As always, experts are working to figure out who leave Augusta National wearing the illustrious green jacket as the winner of the 2015 Masters. But this year there is another major storyline to watch, around a certain Tiger Woods. Below, we look at how the experts imagine how both stories will play out with their picks and predictions below.
We’ve got you covered on all things Masters this year. Check out our complete Masters preview, as well as our Masters sleeper picks and read on for more from golf’s sharpest minds.
[sc:MultiSportArticles ]2015 PGA Masters Experts Picks and Predictions
The Masters Winner
Golf.com
| Expert | Masters Winner |
|---|---|
| Michael Bamberger | Louis Oosthuizen |
| Gary van Sickle | Bubba Watson |
| Eamon Lynch | Jordan Spieth |
| Joe Passov | Rory McIlroy |
| Cameron Morfit | Bill Haas |
| Jeff Ritter | Jordan Spieth/ Jimmy Walker |
| Josh Sens | Brandt Snedeker |
| Coleman McDowell | Rory McIlroy(?) |
| Alan Shipnuck | None |
| Mark Broadie | Adam Scott |
[sc:Other240banner ]Golf.com polled its stable of golf writers and experts, and the 10 were nowhere near a consensus with regard to who takes home the green jacket. Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy were the only two golfers whose names came up more than once, but even their second mentions were not exactly definitive. Unsurprisingly, McIlroy (+600) and Spieth (+800) are also the top two favorites according to the odds.
Spieth will be a particularly sexy pick as he comes into the Masters on the back of three consecutive top-two finishes (he won the Valspar Championship and lost the Shell Houston Open in a three-way playoff). Meanwhile, McIlroy remains a popular pick despite his very sketchy history in Augusta. In a recently-done secret survey among his peers, 28 out of 100 respondents even picked Rory to complete his career Grand Slam by finally claiming the Masters.
Oosthuizen (+4,000) and Haas (+6,000) are two slightly surprising names given their odds, but the experts who chose them admitted as much. But as much as people like to rave about Rory or Spieth or whomever the top golfers in the world are at the time, the Masters can often throw a curveball winner that catches nearly everyone off guard. This might be one of those years.
But if you value more empirical evidence and the sabermetric approach, Mark Broadie crunched some numbers and came away with Adam Scott as this year’s Masters winner. The Aussie already has a green jacket thanks to his win in 2013, and if Broadie’s numbers are to be believed, Scott should at least be in the mix come the later rounds.
CBS Sports
| Expert | Masters Winner |
|---|---|
| Kyle Fowler | Bubba Watson |
All eyes will be glued to CBS, which owns the broadcast rights to the prestigious tournament, and its sports web portal has quite an eye-catching piece ranking all 98 golfers in the field. Coming out on top is defending champion Bubba Watson, who’s looking to make it three wins out of his last four at Augusta.
Bubba isn’t the most popular guy among his peers, but he could be quite the popular pick at +1,000 with his immense track record on the course.
Bleacher Report
| Expert | Masters Winner |
|---|---|
| Mike Chiara | Dustin Johnson |
Pro Golf Now
| Expert | Masters Winner |
|---|---|
| Danny Norris | Dustin Johnson |
The golf writers over at Bleacher Report and Pro Golf Now agreed over one more name they threw in the hat of potential winners: Dustin Johnson. Johnson, the son-in-law of hockey great Wayne Gretzky who recently served out a six-month drug suspension, has been in fantastic form since returning this February.
Although he’s missed two cuts in six tournaments, he’s finished no worse than sixth in the other four events, including a win at the WGC-Cadillac Championship last month. The odds certainly agree, putting Johnson at +1,200, right there in the mix of Masters contenders.
Will Tiger Woods make the cut?
Conspicuously absent from the experts’ picks of potential champions is four-time winner Tiger Woods, who’ll make his return to the tour after sitting out two months to repair his broken game. Such is Tiger’s gravity that his performance will be a prominent story line throughout the tournament.
But exactly how long will that last?
Well, consider this: instead of being asked if Tiger can/will win, experts are being asked whether he can even make the cut after 36 holes. The consensus is not so high on that possibility.
| Yes (4) | No (8) |
|---|---|
| Bamberger, Van Sickle Passov, Chiara | Lynch, Passov, Morfit, Ritter, Sens, McDowell, Shipnuck, Norris |
Two-thirds of the 12 experts (Fowler excluded) had Tiger missing the cut at Augusta for the first time since 1996. Most of the eight who bet against Tiger brought up his chipping issues, which only add to his iffy health and rustiness as major red flags against him.
However, the other four are a little more optimistic that the little hiatus Woods took to fix some hitches in his game will be enough for him to survive. Woods reportedly looked pretty good during practice at Augusta, particularly his troublesome chip, which no doubt bodes well for his chances of lasting till Sunday.
It’s the classic double-edged sword. A healthy and locked-in Woods is better than almost anyone in the field, which would make taking him at +1,800 very tempting. But he could also just as easily be stricken with the same issues that have plagued him over the last few months, and crash out before things really get interesting.
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