A second Masters in six months? I must be dreaming

By Dave Allen

Cue Jim Nantz and the azaleas, it’s Masters week. Again. Isn’t it wonderful?!

If there’s one good thing that came out of the pandemic it’s that we have two Masters in the same PGA Tour calendar season. It was only five months ago last November that Dustin Johnson set afire to Augusta National Golf Club, shooting a record 20-under par for his second major title and first Green Jacket. The local Columbia, South Carolina, product also set records for most greens in regulation (60) and fewest bogeys (4) en route to a five-shot win over runners-up Cameron Smith and Sungjae I

This year, The Masters is back in its rightful spring slot, as “Glory’s First Shot,” and a limited number of patrons will also be in attendance, reverberating the roars around the famed back nine that were so missed in 2020. Besides the return of the fans, here are some of the other storylines to watch this week along with our pick for the 2021 Masters.

MISSING TIGER

For the fourth time in the last eight years and first time since 2017, The Masters will be missing Tiger Woods, whose five Green Jackets trails only Jack Nicklaus’ six. Woods, who tied for 38^th last November after his improbable triumph in 2019, is recovering from serious injuries to his right leg and ankle sustained in a single-car collision outside of Los Angeles in February. In 23 previous Masters appearances, Woods owns 14 top-10 finishes, including his five titles.

CAN D.J. REPEAT?

Johnson may wish he saved a few of November’s birdies for this year’s Masters, as the last player to win back-to-back Green Jackets was Tiger in 2001-’02. Can D.J. be the one to crack through? It’s certainly possible. Phil Mickelson won two of his three Masters in a three-year span (2004, 2006) as did fellow lefty Bubba Watson (2012, 2014), and Jordan Spieth looked to be on his way to repeat titles in 2016 before a disastrous quadruple-bogey 7 on the par-3 12^th hole sunk his chances. D.J.’s recent form on the PGA Tour hasn’t been the greatest—his last top-10 finish was at The Genesis Invitational in February and he finished T-48^th at THE PLAYERS—but his most recent performances at Augusta National (T-6, T-4, T-10, T-2, WIN) suggest he’ll be a major player again this week.

IS THE OLD JORDAN SPIETH BACK?

While Johnson is the favorite to add a second Green Jacket, another popular pick figures to be Spieth, who’s coming off a remarkable two-month stretch of golf that saw him win on Sunday (at the Valero Texas Open) for the first time since 2017. In his last seven Tour starts, Spieth has four top-4 finishes and six inside the top 15. And then there’s Jordan’s track record at Augusta National, where he finished inside the top-3 four times in his first five appearances, including his then record-tying 18-under winning performance in 2015. Spieth was a 50-to-1 choice to win The Masters at the start of the year and is now down to 11-to-1.

HORSES FOR COURSES

The par-3 12th hole at Augusta National Golf Club, named “Golden Bell.”

Speaking of horses for courses, these players—much like Johnson and Spieth—have enjoyed much success at Augusta National in recent years and figure to be in the mix come Sunday:

Rory McIlroy – The Northern Irishman needs a Green Jacket to complete the career Grand Slam and has been consistently knocking at the door since 2014, finishing outside the top 10 just once (T8, 4, T10, T7, T5, T21, T5).

Justin Thomas – THE PLAYERS champion and World No. 2 has improved in every start at The Masters, finishing T39, T22, T17, T12 and 4^th last year.

Jon Rahm – The world’s third-ranked golfer has three top-10 finishes in a row at Augusta National in his four career starts (T27, 4, T9, T7).

Lee Westwood – Looking for a sleeper this week? Look no further than Westwood, who in his last nine appearances at ANGC owns five top-10 finishes and two runner’s up (2010, 2016).

Jason Day – Four top-10s in 10 appearances, including a T5 in 2019.

Patrick Reed – The 2018 winner also finished T10 last year.

Paul Casey – The Englishman owns five top-10s at Augusta National and went T6, T4 and 6^th as recently as 2015-’17.

AND THE WINNER IS. …

It’s really tempting to pick Spieth here, and D.J. as well. But I’m going to go out on a limb and pick a wounded Brooks Koepka, even though the last time he teed it up was at the WGC-Workday Championship in late February. Call me crazy, but a Brooks Koepka with something to prove is a very dangerous thing. Whispers were that Koepka would not only miss The Masters due to surgery he had on a dislocated kneecap March 16th, but an additional 4 to 6 weeks as well. But Koepka’s intention all along was to play in The Masters, and he showed up on Sunday with an edge to him saying he didn’t come to Augusta to finish second. I agree with him. The four-time major champion loves the track (T11, T2 and T7 in last three Masters) and was red-hot before suffering the injury, with a victory at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and a T-2^nd at Workday.