[ad_1]
As the 84th Masters draws near, the key question everyone is asking is the same in the world of golf: who do you pick to win at Augusta National in November? With an incredible number of the world’s best pros and amateurs alike, the 2020 major final and the 2020-21 season premiere should be an epic race starting in the first round on Thursday.
The intrigues are numerous this week. Tiger Woods is defending his unlikely but spectacular 2019 green jacket. Bryson DeChambeau is committed to making Augusta a long distance competition as the event favorite. Jon Rahm and Dustin Johnson are looking to end the year as hot as they started it. Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy is still on the hunt for his first Masters, and Jordan Spieth is hoping to regain some of the mojo he lost here a few years ago.
So what’s going to happen this week in Augusta? Let’s take a look at a full set of predictions and picks from our CBS Sports experts. Find out a full set of odds via William Hill Sportsbook as well as start times for Thursday’s first round.
Expert choice 2020 Masters, forecasts
Kyle Porter, golf writer
Winner – Jon Rahm (10-1): I’m a little concerned about all the hole-in-one attention he gets after skipping a game on Tuesday 16, but he’s been the pick for over a month now. In the past three months, no one (not even Bryson DeChambeau) has been better off the tee, and he is perhaps the most complete of all the best. He’s already felt the heat of winning big events so I don’t think that’s going to be a problem. It feels like we have a trio of big winners for the first time in 2020.
Sleeper – Bernd Wiesberger (200-1): Never missed a cup at a Masters, and his tee-to-green match has been matched with Rory McIlroy and Tyrrell Hatton over the past three months. Seems to be very good value for money at 200-1! If you want someone a little smaller, Louis Oosthuizen at 55-1 is your guy.
Top 10 lock – Dustin Johnson: Six consecutive places in the top six and he’s finished in the top 10 here in each of his last four tries. I’m not sure there is a better historical one-two combo in current form than this for one of the best players in this area.
Star Who Definitely Won’t Win – Tiger Woods: Does a 15-time winner who is also the defending champion count as a star? Tiger is not going to go back to win a sixth green jacket, and I think he knows it. If we’re only talking about golfers at 20-1 or better, then I’ll say Brooks Koepka. His performance last week was a bit of golden madness considering how well he played it. (I should note that I also said Bryson definitely won’t win the US Open.)
Top 5 in order: Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Xander Sc Chaudele
Surprise prediction: I’m going to get ahead because it’s going to happen. DeChambeau will destroy worlds off the tee again, but he won’t win because he will be mediocre at 160 yards and in. Then the critics (like me) will say, “See, that doesn’t work!” Except that it works. The point is not that DeChambeau is going to win every time, only that he increases his chances of winning a bit before each tournament. In the long run, the results will be there, even if they won’t be there every week.
Lowest round: 64 (-8)
Winning score: 271 (-17)
Sunday winner’s score: 68 (-4)
Chip Patterson, writer
Winner – Jon Rahm (12-1): Some golfers have split off from their peers off the tee, taking advantage of the power of massive workouts to shorten courses and corner as many as possible. Others have remained faithful to their iron game and separate from the field on approach shots. Both are ways of earning majors, as we’ve seen from the two 2020 winners. But with Augusta being a real test of skill, I’m picking someone who ticks all the boxes. Rahm has been one of the best tee-to-green players since the start of 2019, and it’s not all thanks to overwhelming driving distance or statistically elite performance on approach shots. Her creativity and her bag full of clichés make her an enticing choice to win the most unique edition of the Masters of this generation. With the weather and daylight potentially impacting starts and pairs, not to mention the game, I think that creativity and willingness to adapt can be a boon.
Sleeper – Justin Rose (50-1): We’re usually challenged to choose a deeper sleeper (golfer with odds longer than that), but I have to call attention to this incredible value. Rose has been a major champion with two Masters finalists since 2015. Her game has been everywhere this year thanks in part to a few equipment changes, but her cap absolutely includes an outright win. Rose is listed at the same price as Scottie Scheffler and Jordan Spieth, and he has far more of a major championship pedigree than Scheffler and more recent success than Spieth. Rose should be closer to the players at 25-1 or 30-1, so I can’t pass up that value.
Top 10 lock – Patrick Cantlay: He sniffed his head during the hectic nine comeback of 2019 and has been one of the PGA Tour’s most consistent players ever since. Cantlay has a ton of momentum right now with a T8 at the Shriners and a Zozo Championship win at Sherwood, and plenty of motivation after two frustrating performances in the first two majors of 2020.
Star Who Definitely Won’t Win- Rory McIlroy: I wish McIlroy would finish the slam and win the Masters, but I don’t think this will be the year. There are just a few too many mistakes in his performance to think this will be the year he finally gets there. By McIlroy’s own admission, he’s cards enough birds to win golf tournaments, but the bogeys, failed putts and mishits stack up to leave him short of where he wants to be at the end. of the 72 holes.
Top 5 in order: Jon Rahm, Matthew Wolff, Xander Sc Chaudele, Patrick Cantlay, Bryson DeChambeau
Surprise prediction: Despite all the hype and pre-championship analysis regarding driving distance and shots won off the tee, watching good old-fashioned putts around the greens ends up making the difference in putting on the jacket. green Sunday. We’ve never seen the greens in this climate before, but thanks to the sub-air and an army of elite farmers, hopefully we’ll see the competition stabilize as they get closer to the hole.
Lowest round: 64 (-8)
Winning score: 273 (-15)
Sunday winner’s score: 69 (-3)
Who will win the Masters and which long strokes will amaze the golf world? Visit SportsLine to see the projected ranking, all from the model that won six golf majors and called Patrick Reed the big win two years ago.
Kyle Boone, writer
Winner – Brooks Koepka (16-1): After pulling out of the US Open and being injured for most of last year, there is some obvious skepticism that the Koepka we’re getting this week might not be the same Koepka as we saw at its peak. But even at less than 100%, he’s been in the mix. After finishing in the top 5 at the Vivint Houston Open last week, he seems to be picking up his pace and regaining his health at the right time.
Sleeper – Patrick Reed (28-1): The 2018 Masters champion has quietly built up a great golf chain in recent months with a finish in T8 at the Tour Championship and T13 at the PGA Championship and the US Open to show it. So, in his quest for his second career green jacket, he has the momentum in his sails. And he’s generally performed well at Augusta National, only missing the cup twice in his six screenings.
Top 10 lock – Dustin Johnson (9-1): DJ had to withdraw from two events earlier this fall while battling COVID-19, so his bad year has been a bit of a blur. Prior to that, he finished T6 at the US Open and finished second or better at the PGA Championship, Northern Trust, BMW Championship and Tour Championship. DeChambeau is getting the attention this week because of the way he’s approaching the course with his rider, but DJ should arguably be the favorite after the way he’s played steadily in recent months.
Star Who Definitely Won’t Win- Rory McIlroy: Five times in the past six years, McIlroy has finished in the top 10 at the Masters. But he didn’t finish better than fourth and he still couldn’t get over the bump. While he’s played well this year, it just doesn’t look like the setup he goes into in his first green jacket.
Top 5 in order: Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Thomas, Xander Sc Chaudele
Surprise prediction: Tiger Woods misses the cut. Maybe not this surprisingly a prediction given the course of his year. He missed the cup at the US Open and wasn’t really in contention for the PGA Championship or any of the last five competitions he played. But Woods is the defending champion and one of the best to ever play against Augusta. Maybe he’s channeling some of the magic of 2019, and I’m absolutely there for that if he does, but it feels like an early ejection is where he’s heading after a pretty disappointing season. for him overall.
Lowest round: 64 (-8)
Winning score: 273 (-15)
Sunday winner’s score: 70 (-2)
Play with this week’s golf action and compete to win $ 5,000 in guaranteed money with CBS Sports golf accessories. All you have to do is answer a few quick questions on the next major and you’re in the running! Join us now for a chance to win. Conditions apply.
[ad_2]
Source link