EVEN at the best of times Augusta National Golf Club is a wonderful, albeit exceptionally weird, oasis of manicured golfing calm, one that is determinedly and wilfully separate from the rest of the world. In these very strange times that contrast, of course, will be more bewildering than ever, but hopefully a tonic to us all nonetheless.
An autumn Masters, rather than a spring one, is also throwing up a hatful of unknowns. Will the softer fairways play into the hands of the long-hitters (maybe even allowing Rory McIlroy to complete his career Grand Slam)? Will we miss the back nine roars on Sunday (there are no patrons allowed)? What effect will the damp have on the speakers in the trees that are rumoured to provide birdsong? Will Bryson DeChambeau provoke mass hysteria in the committee room? Questions, questions, including: “Who’s going to win?” Here’s the three selections…
Each Way – Dustin Johnson 8/1
In the last ten years, not one reigning World No. 1 has slipped his arms inside a Green Jacket and, in fact, it’s been a common theme at Augusta National down the years, but is it a valid observation? Well, for some players, yes. They would dwell on the suggestion, allowing it to build upon any other fears ferreting in the back of their heads. In contrast, Ian Woosnam, when told of the trend, used it as petrol for the fire in his belly and duly turned the notion on its head (for one year at least). In further contrast, Dustin Johnson is likely to do little more than shrug at the idea. He’s many things, but probably not a fretter.
With that obstacle out of the way, all else suggests the 36-year-old has a great shot at winning a first Masters this week. He’s finished top ten his last four tournament starts and was tied second last year. His major form this year has been solid: second in the PGA Championship, sixth at the U.S. Open. In between those two efforts he won The Northern Trust by 11 shots, made the play-off in the BMW Championship and lifted the FedEx Cup. Admittedly he contracted Covid, but he bounced back with a fast-finishing second at the Houston Open last week. And he also gains a lot of shot off the tee and tee to green – aspects of the game which matter this week.
The Masters plays on. #themasters pic.twitter.com/Ssu8LNCgH5
— The Masters (@TheMasters) November 8, 2020
Each Way – Jon Rahm 10/1
Another short price, but I like to think of this as a pincer movement on DeChambeau and, like Johnson, the Spaniard looks exceptionally well-set for this week. There was a time, early in his career, when he admitted that he found the task of preparing for a major something of a quandary, one that tended to trip him up. Those times, however, seem to have passed and, after a steady Masters debut, he briefly threatened to win when fourth in 2018 and then spent most of the week in the top ten when ninth last year.
His season has witnessed two high points that hold him in good stead for this test. The first was his sensational victory in the Memorial Tournament, a week when the greens were Augusta-like in their speed, and the 25-year-old left the field floundering three strokes in his rear. Six weeks later he duelled thrillingly with Johnson in the BMW Championship and holed a stunning double-breaking putt on the first extra hole to claim the win. He came close to making it three wins in 2020 in his last start at the Zozo Championship and I sort of like that, instead of triumph, he was left frustrated with second place. He can be dangerous champing on the bit.
Outsider – Bubba Watson 30/1
There are some golfers for whom simplicity is a hazard. The straight putt, the simple approach – they lack definition. The putt that breaks twice and the shot which demands shape – that’s more like it, that gets the brain working. So it is with Bubba Watson who has twice passed the Augusta test with flying (Green Jacket) colours. The Florida man is also a golfer who repeats his successes: a three-time winner at TPC River Highlands and Riviera, a three-time runner-up at Doral and a three-time top-three finisher at TPC Scottsdale. He seems to work in threes – can he complete another hat trick this week?
For most of the post-lockdown period you’d have likely said no, but in August he began to find a little form and then, in October, efforts that had threatened to become top ten finishes actually were just that. Indeed, he went back-to-back at the CJ Cup and Zozo Championship, finishing seventh and fourth when registering excellent long game Strokes Gained numbers. If he finds something on the green this week a third visit to the Butler Cabin might be a distinct possibility.
