Tiger Woods: Underrated Golfers Who Could Knock Off World No. 1 at Masters

Stop me when you've heard this before: Tiger Woods is the overwhelming favorite heading into a major championship. 

According to Bovada's sportsbook, Woods, at 3-1 odds, is nearly three times more likely to take home his fifth green jacket than any other player in the 2013 Masters field. That includes Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson, the two guys seen as even remotely approaching Woods' "favorite" standing.

While in recent years Woods has been the favorite almost by default—daddy always gets the big piece of chicken—2013 may be the first time he's truly deserved it in nearly three years. A winner of three tournaments already, including each of his past two, Woods finally looks like the man who once dominated golf's landscape.

He's hitting putts at the second-best rate on the entire PGA Tour and has lost only once in a stroke-play tournament this year. The self-assured, confident Woods is back in the fold and looks in the best position both personally and professionally he has since that fateful Thanksgiving in 2009. 

Whether that results in a fifth green jacket remains to be seen. Competition continues to get better every year on the PGA Tour, and lest we forget that Tiger will turn 38 in December. For all of the Jack Nicklaus winning at 46 talk, the Masters are historically a younger man's event. 

Nevertheless, the excitement will be palpable. 

Every single person on the planet with an internet connection or a buddy who subscribes to those crazy things called newspapers knows McIlroy and Mickelson are Woods' biggest competition. We all get that. And most everyone with a pulse knows anyone even remotely associated with the event wants those three vying for the green jacket down the stretch—especially those in the television department.

History tells us that won't be the case. Woods has four green jackets, but none since 2005. The past seven years have seen names like Angel Cabrera, Charl Schwartzel and Trevor Immelman take come home victorious—none of which were even remotely on the radar coming into the weekend.

Who are the guys who could challenge Woods and join the Cabreras of the world? Here is a breakdown of a few underrated contenders who could shine. 

Keegan Bradley

Other than El Tigre, there may be no hotter golfer in the field than Bradley. The 26-year-old American has finished inside the top 10 in each of his past four appearances, including a tie for third at the Arnold Palmer Classic in March.

It's a near-perfect time for an ascent for Bradley, who played in his first Masters just one year ago. He looked mostly at home on the Augusta National course, carding a two-over score en route to finishing in a tie for 27th place. Though that's not exactly an inspiring tale of triumph, plenty of golfers have fallen under the enormous weight of the Masters in their first try.

Bradley played well, kept a level head and never carded an abhorrent score. Speaking last week in preparation for the Masters, Bradley seemed to think his initial experience will come in handy this time around. 

“It’s such a tough golf course,” said Bradley (via the Augusta Chronicle). “It was my first Masters. I learned a lot. Hopefully, I’ll apply it this year.”

Bradley will have to apply his learnings early, as he'll be playing alongside Rory McIlroy and Freddie Jacobson. That trio will have the watchful eye on them from the very first tee on Thursday. McIlroy has a ton of pressure on him heading into this year's tournament after legendary flameouts each of the past two years, leaving Bradley without an opportunity to slide under the radar. 

That undoubtedly means more ire about his belly-putting ways. Bradley became one of the faces of the controversy after his win at the 2011 PGA Championship and has since become a lightning rod in the sport.

Even though he may not be the most beloved player on tour, Bradley has a chance of taking that belly putter all the way to the green jacket ceremony on Sunday. 

Ian Poulter

There aren't many players more entertaining on the PGA Tour than Poulter. The always-eccentric Englishman has been known among the most outwardly emotional and flamboyant stars on the links—sometimes to his own detriment or success, depending.

Throughout his career, Poulter's struggles have almost been as high as his apexes. That being said, the 37-year-old has never lacked the ability to rise in the biggest moments. He became a near-folk hero during the 2012 Ryder Cup, going undefeated and leading an emotional charge that later became known as the "Miracle at Medina."

Fist-pumping, jowls expanding like a striking piranha and playing out-of-his-mind golf only exceeded by his antics, Poulter was triumphant. While the Ryder Cup remains the apex of Poulter's professional accomplishments, he said there is only one place that can evoke nearly as much emotion—the Masters. 

“No is the simple answer,” said Poulter (via GolfWeek's Adam Schupak). “But what will happen is on Sunday afternoon, when you’re coming down the stretch, you will be feeling the same kind of emotions.”

Poulter knows well what it's like to hang around Augusta through the weekend. He finished a career-best seventh place in 2012 and has now carded an under-par score in each of the past four years. Though Poulter has never been in the final group on a Sunday, he was the 36-hole leader in 2010 and may be more confident than ever heading into this weekend—if that's at all possible.

"I think people would expect what happened at that Ryder Cup to help when it comes to winning majors, but I believe that it helped more than people think, to be honest," Poulter said (via Daily Mail's Derek Lawrenson).

Poulter will be playing alongside 2012 champion Bubba Watson for the first couple rounds, so we'll get to see whether those boastful words come to fruition. But if the Ryder Cup taught us anything, it's never to count out Poulter when the stakes are high.  

Hunter Mahan

A promising start to the 2013 season has somewhat descended for Mahan heading into Augusta. The 30-year-old American missed the cut at the Houston Open and has finished outside the top 20 in his last three tournaments, including his Texan disappointment.

That downslope came after Mahan looked to be on a slow build to something special this season. He had hung around in contention in nearly every tournament he played early in the campaign, culminating with a second-place finish in the Match Play Championship.

Nevertheless, Mahan always seems to ascend into contention regardless of how he's playing prior to Augusta. Other than an outlier 2011 performance, the Masters have become something of a safe haven and a massive purse for Mahan.

Though he's not on the Mount Rushmore of yearly Augusta greats like Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson—nor is he frankly close—Mahan is consistently in that second tier in recent years. He's finished inside the top 12 in three of the past four years and has carded only three over-par scores in that same timeframe.

If the course plays rough and scores stay in the single-digits, Mahan is as big of a threat as any player in the field this weekend. He'll also get the distinct pleasure of playing by his lonesome in terms of mainstream appeal during the weekday rounds—forgive me, all Hiroyuki Fujita and Francesco Molinari fans out there—so the pressure will be off.

Course conditions are key for Mahan because he's not going to drop a 64 anytime soon. But if steadiness winds up taking the tournament, there are plenty of worse sleepers to find in this field. 

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