The excitement is building as the biggest week of the golf calendar is finally here and we are about to discover who will be the Masters champion of 2024.
Many have a firm idea of who is likely to be before the first tee shot has even been struck and all eyes will be on world number one Scottie Scheffler as he looks to win a second Green Jacket and continue a sensational start to the year.
However, there will be plenty of others who will fancy their chances as a significant number of LIV Golf players head to Georgia to enjoy the party.
They include recent convert and defending champion Jon Rahm, while Rory McIlroy would like nothing more than to finally complete the Majors set and become only the sixth player to win all four of the game’s biggest prizes.
- Scottie Scheffler to win
- Hideki Matsuyama to win and each-way
- Bryson DeChambeau to win and each-way
Scheffler To Steal The Limelight
We have not seen such a highly fancied market frontrunner for The Masters since Tiger Woods was in his prime, but it is difficult to oppose world number one Scottie Scheffler this week.
Predicting golf tournaments usually comes down to a box-ticking exercise and when you can find someone who meets all the requirements, then you could be on to a good thing and Scheffler undoubtedly meets all the criteria for someone looking to win a Green Jacket.
While few have ever matched the Texan’s ability to perform from tee to green, there was always a feeling that his putting was the one thing that was letting him down, but now Scheffler is getting his act together on the greens, he has been hard to live with.
Victories have come in both the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Players Championship - two of the most prestigious tournaments the PGA Tour has to offer, and there was little not to like in his subsequent and last spin at the Texas Children’s Open, where Stephan Jaeger beat him and the field by one shot.
So the recent form is there and his course record provides further cause for encouragement.
Having tasted success in 2022 when he had again got the year off to a blistering start, he has finished in the top 20 in all four of his Masters visits, including tenth when Rahm won last year.
Course familiarity is such a thing at Augusta - no debutant has won the Green Jacket since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979 - and the mastery over every element of his game puts Scheffler in the prime position to adapt to any particular scenario that the Georgia weather especially may throw up.
He seems to be the epitome of calm whenever he is in contention, which suggests he should be able to cope with the high expectations placed upon him this week and, while it may seem like a short price to win one of the game’s most prestigious prizes, there is little doubt he has the ability and temperament to deliver.
Matsuyama In Great Form
While Scheffler’s credentials are exemplary, this is not a one-man tournament and there are plenty of talented players who will have the world’s best golfer firmly in their sights.
One of them is Hideki Matsuyama, who became Japan’s first men’s Major winner when he earned his lifetime invitation to the Masters three years ago.
That was just one of eight top-20 finishes Asia’s best golfer has claimed in his last nine visits to Augusta and, like the favourite, he has enough quality in his all-round game to tame one of the world’s most revered courses.
That experience should help him a great deal and he also heads to Georgia having made a strong start to 2024 in some of the PGA tour’s biggest tournaments.
Seventh spot in last week’s Valero Texas Open was a decent warm-up, but more impressive has been his showings in some of the recent designated events which tend to attract the strongest fields.
He won the Genesis Invitational at Riviera in February and followed that up with a 12th spot at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and sixth at the Players Championship, which should stand him in excellent stead.
Matsuyama is another player who ticks the right boxes and has plenty of good Augusta experience to draw upon, so he can certainly force his way into the picture come Sunday afternoon.
HIDEKI MATSUYAMA TO WIN & EACH-WAY
DeChambeau Could Lead LIV Charge
The fact world ranking points are not awarded for LIV Golf events means it is increasingly harder for those on that tour who have not won at Augusta to qualify for the Masters.
A total of 13 exiles will be in this week’s field and, with time running out on Bryson DeChambeau’s five-year exemption following his 2020 US Open win, time is of the essence if the big-hitting boffin is to cement his place in the first Major of the year.
However, there looks a good chance he can make his presence felt this year, even if he has failed to back up his talk of taming Augusta in his previous appearances.
The Californian’s best finish was when he finished 21st to take the low amateur prize on his debut in 2016 and he has had six mediocre appearances since.
But he has been able to make a strong impression on the LIV Golf scene this year, finishing ninth at the Las Vegas tournament, fourth in Jeddah, sixth in Hong Kong and seventh at last week’s get-together in Miami.
All those performances have come since the middle of February and he undoubtedly has the ability, especially with his driver, to become a major force at this week’s tournament.
Most eyes will be on how the move to LIV has affected defending champion Rahm, but DeChambeau could be well-placed to upstage the Spaniard and get into the mix.
BRYSON DECHAMBEAU TO WIN & EACH-WAY
