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That round of golf [in Australia] has done more for me than I could have imagined at the time. Since then, it’s been called a run. People ask me, ‘is this a run that you’re on?’ I don’t really like that. I don’t really like calling it that because that would mean that normal would be anything less than where I’m at and I expect myself to be playing like this.
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Masters 2015: Odds for Sleepers and Favorites Heading into Augusta
Sterling XieApr 6, 2015
April is the sports calendar's most jam-packed month, with Opening Day, the NFL draft and NBA and NHL playoffs garnering much of the attention. However, in terms of history and prestige, no event trumps the Masters, which remains chock-full of storylines as the PGA Tour continues a transition period.
Rory McIlroy has established himself as the signature golfer of the post-Tiger Woods era—just ask EA Sports—and has an opportunity to complete the career Grand Slam at age 25, which would fittingly tie Woods for the youngest player to reach that achievement.
McIlroy stands out as the clear favorite in every event he enters, but with no top-five finishes yet this year on the PGA Tour, the door is more open than one might imagine.
With that in mind, let's handicap the golfers likeliest to take home the green jacket this weekend, with an eye toward the top pre-tournament championship contenders, via Odds Shark:
| Rory McIlroy | 11-2 |
| Jordan Spieth | 9-1 |
| Bubba Watson | 10-1 |
| Jason Day | 12-1 |
| Dustin Johnson | 14-1 |
| Henrik Stenson | 14-1 |
| Adam Scott | 20-1 |
| Phil Mickelson | 20-1 |
| Patrick Reed | 25-1 |
| Rickie Fowler | 25-1 |
| Brandt Snedeker | 28-1 |
| Matt Kuchar | 28-1 |
| Tiger Woods | 28-1 |
| Justin Rose | 35-1 |
| Sergio Garcia | 35-1 |
| Lee Westwood | 40-1 |
The Favorite: Rory McIlroy
The world's top-ranked golfer hasn't been peaking headed into Augusta, so these odds are a tiny bit longer than what we might expect. After shockingly missing the cut in his first 2015 PGA start at the Honda Classic, McIlroy has rebounded with ninth- and 11th-place finishes in his two most recent starts, though he hasn't won since capturing the European Tour's Dubai Classic on Feb. 1.
Still, having won the last two majors, McIlroy has a chance to creep within one more win of matching the famed Tiger slam that Woods captured from 2000-01. The comparisons to Woods will likely persist throughout McIlroy's career, and according to the New York Daily News' Hank Gola, ESPN's Andy North sees the same level of dominance from McIlroy, if not yet the same consistency:
"He is very Tigerish. You look at when he’s won his majors, he’s just dominated. He’s hit shots that have been amazing. At his best, he’s as good as anybody we’ve seen.
With him, it’s the consistency factor: Will he ever be as consistent as the Tiger we saw for 15 years that never missed cuts. Rory still does that a little bit, but at his best, he’s as good as anybody we’ve ever seen.
"
Augusta has always been McIlroy's bugaboo; apart from last year's eighth-place finish, he has never placed inside the top 25 at the year's inaugural major. It's a puzzling trend with no discernible explanation—Augusta does favor lefties, but it's also a course that favors a more balanced game between power and precision, one that should play into McIlroy's hands.
Expect a top-10 finish, but capturing a third consecutive major will be a tall task.
Top Challenger: Jordan Spieth
Unless Tiger experiences a miraculous late-career revival, Jordan Spieth is officially the best American golfer in the world. The 21-year-old Texan nearly became the youngest Masters winner last year, holding a two-stroke lead at one point in the final round before succumbing to Bubba Watson.
Spieth is as strong a candidate as any to emerge as McIlroy's biggest challenger over the next decade, and a win would create a very symbolic shakeup in the world rankings:
At this point, it's too early to pronounce Spieth as the second fiddle to McIlroy. The aforementioned second-place finish at Augusta last year is his only top-15 finish at a major thus far in his young career, so Spieth still needs to surpass the likes of Bubba Watson and Henrik Stenson in the pecking order.
Still, Spieth acknowledges that he enters the Masters on a roll, one that was set off by his Australian Open win in November, per Golf Digest's John Strege:
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Indeed, Spieth is probably the world's hottest golfer at the moment, with three consecutive top-two finishes and six top 10s in 10 2015 starts. It's a matter of time before Spieth becomes a major champion, and after his showing at Augusta last year, this is as logical a time as any for him to truly break into the role of McIlroy's biggest challenger.
Dark Horse: Jimmy Walker
Spieth may be the top American, but he certainly won't be alone. Like Spieth, Walker played the Masters for the first time last year and showed well, finishing in a tie for eighth. In Golf.com's roundtable predictions, an anonymous pro suggested that Walker is an underrated favorite this weekend:
"Last year was the first time Jimmy Walker played in the Masters, and he tied for eighth. He played a great back nine in Hawaii and ran away with it. He's won five times, he hits his long irons high, drives it straight and is a very good putter. Jimmy isn't a sexy pick—I read that he's 40 to 1. [Those odds dropped to 25 to 1 after his win on Sunday in Texas.] I'm not a gambler, but if I was, I'd put a hundred bucks on him.
"
Walker has been a bit erratic this year on tour. After ripping off three top-five finishes in five starts, including a win at the Sony Open in January, Walker floundered with three consecutive tournaments outside the top 20. The good news is that he enters back on an upswing, having won the Valero Texas Open by four strokes over a relatively star-studded field two weeks ago.
The late-blooming 36-year-old has been one of the tour's best stories over the past two years, with all five of his career PGA wins coming since 2013. But a major championship would really elevate that story to another level, all while giving Walker the recognition he deserves as a bona fide top-10 golfer in the world.
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