Masters Predictions 2012: Players Who Will Rebound After Day 1

All of our predictions for the 2012 Masters can be thrown out the window. The tournament is already off the rails.

The first day of the Masters saw some unusual names race to the top of the leaderboard. Some, such as Paul Lawrie, managed to stick around. Others, such as Henrik Stenson, got to the top of the hill only to stumble back down.

Meanwhile, a lot of big-name players have gotten off to tough starts. They will head into Friday's second round looking to rebound, and not all of them are going to succeed.

However, some players will successfully rebound. There are three players in particular everyone needs to keep an eye on. 

Y.E. Yang

First-Round Score: +1

You never know what's going to happen with Y.E. Yang. He always has to be on your radar because of what he did at the 2009 PGA Championship, but he's just as likely to miss the cut as he is to finish in the top 10.

Yang looked destined to miss the cut early on in the first round, as he was one-over par through nine holes. He was all over the place, especially early on when he bogeyed three of his first six holes.

After that, Yang settled down. From the seventh hole all the way to the 18th hole, Yang had just a single bogey, and he was able to even things out with a pair of birdies. On every other hole, he saved par.

Given the way Yang settled down as the day went along, I'm expecting him to come out and keep up the good work on Friday. I'm setting the bar at two-under for the day, and I'm not going to be surprised if Yang does even better.

Justin Rose

First-Round score: E

Justin Rose flew under the radar on Thursday, which is not surprising given all the craziness that was happening elsewhere on the course with other players.

But Rose did not have a bad round by any stretch of the imagination. He had one bogey, one birdie and pars on every other hole. He wasn't at the top of his game, but he managed to avoid getting himself in deep trouble.

This is a victory for Rose given the way he started last year's Masters, as he was all over the place in the first round and ultimately finished at one-over. He settled down after that, finishing at one-under in the second round and eventually finished tied for 11th when the tournament came to a close.

A similar bounce-back is in the cards for Rose this year. He did a very good job of feeling out the course on Thursday, so Friday will be all about him letting his talent take over. I'm setting the bar at three-under for the day.

Tiger Woods

First-Round Score: E

Tiger could have done a lot worse on Thursday, but his even 72 is a disappointment in a lot of eyes because of all the hype that was surrounding him heading into the tournament.

You have to look on the bright side. Had it not been for two late bogeys, Tiger would have finished the round at two-under and in sight of the lead. Moreover, Tiger actually did a pretty good job to save par on a lot of holes, including the first two of his day.

So don't be too quick to write Tiger off. He didn't get off to a roaring start, but that's nothing out of the ordinary for him at the Masters. You can look back to what he did last year, as his solid 71 in the first round was followed by a 66 in round two. 

All Tiger was doing on Thursday was working out some kinks and feeling out the course. He'll strike on Friday. I'm setting the bar all the way down at five-under.