Masters Favorites 2012: Tiger Woods and More Big Names to Avoid

The spectacular week known as the The Masters is rapidly approaching, and fresh off his win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Tiger Woods is back—at least according to some.

He's playing well, he's got the winning feeling back in his stride and he's beginning to resemble the Tiger we all came to know and love.

As a result, he's firmed in heavily as the favorite to win the coveted green jacket again. Yet, along with a host of other players, he needs to be avoided when picking the winner.

So whether you're an avid golf follower or someone just out to make your pockets a little heavier, here are the big names that you want to avoid at this year's Masters tournament.

Tiger Woods

Starting with the big one—Tiger Woods will not win the Masters in 2012. Yes, he looked good at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, but he will not land himself the green jacket this year.

One of the big killers for me is Tiger's putting average throughout the year, ranking 67th across the PGA Tour with 1.768 across 2012. He sits well behind the likes of Rory McIlroy and Bo Van Pelt, who both sit down around the 1.70 mark. Across four rounds, this could prove the difference.

Whilst Tiger's form line is good—five tournaments for a win and a second place—it must be noted that these are also his only top-10 finishes in 2012. His fourth-round capitulation at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am showed that he still lacks the consistency required.

Even at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Woods shot 71 and 70 in his last two rounds—highlighting again that he isn't quite back to the level of consistency we are used to from Tiger.

He may be brilliant and wind back the clock to the mid-2000s, but he may also be inconsistent and fail to find the groove over the weekend. He is worth avoiding over the week.

Rory McIlroy

Rory McIlroy's capitulation at last year's Masters will go down as one of the greatest collapses in golfing history. Instead of playing from the middle of the fairway, the Irishman was left playing from behind trees and up near cottages, as seen in the picture to the left.

Despite sitting second in the Money List throughout 2012, he is to be avoided again in the tournament—not just because of his disaster round last year, but because he simply doesn't have the complete game to win at the Masters this year.

Throughout 2012, McIlroy's driving accuracy is sitting at 60.7 percent—hitting 68 fairways out of a possible 112—which may seem strong, but it ranks him 78th across the PGA field. Thus whilst he may string together a solid round or two, he may also be playing shots like the one above on a more frequent basis.

The closer to the green Rory gets, the better his golf gets. McIlroy is currently striking at 66.67 percent for greens in regulation, and then top three for putting average and save percentage.

However, he's still got to get to the green first, and despite boasting a strong drive his accuracy is of cause for concern heading in to the Masters. He's failed to finish outside the top five in any tournament this year, yet without the accuracy he could find himself in trouble again at the Masters and should be avoided.

Adam Scott

This one is a no-brainer: avoid Adam Scott unless you want to give away your money.

The man who finished in a tie for second at last year's Masters will not be repeating his success in 2012, because he doesn't have the form behind him.

Players can come out of nowhere to challenge at the Masters, but there simply isn't anything behind Scott to suggest that he's going to be a threat.

In the four tournaments that Scott has played in 2012, he's either started with two mediocre rounds or finished with two mediocre rounds—something that you can't do if you're to take out that green jacket.

The numbers aren't pretty for the Australian, either. He ranks 163rd in driving accuracy, 179th in sand save percentage, 31st in actual scoring average and 27th in greens in regulation percentage.

Maybe I'm being a little harsh here. Is Scott better than these numbers? Absolutely.

Can he take out the Masters? Nope.

Keegan Bradley

Keegan Bradley's recent fourth at the Shell Houston Open may inspire some, but looking at the big picture, Bradley simply isn't there yet.

Consistent enough to be considered a threat, Bradley is not a perennial top-10 finisher but rather a top-20 player and must be thought about in those terms.

His 69.79 percent greens in regulation is inspiring to some, but put with his 60.18 percentage for driving accuracy, some of it's significance is lost. Considering also that the American has played more rounds of golf than most players this year, the relevance of these numbers carries more weight than some.

His scoring average is strong, his putting is strong and as a result, Bradley actually sits third in all-round ranking for 2012—a number surprising to most and which may lead to a vote of confidence from some.

However, looking at his performances this year, there's a worrying trend occurring, pointing to a McIlroy-esque capitulation occurring for the American.

Of all the tournaments Bradley has completed in 2012, less than half of those have seen him put two rounds under par together in the final two rounds of the competition. In fact, all of his above-par rounds have come in the final two rounds of the competitions.

Now put that together with the heightened pressure of the Masters and millions of eyes watching, and it's not unusual to suggest that Bradley may throw out his tournament chances with some poor rounds late in the tournament.

The American is definitely one to watch—I'd back him to be leading after two rounds—but he is worth avoiding for the coveted green jacket.

Charl Schwartzel

After bursting on to the golfing scene with his win at last year's Masters, Charl Schwartzel is again in the running for his second green jacket. Unfortunately for him, it's not going to happen, and he should definitely be avoided.

Schwartzel failed to make the cut in his most recent outing at the Shell Houston Open, and failed to make the cut in his match before that at the Transitions Championship. He shot a 76 and 73, leaving him seven over after two rounds and well off pace.

His drop off in form in 2012 is also highlighted through his low statistical rankings. Schwartzel's driving accuracy is over 65 percent for the year (40th), but his greens in regulations percentage has him sitting outside the top 100 on tour at 65.28 percent.

Schwartzel is only breaking par on 20.37 percent of holes this year as well, which, at the Masters, is not good enough to finish the four rounds with the lead.

Last year, Charl was well back in the field after two rounds—reflected again in his scoring average before the cut in 2012, where he ranks 82nd. However, he ranks second across the whole PGA tour for third-round scoring average and final-round scoring average.

If Schwartzel isn't too far off pace after two rounds, then he could well and truly challenge for his second green jacket, but it's more than likely that his poor form will continue and he will find himself too far back to mount any sort of a challenge.

A Player NOT to Avoid: Hunter Mahan

Woods, McIlroy, Scott, Bradley, Schwartzel—five players to avoid in this year's Masters.

But let's finish on a positive note as to a player that your money may well not be wasted on at this year's tournament: Hunter Mahan.

Mahan currently leads the Money List for 2012 with wins at the World Golf Championships and most recently at the Shell Houston Open.

He is strong across the board, statistically speaking—ranked 14th overall—and has the necessary qualities to strive at the Masters.

The American's driving accuracy percentage and greens in regulation percentage both are above 70 percent, ranking him sixth and ninth, respectively.

The only concern is his final rounds, which have seen him post up some mediocre scores. But if he can be in the mix by the end of the third round in this one, there's no reason why Mahan can't find himself in a green jacket—particularly with his recent form.

If you're going to send your money the way of the American, it's worth backing him each way (that is, to win and to make the top 10) considering his strength across the board.

However, with his hitting strength and accuracy, as well as his solid putting, there's no reason to suggest that Mahan won't find everyone a little green with envy at his position at the end of the week.

Read more articles by Dan here or follow him on Twitter: @dantalintyre