Masters 2015 Leaderboard: Live Look at Thursday Scores and Overall Predictions
The 2015 Masters is in full swing, with the vast majority of the field having already taken to the course for their Thursday opening rounds.
You may have to wait until 3 p.m. ET to catch the action on national television (ESPN), but Masters Live will be providing various live-stream action all day long. To stay further in the loop, here's an interactive leaderboard for the action.
2015 Masters Leaderboard
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Tee Times: Masters.com
Tournament Predictions
Here's hoping the familiar sights and sounds of Augusta bring a revitalization of Phil Mickelson's form.
The longtime tour standout and three-time Masters champion has been struggling early in 2015, and that may be putting it lightly. He's missed two cuts thus far in the calendar year and has not notched a finish better than 17th in seven tournaments played.
But stepping onto the course has Mickelson excited to play, according to Golf Digest:
Mickelson has come out of nowhere to win majors before, but it's much easier said than done at Augusta. Not only does everything have to be clicking in order to stay in contention, but the breaks have to come your way as well.
That, of course, is all dependent on being able to set yourself up for good putts, and then making said putts. Lefty's game has relied on that more than anything else, and it's just not there this year. His immense knowledge of the course will leave him ahead of the cut line, but not much more.
Prediction: Mickelson struggles, finishes 30th (four over par)
Dustin Johnson
A resurgent 2015 Masters for Dustin Johnson has been brewing for some time, and it's bound to come to the surface this weekend.
The 30-year-old has been knocking the life out of the ball since returning from a long personal absence, and he's posting some of the best results of his career early in 2015. He already has finishes of fourth, second and sixth along with a victory at the WGC-Cadillac Championship that marked his 10th PGA Tour win.
His long game will pay dividends at an Augusta course that has always played to big hitters, but especially so since the course's extension. His 318.8 yards per drive ranks atop the PGA Tour, and his 2.005 strokes gained tee-to-green are No. 1 on tour as well.
If the weather turns sour for an afternoon at Augusta, it will allow Johnson to take advantage of his long game even more.
Although he's never finished better than 13th at the Masters and missed the cut last year, his game is in a better place than it's ever been. That's as big of a boost as any entering the year's first major.
Prediction: Johnson wins 2015 Masters (12 under par)
Tom Watson
Will Tom Watson ever lose his magic touch at Augusta?
In this his 42nd career appearance in the Masters, Watson once again started strong in his opening round by posting an early below-par round on the front nine. Pundits jokingly wondered whether his continued reign on the sport was a good thing, as Golf Digest's Dan Jenkins quipped:
Watson's game is ageless, but that's not to say he hasn't struggled at Augusta over the last several years. He's missed the cut in four of the last five years, only making it through the weekend twice since the turn of the millennium.
Staying above that cut line will be a feat in itself amid such a loaded field, but Watson's opening round proved much stronger than the rounds of 78, 79, 77 and 79 he's opened with over the last four years. The year before that, in 2010, he opened with a round of 67, and it was no coincidence that he finished 18th at one-under par that year.
Watson's performance Thursday at Augusta mirrored 2010's start, and he'll be dead set on making it through Sunday.
Prediction: Watson makes cut, finishes 38th (six over par)
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