The US Masters at Augusta is the opening Major Championship of 2018 and the event that the majority of the world’s leading players look forward to the most on the golfing calendar. In 2017 Sergio Garcia ended his long wait without one of the four biggest prizes in the sport with a playoff victory over Justin Rose.
Given 2018 is a Ryder Cup year, there is even more incentive to perform well at Augusta as the points on offer could be the difference between making the US or European teams for the event in Paris, France in September.
Here is a look at five players who could win the Green Jacket for the first time in their careers in the 82nd edition of the tournament.
Australian golfer Jason Day was as high as number one in the world rankings in September 2015, however, sadly for the former US PGA Championship winner, his form has not quite been as solid over the last couple of years.
Norfolk Premier Golf via Twitter
Day has yet to taste success in the US Masters, however, his game is perfectly suited for the course at Augusta. He has had three top-10 finishes since making his debut there in 2011. The closest he has come to the Green Jacket was six years ago where he ended the weekend in a tie for second, two shots behind the winner Charl Schwartzel.
The man from Queensland had a winless season in 2017 and therefore will have put a lot of hours in during the off-season to sharpen up his game ready for 2018. He split from his caddie of 11 years Colin Swatton and has been using his friend Luke Reardon on the bag in his most recent tournaments.
Day plays Augusta as well as any of the top players on the Pga Tour, therefore, a return to Georgia may just help him rekindle his old form. The Australian is as big as +1600 to win the 2018 tournament which could be a huge price, his outsider status no doubt attractive to bettors on the lookout for a market to use one of the many free bets offered by odds comparison website Oddschecker.
The American has made a brilliant start to the 2017/18 campaign as he won the Hero World Challenge where he carded a score of -11 across the four days in the Bahamas. The eight-time PGA Tour winner also went close in the OHL Classic at Mayakoba but fell short by just one stroke despite solid rounds of 65-67-67-67 in the tournament won by Patton Kizzire.
Fowler is a great player to watch around Augusta as he is fearless. The former number one ranked amateur attacks every hole that he plays, therefore, he gives himself lots of opportunities to score birdies and eagles on the par fives.
Although he has yet to get over the line in one of the big four tournaments, Fowler has a top-five finish in each of the Major Championships. The closest he has come to the Green Jacket was in 2014 where he finished in a tie for fifth place. The Ryder Cup participant can now lean on his experience at Augusta and in big tournaments to help him win the biggest competition of his career.
Koepka will now want to build on his success over the last 12 months when he tees off in 2018. The American has risen up the rankings recently and is now as high as eighth in the current standings. He looks on course to qualify for the USA team for the Ryder Cup once again but will want to add more tournaments to his name before then.
The 27-year-old has played in the last three US Masters’ and with each year he has improved his finishing position in the event. In 2017 the graduate of Florida State University just missed out on a top 10 finish as he ended the weekend in 11th place.
Koepka will look forward to tacking the par fives at Augusta once again as he is one of the longest hitters from the tee on the tour. If his short game is also just as good, like it was in the US Open back in June, he has to be considered as one of the leading contenders for the tournament next year as he has proved he is capable of converting a winning position into silverware.
Given 2018 is a Ryder Cup year, there is even more incentive to perform well at Augusta as the points on offer could be the difference between making the US or European teams for the event in Paris, France in September.
Here is a look at five players who could win the Green Jacket for the first time in their careers in the 82nd edition of the tournament.
Jason Day
Australian golfer Jason Day was as high as number one in the world rankings in September 2015, however, sadly for the former US PGA Championship winner, his form has not quite been as solid over the last couple of years.
Norfolk Premier Golf via Twitter
Day has yet to taste success in the US Masters, however, his game is perfectly suited for the course at Augusta. He has had three top-10 finishes since making his debut there in 2011. The closest he has come to the Green Jacket was six years ago where he ended the weekend in a tie for second, two shots behind the winner Charl Schwartzel.
The man from Queensland had a winless season in 2017 and therefore will have put a lot of hours in during the off-season to sharpen up his game ready for 2018. He split from his caddie of 11 years Colin Swatton and has been using his friend Luke Reardon on the bag in his most recent tournaments.
Day plays Augusta as well as any of the top players on the Pga Tour, therefore, a return to Georgia may just help him rekindle his old form. The Australian is as big as +1600 to win the 2018 tournament which could be a huge price, his outsider status no doubt attractive to bettors on the lookout for a market to use one of the many free bets offered by odds comparison website Oddschecker.
Rickie Fowler
It is surely only a matter of time before Rickie Fowler finally wins a major championship. The hot-shot American will take encouragement from Garcia’s success in 2017 as the Spaniard was taking part in his 74th Major Championship when he won the Masters. Fowler is only 28 years old, with, his best years in the sport could be ahead of him.The American has made a brilliant start to the 2017/18 campaign as he won the Hero World Challenge where he carded a score of -11 across the four days in the Bahamas. The eight-time PGA Tour winner also went close in the OHL Classic at Mayakoba but fell short by just one stroke despite solid rounds of 65-67-67-67 in the tournament won by Patton Kizzire.
Fowler is a great player to watch around Augusta as he is fearless. The former number one ranked amateur attacks every hole that he plays, therefore, he gives himself lots of opportunities to score birdies and eagles on the par fives.
Although he has yet to get over the line in one of the big four tournaments, Fowler has a top-five finish in each of the Major Championships. The closest he has come to the Green Jacket was in 2014 where he finished in a tie for fifth place. The Ryder Cup participant can now lean on his experience at Augusta and in big tournaments to help him win the biggest competition of his career.
Brooks Koepka
Brooks Koepka had a breakthrough year on the PGA Tour in 2017 as he landed the US Open at Erin Hills in a very composed performance on the final Sunday as he showed no signs of nerves to pick up the top prize in the second Major of the year.Koepka will now want to build on his success over the last 12 months when he tees off in 2018. The American has risen up the rankings recently and is now as high as eighth in the current standings. He looks on course to qualify for the USA team for the Ryder Cup once again but will want to add more tournaments to his name before then.
The 27-year-old has played in the last three US Masters’ and with each year he has improved his finishing position in the event. In 2017 the graduate of Florida State University just missed out on a top 10 finish as he ended the weekend in 11th place.
Koepka will look forward to tacking the par fives at Augusta once again as he is one of the longest hitters from the tee on the tour. If his short game is also just as good, like it was in the US Open back in June, he has to be considered as one of the leading contenders for the tournament next year as he has proved he is capable of converting a winning position into silverware.
