Rory or Rahm could deliver us a Euro Master
NOW is the time for Dustin Johnson to start adding the Majors to go with his considerable talent.
He heads into The Masters as the deserved favourite. He is the World No.1, has won his last three events and is in the form of his life.
Johnson will never have a better chance to win at Augusta. When Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods had everything in their favour like he has, they usually won.
He tied fourth last year so he is now used to the course. He has been working hard on his wedge play and last week at the Match Play, he holed clutch putts when it mattered.
Dustin has one Major to his name – last year’s US Open – but he could, and should, have won four or five by now.
At 32, he is approaching his peak years and that is starting to show in his game.
But being the favourite to win The Masters is not always a good thing. The pressure and sense of occasion at Augusta can be overwhelming.
He was also heavily fancied to win last year’s PGA at Baltusrol. That course suited him down to the ground, yet he missed the cut.
Jordan Spieth has never finished worse than second in his three appearances at The Masters. But he faces a real test this week.
The Texan would not be human if he wasn’t scarred in some way by events at the par-3 12th in the final round 12 months ago.
There will be a hushed silence from the patrons when he steps on to that tee on Thursday. At 155 yards, it should not be a problem.
But with Rae’s Creek, the thin green, and trying to shut out all those negative memories of hitting two balls into the water, it will be a lot harder.
Four pars over the course of the week would be an excellent result.
Whatever happens, we’re going to learn a lot about Spieth and his golfing resilience.
It would be a wonderful story for the game if Rory McIlroy could complete his Grand Slam. I have a feeling he’ll do really well.
I’m pleased he didn’t change his schedule and make a late dash to play in Houston. That tells me Rory is calm about his game after returning from injury.
There is a worry that he hasn’t had enough competitive golf. But he has played nicely in his last two strokeplay events without holing many putts. That could easily change at Augusta.
Rory headlines a contingent of 27 Europeans. The most exciting of those is Spaniard Jon Rahm.
In the modern era, only Fuzzy Zoeller has won on his first appearance at Augusta, back in 1979. That tells you it’s extremely difficult, but not impossible.
But Rahm is an exceptional talent. He has been a pro for less than a year and he’s already up to 14th in the World Rankings.
His hero is Seve Ballesteros and he plays an aggressive game similar to the great man. He won in January and waltzed through to the final of the Match Play last Sunday.
At 22, he’s in a hurry to get to the top. I would even give him an outside chance of coming away with the Green Jacket.
IT promises to be a special week for Danny Willett on his return to Augusta as the defending Champion.
He should enjoy the acclaim and recalling his triumph from 12 months ago. It really was a great sporting story.
Getting to host the Champions’ Dinner on Tuesday night and be the guest of honour among the most-famous names in golf is something Danny will never forget.
Being the Masters Champion has hung heavily on his shoulders at times. But ask any player if they would take an indifferent year in exchange for a Green Jacket and they would bite your hand off.
It’s probably asking too much for him to repeat that success. But if Danny can play well over four rounds and finish inside the top 20, that would be a good week.