Masters 2011: Predicting the Top 10 by Sunday Morning
Watch out world, he's back!
Tiger Woods exploded with a 66 on Friday. A crazy round where the world's former No. 1 player only had six pars.
Tiger is loose and ready to pounce, but the world of golf is different. In his path to career resurrection lie a tough Rory McIlroy, a fearless Jason Day and a stoic K.J. Choi.
Not to mention the lurking former major winners like Lee Westwood, Geoff Ogilvy and a host of others.
So we know what things look like now, but how will things look on Sunday?
Let's take an educated guess and predict the leader board 24 hours from now.
Let the debate begin!
T-9. Jason Day Minus-5
1 of 10
Now I do not mean to be cruel to poor Jason Day.
The 23-year-old Aussie has a great game, but we have seen this script before.
To win a major, you basically have to choke on or two away before you learn how to pull it off.
Granted, this younger generation does not seem to believe in this rule, but it is simply difficult to back up a great round like 64 with another one.
Particularly when the entire golfing world will be looking at you in the final pairing.
If Day continues to take some bold risks like that chip he had on 15, he cut post a few big numbers if his nerves are even a little frayed.
I expect the big hitter to fall back to the pack a bit.
T-9. Luke Donald Minus-5
2 of 10
Luke Donald is just lurking at Augusta National.
Donald needs to get off to a good start, he is one over par on average this tournament for the front nine. He also needs to hit a few more greens.
Still, his game overall makes him a contender to move up the ranks a few notches with a solid round.
Donald has experience and confidence. Soon, he will have a top 10 start on Sunday.
T-6. Rickie Fowler Minus-6
3 of 10
Fowler continues to amaze me. At some point, with his wild drives and his inexperience you would expect him to fall back.
Yet, he continues to make big putts and tough chips to keep the momentum going.
Fowler is a fearless player, and I expect that will not change on Saturday.
Fowler will need a good start. In fact, he has bogeyed the first hole both of his first two rounds this year.
After that though, fans just need to hold on and enjoy the ride.
His wayward drives will lead to some bogeys, but his mental toughness will keep him around with another round under par.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
T-6. Sergio Garcia Minus-6
4 of 10
Sergio Garcia is looking like the great player of old. Instead of joking about his tennis game, Garcia is making everyone talk about his golf game once more.
He is more confident in his putting, his driving has improved and he looks like he is ready to be back in contention.
Garcia's success will lie in the beginning of Amen Corner. The Spaniard is three over on holes 11-12 alone.
I expect that 12 will lead to another one today, but he should still get a couple of birdies on the par fives and finish with a two-under 70 to get into a logjam at six under.
Not bad for someone who only has one top 10 finish in his last eight majors.
T-6. Phil Mickelson Minus-6
5 of 10
No one has left more shots on the golf course than Phil Mickelson.
The swashbuckling Lefty knows that he is not out of it, even if he is a whopping eight strokes off the lead.
Remember, it was in the third round last year that Mickelson made his move with his consecutive eagles on 13, 14 and the near chip-in eagle on 15.
Mickelson should provide similar fireworks and put together his best overall performance on Saturday.
Still, he will have an uphill road to climb if he has any chance of winning his fourth green jacket.
5. Geoff Ogilvy Minus-7
6 of 10
Ogilvy always seems to be around in major tournaments.
Unfortunately, 2010 was not that year.
This was his first made cut in a major since last year's Masters.
The main difference would be that Ogilvy has hit over 86 percent of the greens.
Still, if he wants to stay in contention, he needs to do a better job of attacking the par fives. Through two rounds, he is even par on the par fives.
By comparison, Alvaro Quiros, who is also six-under par, is five-under on the par fives.
Ogilvy has taught himself to keep a calm demeanor, a necessity in the Masters. He will put together another good round and be in the top five by Sunday.
T-3. K.J. Choi Minus-8
7 of 10
K.J. Choi is one of the best players in the Masters to never take home the green jacket.
The Korean always appears to be lurking and is in great position to be in contention again, playing in the next to last group on Saturday.
Now, playing with Tiger Woods is usually a death sentence. Particularly when he is playing at this level.
However, Choi played all four rounds with Woods last year at Augusta and finished fourth.
He is a player that will not be easily rattled. He also has been hitting 75 percent of the fairways.
I expect another good round.
T-3. Lee Westwood Minus-8
8 of 10
We've been waiting for Westwood to make his move, and he finally did late Friday afternoon.
While the world was watching the fireworks of Tiger Woods, Westwood was flying high himself.
Three-under for the back nine, Westwood shot a 67 and is now within shouting distance of the lead.
I think he will make the biggest move on Saturday. The best player in the world without a major knows what it takes to get near the top, and he feels very comfortable on this course.
After four bogeys on Thursday, Westwood only had one on Friday. He was making his mistakes in the right places to recover.
If he can putt just a little bit better, he can still win this major.
At the very least, he can shoot a 69.
2. Tiger Woods Minus-10
9 of 10
CBS must be squealing with joy. Woods is not only playing well, he is looking like Tiger again.
The shots he is pulling off, the putts he continues to make, the swagger he now walks with, it makes it seem like nothing ever changed.
Of course, Woods has shown flashes of brilliance before, but is he really going to be able to sustain this level of success?
Augusta is still a tough golf course, and although his intimidation factor has been dialed down a bit with his recent struggles, we all learned from 1986 that great players will always strike fear in competitors if they make a run.
Even when people doubt them.
Woods will put together another good round and put himself in the final pairing.
Won't it be nice to see him wear red when he actually is back on the prowl?
1. Rory McIlroy Minus-12
10 of 10
McIlroy is a tested 21-year-old.
He remembered the implosion in last year's British Open and responded with a solid round yesterday to take his first 36-hole lead into Saturday.
The pressure is more than he has ever felt before. Not only must he cope with being the leader, but he has Tiger Woods breathing down his neck.
Fortunately for him, he is playing with Day, someone he played the previous two rounds with. He also has a slightly smaller crowd considering most fans will follow Woods.
Most importantly, he is still a confident and talented player. He is thinking his way through the golf course and that is key.
McIlroy can afford to make bogeys because of the ample opportunities for birdie. He just cannot fall apart on a hole like when Tom Weiskopf made a 13 on the par-three 12th.
I think he will survive today with a good round of 70.
However, how will he handle things when he gets his wish and plays with Tiger Woods in the final round at Augusta?
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
