The 2010 Masters Six Pack

Welcome to what will be probably be called, “Tiger’s return to the jungle.”

It seems as though the story dominating this entire major is the return of Tiger Woods. It should not be surprising, as the PGA desperately needs the draw right now. This could possibly be the most watched Masters in history, all because of one philandering pop culture icon named Tiger Woods.

Did I mention that even though he has not played in one of the 15 events so far this year, said icon is still ranked number one in the world?

‘Nuff said.

This will also mark one of the few times that you will ever see such high odds on Mr. Woods. Most books are currently at three-and-a-half-to-one, with a few sending out four-to-one odds. It may not be a bad idea to hedge all of your other bets with one larger play on Tiger. Before doing that, I would recommend considering some things from his press conference yesterday.

Golf is no longer the most important priority in his life.

He will now be controlling both his negative and positive outbursts on the course because he wants to treat the game with more, “respect.”

Yes, that means he will be much more vanilla like everyone else and unfortunately much more boring to watch. I think he may be trying to do too much too quickly with regards to "change" in this first week back, by not being himself. His emotion is a big part of the draw that attracts people to him.

If he takes that all away all at once, he is taking away an integral competitive edge from his game.

Advantage, field.

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Last week in Yahoo fantasy I rebounded a little bit, yet did not have a stellar week. I currently have 1941 points on the year. Out of all four experts, I am still only besting Michael Arkush by 83 points. Eric Planer has me by 13 points, Greg Vara has me by 16 points, and super stud expert Matt Romig has me by a whopping 198 points. It’s time to catch up this week friends, so here is my line up.

GROUP A

START
Anthony Kim
BENCH
Luke Donald

GROUP B

START
Jim Furyk
Retief Goosen
BENCH
Nick Watney
Alvaro Quiros

GROUP C

START
Charl Schwartzel
BENCH
Matt Kuchar

I know my six pack picks have been like the kiss of death so far this year, but I will continue to stick with my recipe that has brought me so much success in previous years. We just need a hot streak to hit.

Here are this week’s honorable mentions: Campbell 66:1, Cink 80:1, Donald 80:1, Goosen 25:1, Haas 225:1, Mahan 50:1, Na 150:1, Ogilvy 40:1, O’Hair 50:1, and Poulter at 33:1 odds of winning.

No. 1: Jim Furyk

In thirteen appearances, Jimmy Furyk has only missed a Masters cut once. He has four top ten finishes here, and many more in or around the top 20. Experience is priceless when it comes to Augusta National, even though it seems like they change the course in some manner every year!

Furyk’s recent play has been fantastic, seeing him capture a win for the first time in a couple of years. I know he will take his experience and momentum down south to Georgia this weekend and make a strong bid for his first major since the 2003 US Open.

Here are some impressive numbers that I like about Furyk:

—Ninth in driving Accuracy at 72 percent
—Third in putts per round at 27.8
—Third in scrambling at 70.97 percent

At 33:1 odds, I would love to see Jim Furyk in a green jacket on Sunday.

No. 2: Dustin Johnson

DJ has been hiding out from the leader board lately. He hasn’t played very well in an event since his red hot start to 2K10.

That being said, Augusta sets up well for this big hitters game, because he is also a fantastic putter.

Dustin had a nice tie for 30th in his first attempt at Augusta last year, and he has the skills that make him very worthy of donning a green jacket.

Let’s go inside his numbers:

—Third in Driving Distance at 300.5 yards off the tee
—First in Par Breakers at 25.99 percent
—Fifth on money list with almost $1.8 million so far
—Fourth in Fed Ex Cup Points with 833

Dustin Johnson is a value-ridden 50:1 this week.

No. 3 Nick Watney

Nick Watney is a guy who is built like Dustin Johnson. He gets lots of birdies and has decent length off the tee. Watney has been to Augusta two times, placing 11th and 19th.

His strong finishes indicate that he has a feel for Augusta, and I have a feeling he will show some improvement this year.

Watney has been playing great golf this year. He has two top ten finishes in his last five events, and will be carrying that momentum with him to Magnolia Drive.

Some numbers to consider about Nick Watney:

—12th in Par Breakers at 23.70 percent
—19th best ball striker on tour
—18th in birdies made this year with 124

Put these factors together, and Watney makes for a good pick at 50:1 odds of winning.

No. 4 Charl Schwartzel

Ladies and gentlemen, Charl Schwartzel is the real deal, and has been catching fire lately.

His last five events see him placing 38th, ninth, second, 52nd, and third. That alone is impressive enough to outweigh the fact that he has never set foot on the turf of Augusta National before in tournament play, in my virtually worthless opinion.

Schwartzel has not missed a cut this year and has some terrific stats to peruse:

—21st in Putts Per Round with 28.50
—First in Total Putting on the PGA Tour
—19th in Driving Distance at 291.6 yards off the tee

I like what this South African phenom brings to the table this week. Do yourself a favor and put a little cabbage on him at 50:1 odds of winning.

No. 5 Matt Kuchar

When I think of young players that are finally starting to come into their own on the PGA Tour, this guy is at the top of my list, especially with his fantastic play so far here in 2010.

Kuchar’s last five events have seen a third and an eighth place finish. Matt has played Augusta three times before. He struggled twice, but has placed as high as a tie for 21st.

With his game dialed in the way it is right now, Kuchar is a terrific risk-reward pick.

I knew Kuchar was on his game this year, but these stats are unreal:

—Second in All Around Ranking
—Third in Par Breakers at 25.10 percent
—First in Actual Scoring Average at 69 strokes per round
—Fifth in Scrambling at 70.39 percent
—First in Par four performance on the year at 27 under par

I think that Matt Kuchar is my most valuable pick this week with his lofty 80:1 odds of winning.

No. 6 Alvaro Quiros

It feels strange to call this guy my long shot, especially after seeing some of his statistics.

Alvaro “Howitzer” Quiros is a lethal driving machine. Had he carded enough rounds in the PGA, he would statistically be the longest driver on tour by a whopping twelve yards off the tee.

Quiros missed the cut in his first attempt at Augusta, but this year he is playing much better, possibly better than he ever has in his career. Alvaro’s last five events have been stellar, seeing him place second, sixth, 33rd, 14th, and sixth again at the WGC-CA Championship.

Drive for show and putt for dough is Alvaro’s motto. Just look at these stats that back that up:

—First in Driving Distance at 314.7 yards off the tee.
—First in Putts Per Round with 27.38
—First in Par Breakers at 26.39 percent
—First in Actual Scoring Average at 69 strokes per round

Upon picking myself up from the floor after falling out of my chair, I promptly clicked away on Alvaro Quiros at 100:1 odds.