2011 Masters: Why Ryan Moore Is a Dark-Horse Threat to Win it All

Especially given what happened in the Shell Houston Open, many pundits label Phil Mickelson as the favorite to win the Masters. I still identify Tiger Woods as the favorite.

Let's face it; true underdogs don't often win at Augusta. Sure, there have been plenty of surprise winners, but even they aren't the unknown winners that we see at the other majors, specifically the two Opens.

The Masters field is smaller (2010's Masters had 96 players, the other three each had 156), so the unknown golfers seldom get the opportunity to even tee it up.

So, I am not looking for a Ben Curtis or Shaun Micheel. They were Cinderella stories.

I am looking for a dark horse, a name we know, but don't think of as a top player in the world.

I want a player currently outside of the Top 30 in the world, and one who has never won a major. I want a golfer who hasn't won anything this season, but one who has shown that he can play at a high level on tour.

I believe I have found one in Ryan Moore.

Moore's lone tour victory came at the 2009 Wyndham Championship. While he hasn't won this year, he has recorded two Top Five performances, a T4 at the Northern Trust Open and a T5 at the World Matchplay Championship.

He has two additional Top 25 finishes this season and has made the cut in six of seven tournaments.

His history at Augusta is limited, but he has made the cut all three times that he has entered the tournament (2003, 2005, 2010).

In 2005, he was tied was 13th for his best career finish. Last year, he tied for 14th.

The 2011 statistic that can hurt him at Augusta is greens in regulation. Moore has hit just over 65 percent of the greens that he has played in 2011, good enough for 110th place on tour.

What could save him is his putting, as he averages less than 29 putts a round, good enough for 25th on tour.

He will not have the same amount of birdie putts as his competitors, so he needs to take advantage of the ones he gets to have a chance. Other than that, Moore ranks at or better than the tour average in nearly every statistic.

Beyond statistics, Moore has history on his side at Augusta.

Moore is the most decorated amateur golfer that the golf world has seen since Tiger Woods. Players with strong amateur careers have a history of success at the Masters.

Moore won the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship in 2002 and 2004. Immelman won that tournament in 1998, 10 years before his Masters Championship.

Moore won the 2004 Western Amateur. Tommy Aaron (1960), Jack Nicklaus (1961), Ben Crenshaw (1973), Mickelson (1991), and Woods (1994), are all past winners.

All but Aaron have won the Masters at least twice.

While at UNLV, Moore was the individual NCAA National Champion in 2004. Nicklaus (1961), Crenshaw (1971-73), Mickelson (1989, 1990, 1992), and Woods (1994), were all national champions.

Of those, all but Crenshaw have at least three Green Jackets.

Last but not least, Moore won the 2004 U.S. Amateur Championship. Arnold Palmer (1954), Nicklaus (1959, 1961), Craig Stadler (1973), Mark O'Meara (1979), Mickelson (1990), and Woods (1994-96), are all past winners.

All have won at Augusta at least one time.

Sticking with the amateur theme, Bobby Jones is the founder of the Masters. Jones is the most decorated amateur player there has ever been.

While Moore is now a professional, his amateur roots could serve him well.

This isn't to say that Moore is on his way to being another Jones, Palmer, Nicklaus, Mickelson or Woods.

He is 29 years old, if he was going to be that good, we would have known it by now. But in his career, Moore has proven that he has the ability to get the ball in the hole, and play the weekend.

Between 2001 and 2010, only Mike Weir in 2003 and Immelman in 2008 went on to win the Masters when leading after two rounds.

Anyone who can find a way to make the cut on Friday can win the tournament on Sunday.

Moore is not the favorite to win. But he currently ranks No. 37 in the World Golf Rankings, and there aren’t 36 players who have a better shot this week than he does.