Masters Favorites 2013: Projecting Total Busts and Failures at Augusta

Golf is nearly impossible to predict, especially when it comes time to pick the year's first major winner.

There are so many different factors at play and you rarely if ever know which golfers will be on the very top of their games. Or vice versa. 

Sure, Tiger Woods enters Masters week as the overwhelming favorite, ranking No. 1 in the world and having won the last two tournaments at Doral and Bay Hill. But what if the 14-time major champion records a few bogeys early, starts pressing and never recovers?

There hasn't been a repeat winner at Augusta National since Woods won the second of back-to-back titles in 2002, which points to the inconsistency golfers often experience at this event. 

With Thursday's Round 1 on the horizon, here we'll project the golfers who will be total busts at the Masters in 2013.

Angel Cabrera

2009 Masters champion Angel Cabrera has been erratic at Augusta National since first missing the cut there in 2000. Although he boasts five top-10 finishes at the year's first major, including that memorable win four years ago, his 32nd-place finish in 2012 suggests he'll be a total bust this April.

Cabrera has decent odds to win at Augusta (plus-7500, according to Sportsbook.com), but based on his lackluster play to begin the year, don't expect him to be among the leaders vying for the title on Sunday.

The 43-year-old Argentine has yet to record a single top-10 finish in 2013, and missed the cut at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill last month. His best effort this season was a 16th-place finish at the Shell Houston Open at Redstone over Easter. 

Don't be surprised if he's headed home after the first two rounds, either. After all, Cabrera has missed the cut three times at Augusta National, including two consecutive times in 2004 and 2005.

Luke Donald

Like Angel Cabrera, former world No. 1 Luke Donald has solid odds to earn a green jacket this coming weekend at Augusta National. But that doesn't mean the English star is going to come through in the clutch.

Donald finished tied for 32nd place a year ago at the Masters, and has missed the cut at this tournament twice in his past five tries. Still, he enters 2013's tournament as one of the favorites. Sportsbook.com has his odds of winning at plus-4000.

Thus far in 2013, though, Donald has struggled. He has earned just one top-10 finish at the Tampa Bay Championship in March. He finished 43rd at the WGC-Cadillac Championship before that.

It's been 13 months since Donald's last win on the PGA Tour. He won the Transitions Championship in March 2012 right before his disappointing performance at Augusta. With little momentum on his side and a history of hit-or-miss performances at this course, Donald looks set for failure at this year's Masters.

Charl Schwartzel

Perhaps more so than Angel Cabrera's Masters victory in 2009, Charl Schwartzel's win in 2011 was lucky and a bit random. After all, it was only Schwartzel's second attempt at Augusta and he tied for 30th the first time around in 2010.

Not to discredit what the South African was able to accomplish in 2011, but his 50th-place finish last year certainly doesn't aid the argument that he truly understands the ins and outs at this course and will be a threat in 2013. 

Sportsbook.com gives Schwartzel strong odds (plus-2500) to win this April and that's fair considering his success on the PGA Tour in 2013. He earned two top-10 finishes at the Northern Trust Open in February and the Honda Classic in March.

Keep in mind that Schwartzel has not won on the PGA Tour since the 2011 Masters two years ago.

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