All week, each of the 89 players in this 88th edition of the Masters have turned off Washington Road and driven through Gate 3, into Magnolia Lane, many of them in electric-powered Mercedes courtesy cars, where a private security guard has directed each one down the tree-lined avenue towards the colonial clubhouse.
There, the trophy, most recently with Jon Rahm’s name engraved as champion, has been securely displayed. Teasing. Tempting. Beckoning.
Come Sunday, only one player will get to lift the Masters trophy and to have a green jacket placed on his shoulders. Even with the prospect of a weather-disrupted opening day, with lightning forecast to be in the air, the small size of the field and the prediction of sunny weather from Friday through Sunday would indicate a timely finish.
But, who?
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Unquestionably, Scottie Scheffler – at this time and in this place – is the favourite. The 2022 champion has arrived into this week fresh off a week’s break and with a run of 1st-1st-2nd on his last three tournament outings, which included a win in the Players Championship. If not quite Tiger-esque just yet, such a form line is reminiscent of how Tiger Woods, year on year, came and (on five occasions) conquered.
But, but . . . but! The subplots abound. There’s the unknown factor of how the LIV players, among them Rahm, who have built-up to this first Major of the year on a reduced playing itinerary, will perform. Lessons from last year suggest that each of the 13 defectors to the start-up moneyed tour will enter the fray with expectations and with points still to prove.
Rahm, though, insisted the reduced schedule could work to his benefit rather than against him.
“I feel physically better than I did last year. [And] once competition starts, it doesn’t really matter. Once the gun goes off, whatever you feel is out the window; you’ve got to go out there and post a score . . . . I feel fresh and ready for it.”
If Scheffler and Rahm, the last two champions, would seek to embellish their Masters reputations, and with good reason, then there are others yet to taste such glory lining up. Wyndham Clark, for one, the reigning US Open champion who is making his debut appearance. Ludvig Aberg, another aiming to win at the first time of asking.
And, also, two Irishmen. Rory McIlroy for one. Shane Lowry for two. Both Major winners in their own right, but not at this place.
McIlroy’s repeat visits to the hallowed golfing terrain in the quest to complete the career Grand Slam has now reached a decade since his last Major title success, at the 2014 US PGA. Ten long years. Could an altered, increased playing schedule this year reap dividends? Certainly, there were positives from a third-place finish – albeit a distant one – in the Valero Texas Open from last week to indicate the world number two is running into form at the right time.
A year ago, the Northern Irishman strode to the first tee of the first round with great expectations. He missed the cut. Twelve months on, McIlroy – grouped with Scheffler for the opening two rounds, no bad thing – has kept things in check in a bid to play the long game.
Of learning from past failings, McIlroy observed: “I would say not trying to win it from the first tee shot. I think that’s something that I’ve tried to learn. It’s a 72-hole golf tournament. I’ve won from 10 strokes back going into the weekend. There’s loads of different ways to do it.
“This golf course gets you to chase things a little more than other golf courses, if you make a bogey or if you get yourself out of position, because it always tempts you to do something you think you can do.
“I’m pretty confident in my golf game. I think I can do most things, but sometimes you just have to take the conservative route and be a little more disciplined and patient. With a 72-hole golf tournament, you can be patient, you can be disciplined, and you can stick to your game plan. And that’s something that I’ve really tried to learn at this tournament over the years.”
Those soundbites from McIlroy play out well. Delivering on them is the tougher part of the equation.
For Lowry, there is too a sense that he is also ready for the challenge. He has found a way to play Augusta National, a third-placed finish in 2022 the best of a four-year stretch that has seen him finish inside the top-25 each year.
Recent form, too, is good with a fourth-place finish in the Cognizant Classic and a third in the Arnold Palmer Invitational where he played in the last pairing in the final round with Scheffler.
“It’s certainly a course where, if you’re playing well, you can make it look easy. But you can make it look hard as well. You need to be clever the way you play golf and where you miss it. I think this golf course is more about the missed than the great shots this week. If your missed are in the right spots, you’ll do all right,” said Lowry.
The prospect of being the first Irish winner of the Masters is one which Lowry would obviously cherish. “I have a 50-50 chance. I certainly hope if it’s not him [McIlroy], it’s me . . . er, I hope if it’s not me, it’s him.”
The other 87 make for an uneven playing field, though. And, of them, world number one Scheffler is the one with most expectations.
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