The Masters 2015: The Top 10 Storylines Heading into Augusta National

The long Masters prep season is over, and there’s no shortage of storylines to follow as the best 100 golfers convene on Magnolia Lane.

Tiger Woods returns after a two-month layoff. Rory McIlroy goes for the career Grand Slam, and Bubba Watson looks to defend his title and win a third green jacket.

Three players 25 or younger have a shot at winning (McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed), with just as many—if not more—players north of 35 also having a chance.

Read on for this week’s storylines for the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club.

10. Is It Sergio Garcia's Time?

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With the rise of McIlroy, Spieth, Reed and other young talents, it’s easy to forget Sergio Garcia is still playing solid golf.

His problem was coming up with Tiger Woods at the start of his career and ending his career in the McIlroy era. Timing is everything, and Garcia’s watch broke a long time ago.

“Sergio has a ton of talent," Jeff Ritter of SI Golf Group (h/t Golf.com) wrote, "but I'll believe he can win a major when he actually does it. He still seems too far inside his own head."

And then there's this from Joe Passov of Golf Magazine:

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If you play the odds, the answer is no major for Sergio. He absolutely has the talent. He has so much talent that it's easy to see him contending, in the final group, in a bunch of majors for years to come. For 16 years, however, something seems to happen when he gets THIS close in majors, and in too many cases, in regular events as well. 

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So which is it? Will Garcia be in the thick of this tournament for three rounds and gag on Sunday? History suggests he can’t close.

After finishing tied for fourth at the Northern Trust Open back on Feb. 22, he hasn’t broken the top 30. He’s not inspiring confidence, but you never know. Seasoned veterans sometimes have ways of putting it all together for four days in April.

9. The Brash Patrick Reed Returns to His College Town

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Patrick Reed is brash, but he has the talent to back it up. Though he won a WGC event at a very young age—the 2014 Cadillac Championship as a 23-year-old—Reed isn’t necessarily a player who comes to mind as one of the bright up-and-comers, despite having won four tournaments already.

Darren Bahnsen, Reed's teammate at Augusta State College, recalled this in a story by ESPN.com’s Ian O’Connor:

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If you ever challenged him at something, he answered it every single time. In one practice round I hit a drive down the middle, about 275 yards, and felt good about it. Patrick said, 'Man, that's a good drive,' and then he got down on two knees and hit his ball 10 yards past me. From his knees.

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Reed will bring that sort of confidence to Augusta, and he has the game to back it up…on his feet.

8. Will Dustin Johnson Contend in This Great Comeback Season?

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Dustin Johnson's comeback has been one of the better stories in 2015. Ever since his leave of absence or suspension, or whatever you want to call it, Johnson has come back better than ever.

“The mentality of being invincible is great when I’m playing golf,” Johnson said in The Independent. “But where I was struggling was when I wasn’t playing golf. I don’t think I’ve even scratched the surface. And that was a really big part of what I’ve been doing, to help myself reach that potential.”

He’s driving the ball into cosmic orbits (No. 1 on tour, 318.8 yards per drive!) and he’s top-10 in total putts per round. His approaches put in him position to make putts.

7. Henrik Stenson Is the BPNTHWAM

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And the title of Best Player Never to Have Won a Major goes to…Henrik Stenson.

Stenson is the world No. 2 and is playing some quietly great golf. Dating back to the 2014 wrap season, he hasn’t finished worse than fourth. He finished second at the Hero World Challenge and at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and fourth or tied for fourth at the Cadillac Championship and Valspar Championship.

Golf.com’s Gary Van Sickle had this to say:

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You’ve got to credit a guy who won the FedEx Cup and the Race To Dubai in the same year. He was in the mix at the last two PGA Championships, and he’s got a second and two thirds at the British Open, but in nine Masters, his best finish is 14th. I like him at St. Andrews this summer, not at Augusta.

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He finished tied for 14th and tied for 18th in his last two tries at Augusta. This could be the year he earns a top-10 finish.

6. Is Jimmy Walker Elite?

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Jimmy Walker has been a prolific competitor and winner over the past year. He was the first repeat winner on the tour this year when he outlasted Spieth at the Valero Texas Open.

As great as he has been by sitting at or near the top of the FedEx Cup standings, Walker needs that major to be considered an “elite” player.

Gary Van Sickle of Golf.com wrote:

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Walker is an elite player. He finished top ten in three of four majors last year and he's got five wins in two seasons. Any other Americans done that? He was eighth last year in his first Masters appearance. But to become a household name he needs to win a high-profile tourney, either a major or a WGC.

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That’s a great case. Most people would consider Phil Mickelson an elite player, but he’s far past his prime and not half the player Walker has been over the past year.

Jeff Ritter of SI Golf Group (h/t Golf.com) echoed that: “A major victory would certainly boost Walker's profile, but at this point he deserves the title belt for America's best player today. Five wins in two years -- and the last two were runaways -- speaks for itself.”

5. Jordan Spieth Rising

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No golfer is playing better than 21-year-old Jordan Spieth. He was a camera shutter away from staying in contention on the first playoff hole at the Shell Houston Open. A camera went off in his backswing for his bunker shot. It left him a near-impossible par putt, and he settled for a P2.

“I’m not sure, I heard something or maybe it was just me,” Spieth said during the NBC broadcast. “I had a really good lie and I just got down into the sand and caught it fat. It didn’t leave me with an easy chance in the playoff.”

Spieth won the Valspar Championship in a playoff and finished second in both the Valero Texas Open and the Shell Houston Open.

He had a horrendous downhill lie on No. 18 at the SHO. He got up and down to join J.B. Holmes and Johnson Wagner. That ice will play well at Augusta, where he finished tied for second in 2014. He’s got momentum.

“A lot [of momentum], as much as I feel, as prepared as I could be, I felt comfortable with more and more pressure,” Spieth said on the NBC broadcast. “That gives me confidence heading into Augusta where there’s as much pressure as anywhere.”

Spieth could be in the final pairing come Sunday, and it wouldn’t surprise anyone if he won this tournament and became the youngest player since Woods to do so.

4. Will Phil Mickelson Find His Game?

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A funny thing happened at the Shell Houston Open: Phil Mickelson shot under par, nine under par to be exact, and tied for 17th.

Lefty shot a six-under to open the tournament, signaling that he could be ready to compete for that third green jacket.

"It was a good round. Good start to the tournament," Mickelson said, as Reid Cherner notes in USA Today. "The scores are going to be low, and you've seen a great bit of low scores because the greens are soft and rolling perfectly true. Good first round for me. I'm looking forward to three more."

He played his best tournament since 2014’s PGA Championship, and not a moment too soon.

"This is a big week for me," he said in USA Today. "I felt the game was close last week. The only thing missing was chipping and short game. If I can play well this week or continue on playing for the next three days, it should be some good momentum for next week."

3. Rory McIlroy Goes for the Career Grand Slam

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Rory McIlroy goes for the career Grand Slam at the Masters. He already has four majors in his career. At this age, 25, only Woods and Jack Nicklaus had as many.

He is a focused and committed world No. 1, but comments reported by James Corrigan of The Telegraph were a touch ominous:

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I would be dishonest if I said my love of golf now is as big as it was back then. I still love the game, still love playing great courses and playing with my friends and my dad. I took a trip to Augusta after Doral with Dad and it was just so good. But then I don’t love golf as much as when it was just pure joy to get on to the course to play.

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Maybe McIlroy wins the Masters and becomes the fifth golfer to win all four majors, but looking to 14 majors and beyond, McIlroy’s sentiment doesn’t instill much confidence.

Success on these levels is so often about process. It’s not about winning the most tournaments; it’s about the love of being at the range. That allows for winning.

“When I was a kid, if I spent a day away from the game, I couldn’t wait to get back,” McIlroy said in The Telegraph. “Now I can’t wait for a week off. There’s just not the ‘I can’t wait to get out of the house as quick as I can to get to the course’ feeling.”

What does that mean for Augusta? It means we could see the McIlroy of late 2014 or we could see an apathetic player if things don’t bounce his way. We’ll see on Thursday which McIlroy made the trip to Magnolia Lane.

2. Bubba Watson Goes for Three Green Jackets

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For a defending champ, Bubba Watson is buried by the immense weight of the other storylines at Augusta. There’s the tropical depression off the coast of Georgia named Spieth. There’s McIlory’s bid for the career Slam. And there’s Woods.

Former pro Chris DiMarco said in the New York Post, “I think he’s a clear favorite because of the way he plays that golf course. For him to go in there without a lot of extra pressure is huge. His putter is a lot better this year. A good putter in Bubba at Augusta is a scary thought.”

Watson has been super consistent in 2015. He finished alone in third in the Cadillac Championship and tied for second at the Phoenix Open. Watson has only played in four events this year, and not once since Doral on March 8.

That shouldn’t matter since Augusta fits his game. There are horses for courses, and Watson simply gets Augusta.

“There’s only a couple of tee shots that I’m nervous about,” Watson said in the New York Post. “Other than that the golf course sets up pretty good off tee. When I’m hitting my driver half way decent I can get some short irons in there.”

Right now, Watson is the third betting choice at 11-1. He should be the second betting choice, but his brief respite from competitive golf slid him down the list.

1. Tiger Woods

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The storyline heading into the Masters surrounds Woods. How will he play? Will he make the cut? Can he win? Has he disposed of those dreadful chipping yips? Will he withdraw? So many questions and so few answers.

“You can’t take a shot off at Augusta or you will pay a heavy price,” said former PGA champion and Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger in Gerry Dulac’s Pittsburgh Post-Gazette story. “You could be embarrassed there. Augusta really exposes that potential.”

The thing is we just don’t know. When Woods said he’d play at Torrey Pines this year, things appeared positive. Having won eight times at Torrey Pines seemed to signal that maybe his game would recover. Instead, he withdrew after his back pulled tighter than a snare drum...that, and a bruised ego.

“He was embarrassed to be out there,” Chris DiMarco said in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “He wasn’t doing anything good, and I think there was something wrong and he couldn’t take care of it.”

Woods played some practice rounds at Augusta, playing well enough to throw his cap into the ring. Curtis Strange, a two-time U.S. Open champ, said in that same story:

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I don’t care how many golf balls you hit at home and how much you practice, it’s a completely different animal than playing competitive golf. That’s how you find out how your game stands in every aspect. It’s like a 3-point shooter. When you get in a slump, you have to keep shooting 3s because that’s the only way to get out of it.

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Whatever happens, seeing Woods tee it up in the Masters just feels right. Seeing him wearing red on Sunday would be a welcome sign of good things to come.