Masters Leaderboard 2019: Thursday Score Updates and Tournament Predictions

The anticipation at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia is building for the entrance of Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy at the first tee box. 

Woods and McIlroy are the marquee names scheduled for morning tee times, and both of them start their rounds right after 11 a.m. ET. 

There have already been a few low scores produced at The Masters, which leads us to believe some of the top golfers in the field will find similar success. 

McIlroy is the favorite to win the tournament, while Woods is in search of his first green jacket since 2005 and first major championship since the 2008 U.S. Open. 

The two marquee names playing in the morning session are joined by contenders in their respective groups, as Rickie Fowler is playing with McIlroy and Jon Rahm is alongside Woods for the first two rounds. 

Masters Leaderboard Update

Justin Harding (-2) 

Emiliano Grillo (-2) 

Kevin Tway (-2) 

Takumi Kanaya (-1) 

Branden Grace (-1) 

Eddie Pepperell (-1) 

Henrik Stenson (-1) 

Full leaderboard can be found here. 

Tournament Predictions

Woods Puts Himself In Contention For Green Jacket

If Woods is anywhere close to the top of the leaderboard Saturday or Sunday, there will be a different buzz around Augusta and the entire golf world. 

Woods is still one of the most talked about golfers in the world, and as we saw at the 2018 PGA Championship and The Open, interest in major tournaments hits a high when he is in contention.

There's a good chance Woods will be in the mix for the lead at Augusta after putting together consistent rounds of golf in the buildup to the tournament. 

Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

Although he only has one top-10 finish on the PGA Tour this season, Woods has consistently shot between 69 and 73 in the majority of his rounds. 

At The Players Championship, Woods carded scores of 70, 71, 72 and 69, but he finished in a tie for 30th because other golfers produced lower rounds. 

If Woods is able to record a low round or two to add to his consistent play since December, he will land somewhere in the top 10 going into Sunday's final round. 

As we saw a year ago at Augusta, when he carded a final-round 69, Woods is capable of making noise on Sunday at The Masters, which would be must-see television for most sports fans. 

McIlroy Continues Impressive Form With Victory

While Woods and a few other top golfers have been mentioned as top contenders to capture the green jacket, none of them have been considered the favorite to win The Masters because of the form McIlroy has displayed. 

The 29-year-old from Northern Ireland is coming off a victory at The Players Championship and a second-place finish at the World Golf Championships event in Mexico. 

Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

In the other one of his last three major tournaments, McIlroy tied for sixth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. 

In those three tournaments, McIlroy carded five rounds in the 60s and four more rounds produced a score of 70. 

If you go back to the start of the calendar year, McIlroy has recorded at least two rounds in the 60s in all but one of the stroke-play tournaments he has entered. 

At The Masters a year ago, McIlroy carded a first-round 69 and third-round 65 to put himself in contention to win the green jacket, but a 74 on Sunday wrecked those plans. 

With plenty of motivation to put his rough final round in the past, McIlroy will benefit from his incredible form and capture his first Masters title. 

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