Masters Odds 2016: Latest Predictions for PGA's Top-Ranked Players
The golf season hit full stride in March, but for many the best part of the golf year begins in early April when the Masters tees off in Augusta, Georgia.
There's always a chance that an underdog can jump up, string four great rounds together and steal the spotlight from the game's greatest players. Charl Schwartzel won as recently as 2011, Angel Cabrera won in 2009, Trevor Immelman earned his green jacket in 2008 and Canadian Mike Weir shocked the golf world when he picked up the victory in 2003.
But major championships are most often won by the best golfers who are at the peak of their powers. Jordan Spieth put on a memorable show in winning last year's Masters, and he is recognized as one of the best golfers in the world.
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| 1 | Jason Day | 7-1 | Winner | Make it two majors in a row. |
| 2 | Jordan Spieth | 9-1 | Not in Top 10 | Will find his form later this year. |
| 3 | Rory McIlroy | 9-1 | Not in Top 10 | A bit too scattershot at this point. |
| 4 | Bubba Watson | 12-1 | Third | Will contend until late stages Sunday. |
| 5 | Rickie Fowler | 16-1 | Top 10 | Not at his best on Sunday. |
| 6 | Henrik Stenson | 25-1 | Top 10 | Consistent, but won't win here. |
| 7 | Adam Scott | 12-1 | Second | Heartbreaking finish leaves him one stroke behind winner. |
| 8 | Dustin Johnson | 20-1 | Top 10 | Look for great start and ordinary finish |
| 9 | Justin Rose | 22-1 | Not in Top 10 | Not enough to compete with the best. |
| 10 | Patrick Reed | 40-1 | Top 10 | Getting closer. |
Spieth is ranked as the No. 2 golfer in the world in the Official World Golf Rankings behind Jason Day, who ran away with the PGA Championship last August at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin. Day has all the elements needed to string major championships together because of his power off the tee, his accuracy in his approach shots and his stellar putting.
Spieth can do all of those things as well, but he has not been as sharp to this point in the year as he was in 2015. Nobody is doubting Spieth can and will put it all together again, but it may not be at the Masters. He has had just one top-10 finish since the middle of January.
Day has earned full respect from Spieth for his consistency.
The other member of golf's current Big Three is Rory McIlroy, and a win at Augusta would give him the career Grand Slam. McIlroy has every shot in the book to his credit, and when he has won major tournaments in the past, his putter has been hot, and his overall consistency has been his strength.
McIlroy may have the ability to dazzle, but he will also go on some poor streaks where he has three or four bad holes in a row, and that's very difficult to overcome when winning a championship is the goal.
Bubba Watson is the fourth-ranked golfer in the world, and he appears to be one of the best bets this week at Augusta. Watson combines eye-catching power with creativity and accuracy in his shot-making, a very difficult combination to beat.
The fact that he is a two-time Masters winner gives him the confidence to make another serious run and receive another green jacket at the awards ceremony Sunday evening at Butler Cabin.
Watson is not the only former champion to have an excellent chance at winning the Masters this year. Adam Scott is in the midst of a spectacular season, as he stands at the top of the FedEx Cup rankings.
Scott has perhaps the most picturesque swing in the game, and it has helped claim two wins and two second-place finishes already this year. The 2013 Masters champion has already won more than $4.3 million on the tour.
Scott finished the 2015 season as the 12th-ranked golfer in the world, and he has risen to the No. 7 spot this year.
Rickie Fowler is hoping to have his Masters breakthrough this season. Fowler is the fifth-ranked golfer in the world but is 16th in the FedEx Cup standings. The fashionable Fowler has five top-10 finishes already this year, and his best performance was runner-up in the Waste Management Phoenix Open in early February.
Fowler is second on the tour in greens in regulation and third in scoring average at 69.56, numbers that indicate he is capable of putting four excellent rounds together and contending.
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