Masters 2012 Pairings: Highlighting Opening Round's Best Tandems

The Masters pairings have been announced, and I'll say that I'm honestly disappointed.

Of course, we'll see better pairings once the weekend hits, but this year's Thursday-Friday pairings are the weakest we've seen in years.

Still, there are some great tandems that will open the tournament.

Here's a look at four pairs that will be exciting to watch in the first round.

Group 6: Martin Kaymer, Adam Scott, Bo Van Pelt

This is the first group that will make a name for itself in the first two rounds.

Martin Kaymer comes in ranked No. 6, while Adam Scott is No. 13.

Kaymer's never made a cut in the Masters, while Scott was in position to win last year until Charl Schwartzel had a historic run to the green jacket.

Scott is one of my favorites to win this year, especially considering the disappointment of last year.

He'll be in the same boat as Rory McIlroy, and I won't be surprised if it comes down to those two on Sunday.

Bo Van Pelt finished eighth at last year's tournament, but I don't see him even making the cut this year.

Group 14: Charl Schwartzel, Keegan Bradley, Kelly Kraft

This group is highlighted by last year's champion Charl Schwartzel and Keegan Bradley.

Schwartzel is ranked eighth, while Bradley is 19th.

Honestly, I like Bradley in this tournament. Schwartzel has won (luckily), and I believe he overachieved a lot. I can see him missing the cut, although he'll likely still find some way to get into the weekend.

Kelly Kraft is the sixth-ranked amateur in the world and will have a ball playing in this group. But, I don't think he makes it past the second round.

This will be an exciting group to watch mainly because the expectations are high, but you know one is going to falter.

Group 27: Vijay Singh, Lee Westwood, Jim Furyk

True, Lee Westwood is the only highly ranked player in this group at No. 3, but the fact that you have Vijay Singh and Jim Furyk in this group makes it one of the best opening groups in the tournament.

Westwood finished third at the 2011 U.S. Open and eighth at the PGA Championship, to go along with his 11th-place Masters finish from a year ago.

Singh is no longer highly ranked, but he's still putting together a decent tail end of his career with five top-10 finishes last year. Singh will be able to use his experience at Augusta National to his advantage and could sneak into the weekend.

Furyk has been consistent over the course of his career, but like Singh, will never smell the top 25 in the rankings again.

Group 32: Phil Mickelson, Hunter Mahan, Peter Hanson

With world No. 4 Hunter Mahan and No. 14 Phil Mickelson in this final group, viewers will definitely want to hang on to their televisions.

When it comes to Mickelson, he's that typical good guy that you always want to succeed, while Mahan is still considered a bit of an underdog, even though he won last week's Houston Shell Open and is ranked fourth in the world.

Peter Hanson is the third player in this group and won't receive much press. He missed the cut in his first Masters last year, but finished tied for seventh at the U.S. Open. He definitely has the ability to make it to the weekend, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him in contention after Day 1.

This is one group that I'll be following throughout, as I'm expecting two of the three to make it to the weekend.