The Masters

The first major in golf is here and it is the most prestigious of them all: The Masters. Before we get into previewing the event, let's recap 2013 on the PGA Tour:

1. Tiger Woods has re-emerged as the best player in the world. He regained that #1 ranking by winning three tournaments already. He's won two in a row heading into The Masters.

2. On the flip side, Rory McIlroy switched every club in his bag and has struggled. Last week, however, he finished second in the Valero Texas Open which could mean he's coming back into form.

3. Americans have won every PGA Tour event except for last week's Valero Texas Open. Martin Laird won that.

4. Brandt Snedeker was the talk of the golfing world early in the year by winning two events in a row (like Tiger) and finishing second in another. He then got injured and hasn't played well since.

5. And in the biggest event thus far in 2013, Matt Kuchar won the WGC Match Play Championship.

So this sets the stage for the first major of the year. Ticket prices are sky high as they always are at Augusta National, but this year they are insane. On Stubhub the other day, a practice round pass went for over $1,000. Ouch! I guess that's what happens when Tiger is playing well, Rory is on his way back, Phil has won a tournament this year, and all the other contenders are healthy and ready...

For those of you not familiar with the golf course, you will hear all weekend that the back nine on Sunday is when the real tournament starts. Here are some of the key holes:

11 - 13, nicknamed "Amen Corner" - This consists of a tough par 4 and par 3, then a very important reachable par 5. Getting through 11 and 12 unscathed is important, but taking advantage of 13 is vital. NOTE: Look up Phil Mickelson's second shot at 13 in 2010 if you want to see excitement.

15 - Similar to 13, this is a reachable par 5 that needs to be birdied or better to keep pace with the field and the leaders... especially on Sunday.

16 - This par 3 can play difficult depending on the pin location. But the Sunday pin location makes for excitement as we will see bogeys, birdies, and even a likely hole-in-one. NOTE: Look up Tiger Wood's chip in on this hole on youtube (2005). My favorite shot of the Masters ever.

18 - The finishing hole in any tournament is important, but this one can play brutal if into the wind. Players will likely be satisfied with a par with the difficult wind, and the Sunday pin is placed in a gully with lots of turns.

Now let's break down the field:

Pick 5 Challenge

We'll begin with our picks in our weekly "Pick 5 Challenge". For those who are not familiar, for each PGA Tour event we pick 5 players in different categories who we think will do well. Andrew leads the competition so far this year 689 to 667. This week our categories are based on age. We must pick one player in each of these age ranges: 20-25, 26-30, 31-35, 36-40, and the last guy can be your choice (Any Age). Here are our picks:

Greg's Picks

20-25: Rickie Fowler
26-30: Charl Schwartzel
31-35: Brandt Snedeker
36-40: Bo Van Pelt
Any Age: Rory McIlroy

Andrew's Picks

20-25: Rory McIlroy
25-30: Keegan Bradley
30-35: Louis Oosthuizen
35-40: Tiger Woods
Any Age: Phil Mickelson

Player We Want to Watch

Greg - Tianleng Guan. He is a 14-year old amateur from China that is playing the Masters for the first time after winning the Asia Amateur Championship. Adrien Wojnarowski wrote a nice article about him last week and I think it will be fun to watch how this young man handles himself under the pressures and demands of a course like Augusta National.

Andrew - I was going to say the same thing, but to be different I'll say Phil Mickelson. His shotmaking at this tournament are unmatched, and even when he isn't playing well he shows us here. Rickie Fowler is one I'm waiting on to show up in a major. Brandt Snedeker was playing great early in the year so will he return to form?

Tiger Vs. The Field

Greg - As evidenced by my lack of picking Tiger in my "Pick 5", I'm going with the field. Though Tiger is playing very well, the greens here at Augusta are unlike any other. Tiger likes a fade buy Augusta often calls for a draw. Tiger can do this, and do it well, but I'm not 100% convinced her has enough control over his new swing yet to do it consistently for 4 rounds in a major.

Andrew - If I was a betting man, I'd pick the field because the odds are so much better. But for the purpose of this blog I'm picking Tiger. He is the clear cut choice and is looking like he'll have one of those rare "Tiger years." My concern is that he hasn't won a major since 2008 (pre-injury, pre-Y.E. Yang, and pre-scandal). He was in contention in the majors a year ago but wilted on the weekend. That concerns me.

Intriguing Pairings

Greg - Jason Day/Rickie Fowler/Padraig Harrington - Should be one of the most laid back and fun threesomes over the first two days. It's young talent vs. the old Irish dog.

Angel Cabrera/Sergio Garcia/Adam Scott - This group will have plenty of shotmaking!

Tiger Woods/Luke Donald/Scott Piercy - I'm interested to how Donald handles being out-hit by Tiger consistently enough to score well. But if he does it well, will that in turn frustrate Tiger who will almost always be in a better scoring position than Donald.

Andrew - Brandt Snedeker/Ryo Ishikawa/Justin Rose - Rose and Snedeker were two of the better players in the world at times this year. And we're all waiting on Ryo to hit his potential.

Bubba Watson/Ian Poulter/Steven Fox - The defending champ with the electric Poulter... that's must watch stuff. How will the young and promising Fox handle himself?

Phil Mickelson/Louis Oosthuizen/Martin Kaymer - All have won majors, including Phil here more than once. Louis was close a year ago though. Remember his double eagle on Sunday? Wow.

Rory McIlroy/Keegan Bradley/Freddie Jacobson - Rory and Keegan both have a chance to win this thing. Remember they faced each other in the Ryder Cup in singles on Sunday... Both were stars in that event and Rory squeezed it out at the end. This should be fun once more.

Like always, let us know your thoughts. Feel free to pick five guys yourself and compete against us. Let us know what you are looking forward to always. And don't miss the action, particularly on Sunday afternoon. Enjoy!

By: The Sports Guys