4 POINTERS TO THE MASTERS

GOOD NEWS FOR RORY

AS if Rory McIlroy needed any cheering up right now, Augusta has been suffering well-above average rainfall in recent weeks. ‘The course is playing so long we really need two weeks of good weather to dry it out,’ reported Georgia native Kevin Kisner. One suspects McIlroy and Dustin Johnson won’t be unhappy if Georgia continues to suffer rainy nights.

CHARLEY’S DILEMMA

WHAT’S happened to Charley Hoffman, who led the 2017 Masters by three shots after day one and was on the leaderboard again last year? Hoffman (right) lost bags of weight. He looks great, but in becoming half the man he has become half the golfer, with five missed cuts in seven events this year. He’s long been one of my favourite Masters outside bets — but unless he puts on a stone in the next fortnight, my faith will be something else he’s lost.

MASTERS DOWNSIZING

WITH just 87 players, last year’s Masters field was the smallest since Tiger Woods won in 1997. This year’s won’t be much bigger, either. Right now, it stands at 84, with Ireland’s Shane Lowry (currently 47th), South Africa’s Justin Harding (48th) and, more improbably, Lee Westwood (64th) among those hoping to make it into the world’s top 50 following the cut-off point at the WGC-Match Play Championship this week. Currently, England has nine representatives, with Rory McIlroy and former champions Sandy Lyle and Ian Woosnam the only other UK players.

BUBBA BACK ON TRACK

A SLEEPER pick? Keep an eye on two-time winner Bubba Watson (right), who lost his game when he lost lots of weight (another one) but who has put together a string of consistent performances, with four top-30 finishes in his last five events. That’s useful form alongside the fact we know he has what it takes to win at Augusta.