Masters 2012 Odds: Deep Sleepers Who Will Make Noise at Augusta

There are the favorites and there are the sleepers at the Masters.

Then there are the deep sleepers who always seem to make things uncomfortable for everyone.

Charl Schwartzel won the Masters last year with a 14-under-par 274, despite it only being his second year in the tournament. He finished tied for 30th place in 2010.

The point is, there will always be the front-runners and even some legitimate sleepers, but the reality is, anyone can come up and bite everyone on the rear end.

Here's a look at the deep sleepers at the 2012 Masters.

Justin Rose

Justin Rose is a deep, deep sleeper, given his only consistent year as far as major championships was 2007.

But he had his best finish at a major since 2008 last year at Augusta, tying for 11th place. Beyond that, he's playing solid golf this year, posting two top-10 finishes in seven PGA Tour events, including a victory at the Cadillac Championship.

He placed a respectable 15th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and has a shot to catch lightning in a bottle.

Jason Day

Jason Day had a very good 2011, with 10 top-10 finishes in 21 PGA Tour events.

But while Day has made the cut in all four of his PGA Tour events this year, he hasn't placed higher than 17th (hence, his 40-to-1 odds heading into Augusta).

But don't forget how Day, still only 24 years old, played at the Masters last year. He placed second with a 12-under-par 276. He also placed (albeit a distant) second at the U.S. Open to Rory McIlroy.

Hunter Mahan

Hunter Mahan just won the Houston Open with a 16-under-par 272 and he had top-10 finishes at the 2009 and 2010 Masters. And with two wins under his belt in 2012 (he also took the Accenture Match Play Championship), he's on fire.

Mahan, now the top-ranked American on the tour, has a better chance at Augusta than some people think.

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