, never finished outside the top 20, and has a top 10 to go with his two wins in the last three years.
Augusta National has been the Texan’s playground, and it’s no real surprise considering his iron play and short game have been exemplary since ascending to the top of the world rankings.
Scheffler has made winning look easy over the past three seasons. Easier than it’s supposed to look on the tour that still boasts the majority of the top players in the world.
He’d been knocking on the door for a couple of years, but when he finally joined the winners’ circle by taking down Patrick Cantlay in the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale, few could’ve envisioned that just two months later he’d be the top-ranked player in the world and would be adding a Green Jacket to his closet as a four-time PGA Tour winner.
His PGA Tour win tally now stands at 13, with two Masters and two Players Championship titles, plus an Olympic Gold Medal that’s not even included in that baker’s dozen.
His T10 finish in 2023 that’s sandwiched by Wikipedia green squares signalled the start of an extended period of putting struggles, losing over a shot to the field per day with the flatstick, and short game gains that were just above average for a man who statistically is among the best in the business.
Ominously, his latest appearance that came with a T2 finish – his highest of the season – at the Houston Open was also accompanied by his best putting week in his last 25, and if further omens were needed, he arrived at last year’s Masters on the back of a T2 finish at the same event.
The big difference being that last year he’d won twice before whereas this year he’s still searching for that first victory.
He ranks sixth in Strokes Gained: Off The Tee, seventh in Strokes Gained: Approach, third in Strokes Gained: Scrambling and 42nd in Strokes Gained: Putting, which makes it clear that his performance on Augusta National’s glassy greens will determine whether he’s in the chasing pack or streets ahead come the final day.
Whereas some players can be expected to wilt under the white heat of the back nine on Sunday, he’s shown the killer instinct to not just stand his ground, but to keep his foot down and accelerate towards the finish, but if it was as simple as that then there’d be no need to even tune in.
Tiger Woods was the top-ranked golfer in the world coming into Masters Week on 11 occasions, and just two of those – 2001 and 2002 – saw him walking away with a fresh Green Jacket for his closet, while his win in 2005 – his fourth Masters title – was enough to retake top spot. So it’s far from a foregone conclusion that the best player in the game wins the Masters.
On top of that, Scheffler’s previous two Masters wins came on the back of multiple victories in the lead in, and since winning is a habit, it’s easier to continue than to start afresh.
Even still, it’s nigh on impossible to picture Scheffler not having a major say come Sunday, and anybody who finishes above him on the leaderboard will have had an excellent week and might just find themselves in green.
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