Who's Hot, Who's Not on the PGA Tour Ahead of the 2016 Masters
The 2016 Masters is upon us. Favorites, regardless of your preferred sportsbook, include Jason Day, last year's green-jacket winner Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Adam Scott and Bubba Watson.
These thoroughbreds aren't all running at the same speed, however, with Day and Scott pulling away from the pack as we enter turn four ahead of the first balls in the air at Augusta National.
We'll limit our selections to the top-20 golfers in pre-Masters odds (per Odds Shark). For example, first-timers Fabian Gomez and Smylie Kaufman are in the field and may be hot or not. However, as neither player is expected to make a significant run at victory at Augusta National, there's little point featuring them in this list.
With that said, let's see who's hot and who's not ahead of the season's first major.
Hot: Jason Day
1 of 8
Official World Golf Ranking: 1
Last three starts: WGC-Cadillac Championship (T23), Arnold Palmer Invitational (1), WGC-Dell Match Play (1)
Key stats (rank): Strokes gained: putting: .970 (4), Strokes gained: total: 1.553 (14). Driving distance: 304.1 (21), Birdie average: 4.44 (8)
Australian Adam Scott was appointed with the "hottest-player-in-golf" mantle following his pair of wins in Florida, until Jason Day took it from his countryman with two wins of his own.
With wins in his last two starts, and par-or-better scores in seven of his last eight stroke-play rounds, Day is hot.
Not: Jordan Spieth
2 of 8
Official World Golf Ranking: 2
Last three starts: Valspar Championship (T18), WGC-Dell Match Play (T9), Shell Houston Open (T13)
Key stats (rank): Greens in regulation: 64.90% (153), Strokes gained: total: 1.681 (8), Scoring average: 70.053 (11)
It's relative. Using a certain calculus, Jordan Spieth it playing well, especially with a strong finish at the Shell Houston Open.
However, with a ho-hum finishes between the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am (T21) and the Valspar Championship (T18), Spieth hasn't been firing on all cylinders.
There's no disputing that the 22-year-old Texan is off his vaunted form of last year.
Hot: Adam Scott
3 of 8
Official World Golf Ranking: 7
Last three starts: WGC-Cadillac Championship (1), Arnold Palmer Invitational (T12), WGC-Dell Match Play (T28)
Key stats (rank): Greens in regulation: 72.62% (6), Strokes gained: tee-to-green: 2.237 (2), Strokes gained: total: 2.629 (1)
Prior to tying for 12th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Adam Scott tied for second at the Northern Trust Open and won both the Honda Classic and the WGC-Cadillac Championship.
In his last four stroke-play events, Scott has shot just two over-par rounds. Look no further than the box score, the 35-year-old is hot right now.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Not: Rory McIlroy
4 of 8
Official World Golf Ranking: 3
Last three starts: WGC-Cadillac Championship (T3), Arnold Palmer Invitational (T27), WGC-Dell Match Play (4)
Key stats (rank): Driving distance: 309.0 (7), Strokes gained: tee-to-green: 1.507 (9), Scoring average: 69.969 (6)
You have to go beyond the results to see why Rory McIlroy is less than lukewarm. He's not dialed in mentally, which is something he could change ahead of Augusta, to be sure, but the trend is troubling.
Following the Arnold Palmer Invitational, where he shot 75-67-75-65 to tie for 27th, McIlroy said: “It’s nothing to do with me technically. It’s more mental. … I’m beating myself up over mistakes that I’m making on the course, and then I’m not letting myself get over it so that it sort of lingers there for the next few holes."
Hot: Rickie Fowler
5 of 8
Official World Golf Ranking: 5
Last three starts: WGC-Cadillac Championship (T8), WGC-Dell Match Play (T38), Shell Houston Open (T10)
Key stats (rank): Greens in regulation: 72.86% (5), Strokes gained: tee-to-green: 1.590 (8), Strokes gained: total: 2.249 (4)
With top-10 finishes in his three starts prior to the WGC-Dell Match Play Championship and a solid week's worth of work at the Shell Houston Open, Rickie Fowler is heating up ahead of the Masters.
During the aforementioned three-tournament stretch, Fowler carded just one over-par round.
Not: Brandt Snedeker
6 of 8
Official World Golf Ranking: 17
Last three starts: WGC-Cadillac Championship (W/D), Arnold Palmer Invitational (T36), WGC-Dell Championship (T9)
Key stats (rank): Strokes gained: tee-to-green: .554 (53), Strokes gained: total: 1.055 (21), Scoring average: 70.357 (24)
Brandt Snedeker has carded just one under-par round in his last five stroke-play rounds.
A flare-up of the rib issues that have plagued him in recent years is a concern as well, and certainly a potential factor compromising his play going into Augusta.
Hot: Bubba Watson
7 of 8
Official World Golf Ranking: 4
Last three starts: Northern Trust Open (1), WGC-Cadillac Championship (2), WGC-Dell Match Play (T28)
Key stats (rank): Greens in regulation: 75.12% (1), Strokes gained: tee-to-green: 2.283 (1), Strokes gained: total: 2.142 (5)
Two-time Masters winning Bubba Watson will enter the Masters on the heels of a win and a second-place finish in his last two stroke-play starts.
He's carded eight sub-par rounds in a row. Bubba's hot.
Not: Brooks Koepka
8 of 8
Official World Golf Ranking: 19
Last three starts: WGC-Cadillac Championship (T23), WGC-Dell Match Play (T5), Shell Houston Open (MC)
Key stats (rank): Strokes gained: total: 1.027 (23), Birdie average: 4.35 (10)
A cut-misser at the Shell Houston Open, Brooks Koepka has carded just one sub-70 round in his last three stroke-play starts.
Certainly, a missed cut ahead of the Masters isn't encouraging, particularly one in which the player in question opened with a 75.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
