Masters Predictions 2012: Luke Donald and Top Names That Won't Contend

While the Masters tends to be a tournament dominated by the world's elite players, some simply don't have the game to contend this year.

These are three of the top 20 players in the world, but none will be around at the end of this year's Masters. 

Luke Donald

We might as well start with the top-ranked player in the world. Donald's game is just not conducive to success at Augusta. Rather, he is far more suited to win the British Open. 

The problem with Donald is that he's not a strong driver of the ball, which is a must at the Masters. Not only does Donald not drive the ball a long way, but he's also wayward off the tee. Augusta is all about finding the right positions to give yourself the best chance of attacking. 

In no way will short and in the second cut give you good angles. Donald just won't make the birdies that are necessary on Sunday to win the tournament or even seriously contend. Don't be shocked if he finishes in a good position, but he won't be a real threat to win the Green Jacket.

Bubba Watson

Watson can hit any shot when called upon, but the one he uses to win is neutralized by the famous Augusta trees that occupy the course. Bubba relies a lot on hitting massive cuts, or even controlled slices. There just isn't room to do that at the Masters. 

Watson certainly has the length to make a lot of birdies, and he will. However, to keep the scores low, you also need to keep the bogeys off the card, and that's where Watson will get into trouble. 

He'll either have to try the bread and butter shot when it's not meant to be attempted, or go away from a shot that he's best at. That will lead to a few too many bogeys for serious contention. 

Martin Kaymer

Two major things work against Kaymer here. Firstly, since losing the No. 1 spot in the world, he has continued trending in the wrong direction. He isn't playing his best golf, or anything close to it, and you don't want to enter the Masters that way. 

The second thing to note is that, even at his best, Kaymer has never made the cut at the Masters, let alone contended for it. Don't look for that to change this year. At this time last year, he was the top-ranked player in the world and still missed the cut at Augusta. Now that he's not playing well, he's certainly not going to turn around and contend. 

Follow @mdixon1985