Masters Field 2018: Odds, Favorites and Tournament Preview

Many are hoping the 2018 edition of the Masters presents us with the return of Tiger Woods to golf's major throne.

While the continued comeback of the greatest golfer of his generation is an intriguing storyline to follow, it is far from the lone narrative worth keeping up with over the next week.

Woods enters Augusta National Golf Club for the first time since 2015 against a crowded field with a wide range of competitors hungry to claim the green jacket.

Rory McIlroy comes into the first major of the 2018 season as a co-favorite alongside Woods, but there are a number of contenders ready to make the weekend theirs.

Odds Favorites (via OddsShark)

Rory McIlroy (+900; Bet $100 to win $900) 

Tiger Woods (+900)

Justin Thomas (+1000)

Dustin Johnson (+1200)

Jordan Spieth (+1200)

Justin Rose (+1400)

Bubba Watson (+1600)

Phil Mickelson (+1600)

Jason Day (+1800)

Jon Rahm (+2000)

Rickie Fowler (+2000)

Paul Casey (+2200)

Sergio Garcia (+2500)

Full list of Masters odds can be found here.

Tournament Preview

Woods is going to be the main attraction all week in Augusta, Georgia, and there is a real chance the 42-year-old sits near the top of the leaderboard entering the final day of competition.

The 14-time Grand Slam winner drummed up interest in his most-recent comeback at December's Hero World Challenge, but the full wave of fans didn't show up until his second-place finish at the Valspar Championship in March.

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

Woods has shot 72 or better in each of his last 12 rounds, with three of his four rounds at the Arnold Palmer Invitational being in the 60s.

Although the return of Woods is a fantastic story, and one that is going to drive up ratings, he hasn't won a tournament since 2013 and has a major drought that dates back to the 2008 U.S. Open.

If Woods wasn't headlining the field at the Masters, most of the pressure would lie on the shoulders of McIlroy, who is in search of completing the career Grand Slam.

The four-time major winner has six top-10 finishes in his last 12 majors, but the Masters has always eluded the 28-year-old.

McIlroy hasn't had the best season to date, but he is coming off a win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, as he shot a 64 in the final round to finish at 18 under.

Dustin Johnson enters the tournament as the No. 1 player in the World Golf Ranking, but he only has two top-10 finishes at Augusta.

Each of the five previous winners of the Masters are scattered in the field, and they all possess the qualities of returning to the top of the leaderboard.

Defending champion Sergio Garcia no longer has the burden of failing to win a major championship on his shoulders, and he is in good form after a pair of top-10 finishes in March.

Eric Gay/Associated Press

Although he is 21st in the world, Bubba Watson might be the hottest golfer coming into Augusta, as he won two of his last four tournaments, including the WGC Match Play two weeks ago.

While it was hard to think of Jordan Spieth as an under-the-radar player a year ago, he comes into the year's first major with less fanfare than usual given the presence of McIlroy and Woods.

Speith took third at the Houston Open over the weekend to add to his collection of five top-20 finishes in five of the last six tournaments.

And then there is the one golfer who is capable of creating a larger buzz than Tiger at the Masters: Phil Mickelson.

The 47-year-old lefthy, who hasn't won a major since the 2013 British Open, put together a string of four top-10 performances that concluded with a win at the World Golf Championships event in Mexico at the start of March.

For those of us longing for a piece of nostalgia, a Sunday pairing featuring Woods and Mickelson with both players in contention would stir up a frenzy the game hasn't seen in years.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from PGATour.com.