Masters 2017 Leaderboard: Live Look at Thursday Scores and Overall Predictions

It may be time to put Dustin Johnson's coronation on hold. 

The top-ranked golfer in the world suffered a fall in his rental home Wednesday afternoon, and his status in the Masters is in doubt.

Johnson is scheduled to tee off at 2:03 p.m. ET, and that late time gives him a bit of an opportunity to recover from the injury. However, there are no guarantees he will be able to make it through the first round or four full days of competition.

"At roughly 3:00 pm today, Dustin took a serious fall on a staircase in his Augusta rental home," according to a statement from his agent, David Winkle (h/t Jay Hart of Yahoo Sports). "He landed very hard on his lower back and is now resting, although quite uncomfortably. He has been advised to remain immobile and begin a regimen of anti-inflammatory medication and icing, with the hope of being able to play tomorrow."

Johnson was the clear favorite to win the Masters before suffering the fall. However, the odds have changed dramatically in the last 24 hours.

Jordan Spieth is now the betting favorite with odds of plus-650, according to OddsShark. (A $100 bet on Spieth will return a profit of $650 and the original wager.)

Rory McIlroy is the second choice at plus-700, while Johnson is now at plus-900. He had been the leading choice at plus-$550 throughout the week.

Player	Odds	Predicted Finish
Jordan Spieth	+650	Third place
Rory McIlroy	+700	Champion
Dustin Johnson	+900	10th place
Jason Day	+1,600	Fifth place
Rickie Fowler	+1,600	Ninth place
Hideki Matsuyama	+1,800	Sixth place
Jon Rahm	+2,000	Second place
Justin Rose	+2,200	Seventh place
Phil Mickelson	+2,500	Fourth place
Adam Scott	+2,800	Eighth place

If Johnson is not at his best throughout the tournament and can't swing the way he normally does, it will make it difficult for him to play at a high level. That misfortune could open the tournament up for the rest of the field since Johnson had been playing so well. He had won his last three tournaments prior to the Masters.

Spieth won the 2015 Masters and was leading in the final round last year before he had trouble on the back nine. Spieth's precision with his irons and his excellent putting make him a key factor at Augusta, and if Johnson isn't at his best, he has as good a chance as anyone in the field.

Matt Slocum/Associated Press

McIlroy could be right on his heels, and his remarkable power and shot-making ability have made him one of the game's greatest stars. He generates nearly as much distance as Johnson, but he can run a bit hot and cold. If McIlroy gets hot with his putter, he has a chance to see his name atop the leaderboard throughout the tournament.

Jason Day and Rickie Fowler both come into the tournament with odds of plus-1,600. Day was golf's best player in 2015 and is capable of the spectacular. In his 2015 PGA Championship victory, Day showed immense power off the tee, remarkable accuracy with his irons and his putter was on fire. If he can get back to that form after dealing with family illness—Day's mother has been diagnosed with lung cancer and has had subsequent surgery—he is capable of dominating the scoreboard.

Fowler ranks eighth in the world and in the FedEx Cup rankings, and he has the shotmaking ability to rally and make a move up the scoreboard at any point in the tournament. Fowler is often an all-or-nothing player who can win a tournament or fall way behind and fail to make the cut.

Spanish phenom Jon Rahm has a chance to contend here because he has been playing sensational golf since the start of the year. The 22-year-old Rahm ranks fourth in FedEx Cup points and 12th in the world.

He has a first-, second- and third-place finish this season and has eight top-25 finishes in the 10 tournaments he has entered. He has made the cut in all of the events he has competed in and earned more than $3.5 million this season.

Rahm has the swagger of a major champion, and his confidence should give him a chance on moving day and in Sunday's final round.

Veteran Louis Oosthuizen is a relative long shot with odds of plus-5000, but he should not be counted out. Oosthuizen has one of the smoothest swings in the game, and he has performed well at Augusta in the past. The diminutive South African made it to a playoff in 2012 and ultimately placed second to Bubba Watson, the two-time Masters champion.

Watson has not played well this season, as he ranks 123rd in FedEx Cup points and has just one top-10 finish in the eight events he has competed. However, it would be foolish to count out a player who has won two green jackets and still hits the ball with remarkable power.

Predictions

This tournament appeared to be within Johnson's grasp, and it could remain there if he is able to overcome his fall and deal with his discomfort. However, if he can't lash the ball consistently for four days, he may have to put his Masters dreams on hold.

The injury may go a long way to emboldening the field, and it would not be a shocker if McIlroy and Spieth engage in a championship duel on Sunday.

If that's the case, give the edge to McIlroy. If he is good enough to find himself at the top of the leaderboard through the first three rounds, we expect him to be at his best on Sunday. Spieth had issues on the back nine last year in the final round, and that will be the case again in this year's tournament.

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All statistics and rankings are courtesy of PGATour.com.