Masters 2012: Why An Underdog is Destined to Win at Augusta

Don't expect the 2012 Masters to be won by a big name. An underdog is going to win this year at Augusta.

The two big names everyone expects to win are Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.

However, neither one is poised to win this year, which leaves the door wide open for one of the multitude of unknowns on tour to creep up from the darkness and experience their day in the sunshine.

I wrote a piece last week about why the odds are stacked against Woods this year.

Basically, the bottom line is that one win shouldn't instantly make him the favorite all of a sudden. 

Woods still struggles with the flat stick right now, and that's a difficult thing to try to overcome at Augusta. The greens there are the toughest test in golf, especially considering the way they dry them out for this prestigious tournament.

Woods isn't quite ready to win this tournament again for a fifth time.

Mickelson, on the other hand, isn't even close to being in the right frame of mind to win. 

Mickelson won the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in early February and followed it up with a second-place finish at the Northern Trust Open a week later.

Since then, he has been underwhelming, finishing 43rd at the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship and then finishing T-24th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Talk about going the wrong way at the wrong time.

Mickelson can be the most dynamic golfer on the planet when he's on his game. When he's not, he can be the most self-destructive golfer on the planet. 

That's what he's currently up against: Bad Phil.

With Tiger still finding himself and Phil struggling to hit fairways and greens, one of the underdogs is likely to come out of nowhere and claim the Green Jacket.

Besides, it's not like this outcome goes against tradition at Augusta. It seems like every year it's either a predictable Tiger or Phil win or an unknown underdog success story.

This year, an underdog is going to win.

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