Masters Odds 2012: Perennial Underachievers Not Worth a Bet

Take one look at the odds, and you'll get the sense that the 2012 Masters is going to be won by either Tiger Woods or Rory McIlroy.

They are indeed the two favorites, as well they should be. Tiger always plays well at Augusta National, and he's coming off his first official PGA Tour victory since 2009. McIlroy is the top young golfer in the world, and he could have won the Masters last year had it not been for a final-round collapse.

So this year, the question is Tiger or Rory, or the field?

Anyone who chooses to place his hopes on the field will no doubt single out a few very good players who haven't managed to win the big one yet. Perhaps this will be the year for one of them to get lucky.

Don't count on it. In particular, there are five underachieves that you should avoid entirely.

Note: all odds are from Bovada.

Steve Stricker

Odds: 50/1

You can't help but root for Steve Stricker, as virtually all of his best golf has come after he turned 40. He's a late bloomer, meaning there's hope for all those of us who suck at golf before the age of 40 (i.e. myself).

For all of his success, Stricker has yet to win a major. He's come close on several occasions, most notably at the PGA Championship way back in 1998, but he hasn't won one yet.

Stricker will not be winning at Augusta National. He's playing pretty well this year, but there's just no predicting how he's going to perform at Augusta National. He's played well here and there, but he's also missed some cuts and has finished in the middle of the road here and there.

Stricker will be in the running if he makes the cut. He always is. But being in the running and winning are two different things, and Stricker just hasn't proven to be a winner.

Luke Donald

Odds: 16/1

Luke Donald is No. 1 in the World Golf Rankings, so nobody should be shocked that he's among the favorites to win the Masters this year.

Pardon the expression, but that's par for the course for Donald every time a major rolls around. Unlike Stricker, he doesn't always end up in the running. Donald's problem is that he either goes boom or he goes bust.

Take what Donald did at last year's majors. He finished in the top 10 twice, including at the Masters, but he missed the cut in another and finished tied for 45th at the U.S. Open. This is how Donald goes about his business.

Donald's history at Augusta is mixed. He's had some very good showings, including last year, but he's also missed some cuts and finished well below the top of the leaderboard. 

Until Donald shows that he can at least be consistent from major to major, I'd shy away.

Lee Westwood

Odds: 20/1

Lee Westwood is going to make some noise at the Masters. That much I can guarantee.

But will he win? I think not.

Westwood has established something of a tradition of finishing in the top 10 at majors, as he's scored six top-10 finishes at majors since the middle of 2009. He's finished second twice, and tied for third three times. 

Westwood has also played well at Augusta National in recent seasons, finishing in the top 11 in three out of the last four years.

Clearly, finishing near the top is Westwood's M.O. His problem is finishing at the top.

I liked Westwood's chances of winning last year more than I like them this year. The field was weak, and he looked like a strong candidate to win after finishing second the year before. The field is much stronger this year, and Westwood no longer has recent history on his side.

Martin Kaymer

Odds: 50/1

There's some positive buzz surrounding Martin Kaymer at the moment, and that's thanks entirely to what he managed to pull off while practicing for the Masters at Augusta National on Monday.

According to the Daily Mail, Kaymer skimmed a shot across the lake on the 16th only to see it make it up onto the green and then into a hole for a hole-in-one.

Well done, Mr. Kaymer. Now all you have to do is make the cut in the actual tournament.

That's something Kaymer, a former No. 1 player, hasn't done yet at the Masters. In four trips to the Masters, he's missed the cut four times.

It would be a great story if Kaymer went from four straight missed cuts to a Green Jacket, but you just can't like his chances seeing as how he has never felt the pressure of playing in the final two rounds at the Masters before. That's as tough as it gets.

Rickie Fowler

Odds: 100/1

I wasn't going to include Rickie Fowler on this list, as it's still a little too early in his career for any of us to be calling him an underachiever.

There are a couple reasons I ultimately decided to go ahead and include Fowler on this list. The first is that he kinda has underachieved since being named the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year in 2010. The second is that I just know that people out there are going to bet on Fowler exactly because he's Rickie Fowler.

Don't do it. He's way too unpredictable, and he's way too unproven at Augusta National. He'll be worth a bet someday, but not now.