It's finally here, The Masters. As you will hear hundreds of times over the weekend and it could not be more true, "A tradition unlike any other." The Super Bowl of the Golf world has finally arrived after all this time. We've got so much to discuss before setting your lineups, so let’s get to it.
First, you must know that basically any player $7,500 and up has a chance to win the Masters. My job is to provide you with the golfers I feel have the best combination of price, ownership and level of play to help you bring home big money this weekend. It was extremely difficult to narrow down my playbook to these select few, especially from the top tier. I would not fault you if you played any player $9,000 plus.
Time to shift our focus over to Augusta National. There is no need to go into detail here because it's one of the most well-known courses in the world. It is a Par 72 that measures out to between 7,400 and 7,500 yards depending on the setup. This course is very difficult and true test of a golfer's game. There are very long Par 4’s, and reachable Par 5’s. The greens are always the fastest on tour and hard for these players to stick because of the shave edges. Since the course was lengthened in 2010, we've seen a majority of 300 yard bombers winning or finishing in the Top 10 but there are exceptions to every rule namely Charl Schwartzel, Danny Willett, Jordan Spieth, and Patrick Reed. When looking over the course history, good greens in regulation numbers have been found to be very benefical to success at Augusta.
Augusta National will always be known as a second shot course. That means our favorite stat comes back into play this weekend, Strokes Gained: Approach. You can look also more specifically at proximity from 175 and 200 yards out. That means targeting great long iron players (great ball strikers). Tiger Woods may be the most outstanding iron player ever and that’s why he’s got five green jackets hanging in his closet. It’s the only way to score on this courses, putting yourself in as many birdie making opportunities as possible.
Course history is vitally important when it comes to The Masters even if it is just one previous trip like we saw with Danny Willett and Jordan Spieth recently. No player has won at Augusta on their first attempt since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979. When you look at last year's final Top 20 leaderboard, it’s filled with names you've seen and heard before on the PGA Tour. Experience matters at Augusta. I will not be putting Bryson DeChambeau into my playbook for the Masters. You don't need me to tell you about his 2020 success culimating with a domination at the U.S. Open a month ago. He will attempt to continue this style of play at Augusta which has never even been thought to be possible but here comes Bryson. Feel free to roster him as much as y ou would like, I'll have limited shares personally. I guess you can call me an Augusta purest but I want to see it work before I go all in.
Finally, the weather always plays a factor at Augusta because it is known for changing on a whim. We are seeing this course for the first time in November but right now the temperatures are up from normal. They are scheduled to get a decent amount of rain over the coming days leading up to Thursdays start. It looks like Thursday could be a wash out with a 90 percent chance of rain and thunderstorms. Friday thru Sunday have rain in the forecast but less than 50 percent chance. We should see soft conditions on the fairways this week.
The Masters is truly a one of a kind event that every fan of the sport looks forward too. Growing up, there were few things I enjoyed more than watching Sunday at Augusta with my Dad. This year I’ll have one TV on the Masters and one TV on NFL Red Zone to keep up with all the action. Typically the Masters would signify the start of the golf season for me but this year I’ll mean packing the clubs up and putting them into the shed for the winter months.
KEY STATS TO TARGET: Strokes Gained: Approach, Strokes Gained: Putting, Greens in Regulation, and Par 5 Birdie or Better
ONE AND DONE PICK: Brooks Koepka
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