Masters 2012 Leaderboard: Day 1 Contenders Who Are Destined to Drop

There's nothing quite like a few surprise contenders to spice up the Masters. It's nothing new for new names and old flames to pop up on the leaderboard in the early rounds of a major championship.

That's why golf's most challenging tournaments last for four rounds instead of just one, isn't it?

Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy are well within striking distance of the top while Phil Mickelson sits a ways back at three strokes over par, though all three figure to be in the hunt once Sunday rolls around.

In the meantime, let's have a look at the leaderboard at Augusta National to see which early performers are bound to come back down to Earth in the days to come.

Louis Oosthuizen

Don't worry, there's no pressure to learn how to pronounce Louis Oosthuizen's name, unless you really want to.

Before he falls out of contention, that is.

The 2010 British Open champion shot a four-under 68 on Thursday, good enough to put him in first place when he sauntered into the clubhouse at Augusta.

Trouble is, "Shrek" has never finished in the top 10 or even the top 25 at the Masters. Heck, Oosthuizen has yet to make the cut in three previous tries.

That's not to say he won't survive four rounds this time—just don't expect Oosthuizen to stay in the hunt for a green jacket for too much longer.

Lee Westwood

Lee Westwood has a much better shot to win at Augusta than does the slippery-named South African. He's been the No. 1 player in the world and has 12 career top-10 finishes in major championships on his resume, including a runner-up result at the Masters in 2010.

He would appear to be well on his way to adding a 13th top-10 to his stash after shooting a five-under 72 in the opening round.

Still, it's tough to imagine that, at 38, Westwood will ever be anything more than the bridesmaid at the biggest events on the PGA Tour, on which he's managed all of two wins since he turned pro in 1993. 

Henrik Stenson

At least the previous two names mentioned managed to finish one round without collapsing.

The same can't be said for Henrik Stenson, who sprinted out to six-under through 10 holes before stumbling to a pair of bogeys and a quadruple bogey to finish the day at one-under par.

After all that, the Swede still isn't all that far off the pace, though if he can't keep his wits about him on Thursday, how's he supposed to stay above the cut line on Friday, much less survive the pressure to perform on Saturday and Sunday?

Follow @J0shMart1n