Masters Field 2016: Odds, Favorites and Tournament Preview

Is it still a tradition unlike any other if Tiger Woods isn't playing in it?

The clock is ticking before golfers everywhere gather at the first tee at Augusta National for the 80th edition of the Masters on Thursday. The best golfers in the world will be looking to don the green jacket, but Woods will not be one of them due to his ailing back.

Despite his early-season struggles, reigning Masters champion Jordan Spieth is listed as one of three favorites on Odds Shark. Rory McIlroy and Jason Day are not far behind as men who could potentially dethrone the young star and win the green jacket.

Simply put, the Masters is wide open this year. Here are the odds and a preview for what's to come in golf's first major of the year.

Jordan Spieth	+700
Rory McIlroy	+700
Jason Day	+700
Bubba Watson	+1000
Adam Scott	+1000
Rickie Fowler	+1200
Phil Mickelson	+1800
Dustin Johnson	+2000
Justin Rose	+2200
Henrik Stenson	+2500

Preview

A slump was expected for Spieth after his run of dominance in 2015, but it's been more than just a slump early on for the 22-year-old star out of Dallas.

With the exception of his win in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions on Jan. 7, Spieth hasn't finished in the top 10 in any tournament since the turn of the calendar year, and he missed the cut in the Northern Trust Open.

Spieth's performance in this weekend's Shell Houston Open could be a sign of good things coming for last year's Player of the Year. Despite finishing tied for 13th and shooting eight under for the tournament, he shot five under in the first round and back-to-back two-under rounds over the weekend. His long-range putting game also showed some signs of returning to form over the weekend.

Kevin Van Valkenburg of ESPN noted how solid Spieth was at reading the greens this weekend, which could play a factor at Augusta since it is notorious for having soft greens:

But since the conclusion of the PGA Championship, there has not been a hotter golfer on the planet than Australian native Day, per ESPN Stats & Info:

He closed last year winning four of the final seven tournaments he played in, including a combined 39-under at the PGA Championship and The Barclays. So far, Day has gotten off to a strong start in 2016 with a win in the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the WGC-Dell Match Play title last week.

The world No. 1's driving game has thrived recently, per the PGA Tour, and that could come in handy if Day wants to play a short field this weekend:

It wouldn't be a surprise to see Day and Spieth in the final pairing come Sunday, but you shouldn't forget Rory McIlroy. The former British Open champion is looking for his first Masters title and finished fourth last year. It seems that with each Masters, McIlroy gets closer to winning it.

The difference this time around is McIlroy isn't seen as a bigger favorite than Spieth and Day, and he's fine with that, per Evan Murray of the Guardian:

"

I’m going in there with the same objective, same mindset and trying to achieve the same thing. I don’t think it makes much of a difference at all, whether I’m going in there and being talked about or if I’m not, because I’m still feeling the same things that I’m thinking about.

Maybe I’m putting pressure on myself, but I know what it would mean to me and I know what it would mean to my career [to win].

"

Until someone dethrones the champ, Spieth has to be considered the favorite heading into Augusta. But because of his struggles this year, it may not be as easy as that for Spieth to win another green jacket. 

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