Masters 2012: Bold Predictions for Tiger Woods and More at Year's 1st Major

Tiger Woods is going to win the 2012 Masters. As far as bold predictions go, this is the least bold pick of a winner there is. Bovada has him listed as the event's favorite at 7/2. 

That fact alone made me want to pick someone else. There's no excitement in picking the favorite. However, the conclusion is inescapable, Woods is going to win.

We'll have more on that in moment. First, check out some other things you can expect for this grand event. 

Fred Couples Will Grab a Few Headlines

At 52, Couples isn't supposed to be grabbing any headlines. Sure, he should be winning Champions events, but those don't grab people's attention. 

Couples isn't going to win this event, but he will make some waves and spend time in the top five. 

It was just in 2010 when he held the lead in this tournament before his back gave up on him and he slipped back on Sunday. 

Last weekend, Couples was in great form as he won the Champions event. He likes this course, he's playing well, and he will show the youngsters that he can still hang. 

Luke and Lee Will Struggle

Westwood enters this on the heels of his worst performance of the year. He finished 29th place at the WGC Cadillac Championship. 

Donald comes in on a much better groove. He won his last event, and had a much better sixth-place finish at the Cadillac. He was 33rd and 48th in his two events prior to that. 

While Donald has managed to find a nice groove, he is not far enough into it to have the limitless confidence it would take for him to win his first major. Neither player will finish in the top 20. 

Rory McIlroy Will Play Opposite of Last Year

Last year, McIlroy rocketed out of the gates and held the lead at the end of each of the first three rounds. Then he fired an 80 on Sunday to cap off an epic meltdown. 

This year, he will start off slow and finish strong. I wouldn't expect him to shoot an 80, but he won't be on the leaderboard early in this event, but will be by the end. 

McIlroy has been playing fantastic this year as he wrestled away the No. 1 ranking from Donald. He will keep that good play going in this event, and will pass all but one golfer with a Sunday charge.

Tiger Woods Will Win

We all know Woods can dominate this course, and with the way he is playing, he will. 

Tiger is fresh off his first PGA win in 30 months, and that win was not a fluke. It was the progression of his comeback. 

He had been playing well all year. He just had yet to be able to hold that together over four rounds. But his stats are eerily similar to those of his dominant 2000 season. 

He is driving the ball deep and accurate (67.9 percent of fairways hit). He is on the money with his irons and is hitting 71.9 percent of greens in regulation. 

He has also found his putting stroke and is 10th in strokes gained with the putter. 

Tiger has his game working, and when he is on, no one can beat him at Agusta.