Masters 2013: Tiger Woods, Bubba Watson and Top Bets for Golf's 1st Major

The 2013 Masters will begin Thursday at Augusta National, but while all eyes will be on defending champion Bubba Watson and money leader Tiger Woods, they aren't the only top bets for the season's first major event.

With a three-time Masters champion flying under the radar coming in, the season's first major tournament will be anyone's to win.

In anticipation of Thursday's first round, here, we'll highlight the top contenders at Augusta this April.

Phil Mickelson

Lefty is always a top threat at Augusta National. Regardless of how hot or cold he is coming into the year's first major, Phil Mickelson has the game, experience and poise to capture The Masters crown.

A three-time Masters champion since 2004, Mickelson has won this tournament more times than any other player over the past nine years. He nearly won last year's Masters, finishing tied for third place despite shooting a six-under 66 in the third round.

2013 hasn't been a great year for Mickelson, but he did win the Phoenix Open in early February and ranks inside the top five on the PGA money list.

Like Woods, Mickelson has proven time and again that he not only excels but loves this course.

Brandt Snedeker

American Brandt Snedeker is an emerging star, and despite his recent string of poor finishes at Bay Hill and Redstone, the 32-year-old Nashville native will be a threat up and through the weekend at Augusta.

Snedeker's best finish at The Masters came in 2008, when he finished tied for third. But with four top-five finishes to his name already in 2013, Snedeker, who ranks second behind Woods on the PGA money list, is sure to be at his best and towards the top of the leaderboard through all four rounds.

He finished tied for third at last year's Open Championship, and it's really only a matter of time before Snedeker breaks through at a major tournament. He seems to be growing in confidence with each and every strong finish.

Bubba Watson 

The last repeat champion at The Masters was Woods in 2002, but if there's a golfer who possesses the talent and bold style capable of becoming the first to win back-to-back titles at Augusta in over a decade it's Bubba Watson.

Watson won his first career major championship at this tournament a year ago, showing tremendous guts in a playoff win over South African Louis Oosthuizen.

The 34-year-old reigning Masters champ has gotten off to a slow start this season and has just two top-10 finishes to show for his efforts thus far. He did finish comfortably under par at Doral and Bay Hill despite placing outside the top 10 at both tournaments.

Keep in mind that a year ago Watson was coming off two top-five finishes at Doral and Bay Hill.

Tiger Woods

Every year it seems Woods enters the Masters as the player to beat, and 2013 will be no different, as Woods is on fire coming into April's most prestigious golfing event.

After picking up consecutive victories at the WGC-Cadillac Championship in Doral and the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, Woods is the current world No. 1 and PGA money leader. If there's a concern about him, though, it's that he was in a similar situation a year ago coming into Augusta. 

Woods cruised to a win at Bay Hill in 2012 and wound up finishing tied for 40th; his worst finish at The Masters since 1996, when he missed the cut.

At this point in Woods' career you never know what you're going to get from him, especially at a tournament he hasn't won since 2005. But if his scorching start to the season is any indication, Woods is a safe bet at Augusta this spring.

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