TOP CONTENDERS
Xander Schauffele
Age: 27
Country: United States
World ranking: 8
Worldwide wins: 5
Majors: None
2020 majors: PGA Championship-t10, U.S. Open-5
Best of 2020: Having the lowest score at the Tour Championship and still finishing second because of the staggered start.
Masters memory: Sharing the lead with four to play last year and failing to birdie the par-5 15th, closing with four pars to finish a shot back.
Backspin: He plays the majors as well as Brooks Koepka minus the trophies. He has finished in the top 10 at seven of his 13 majors, with two runner-up finishes. His California cool hides a fierce game. Last year. he showed he is ready for the next step.
Bryson Dechambeau
Age: 27
Country: United States
World ranking: 6
Worldwide wins: 8
Majors: U.S. Open (2020)
2020 majors: PGA Championship-t4, U.S. Open-won
Best of 2020: Winning his first major at Winged Foot with a U.S. Open strategy that showed he might know what he’s talking about.
Masters memory: A tie for 21st in 2016 to be the low amateur. That’s still his best finish in three Masters appearances.
Backspin: He might be getting more attention than Tiger Woods going into the Masters for the way he added nearly 50 pounds of mass to support his effort to swing as hard as possible. He wants to have a 48-inch driver in play for the Masters. He already has hit a 400-yard drive at home and plans to dismantle Augusta National with length. He still has to chip and putt, which he did exceedingly well at the U.S. Open.
Dustin Johnson
Age: 36
Country: United States
World ranking: 1
Worldwide wins: 23
Majors: U.S. Open (2016)
2020 majors: PGA Championship-t6, U.S. Open-t2
Best of 2020: Winning the Fedex Cup for the first time and being voted PGA Tour Player of the Year for the second time.
Masters memory: That tumble down the stairs that forced him to withdraw in 2017, when he had won his previous three tournaments and was the overwhelming favorite.
Backspin: Johnson comes in with a little less competition than he planned because of his positive test for the coronavirus that knocked him out of Shadow Creek and Sherwood. His runner-up last year was his best chance at winning, an experience that can only help him going forward. Having won only one major grates at him.
Rory Mcilroy
Age: 31
Country: Northern Ireland
World ranking: 5
Worldwide wins: 26
Majors: U.S. Open (2011), British Open (2014), PGA Championship (2012, 2014)
2020 majors: PGA Championship-t33, U.S. Open-t8
Best of 2020: On the course, anything before golf shut down in March because of the pandemic. Off the course, the birth of his daughter.
Masters memory: Taking a four-shot lead into the final round in 2011 and shooting 80.
Backspin: This is his sixth time coming to the Masters with a chance to complete the career Grand Slam. What helps this year is not having the intense scrutiny on him because of the strange year brought on by the pandemic. What doesn’t help is having only two top 10s in 12 starts since golf resumed in June.
Patrick Cantlay
Age: 28
Country: United States
World ranking: 10
Worldwide wins: 3
Majors: None
2020 majors: PGA Championship-t43, U.S. Open-t43
Best of 2020: Ending 16 months without a victory by rallying to win the Zozo Championship at Sherwood.
Masters memory: Making eagle on the 15th hole in 2019 to take the lead, only to drop shots on each of the next two holes.
Backspin: There is no big weakness in his game except for not winning enough. What should help him at this Masters is the experience of contending last year and the experiencing of winning in his final start before going to Augusta.
Jon Rahm
Age: 26
Country: Spain
World ranking: 2
Worldwide wins: 11
Majors: None
2020 majors: PGA Championship-t13, U.S. Open-t23
Best of 2020: Reaching No. 1 in the world for the first time by winning the Memorial, and making a 65-foot birdie putt to win at Olympia Fields for his first Fedex Cup playoff win.
Masters memory: Had 65 in the third round to have a chance in 2018, and still in the mix until hitting into the water on the 15th hole Sunday.
Backspin: Winning a major is the next step for the big Spaniard, probably sooner rather than later. He has won multiple times worldwide in each of his four full years as a pro.
Justin Thomas
Age: 27
Country: United States
World ranking: 3
Worldwide wins: 14
Majors: PGA Championship (2017)
2020 majors: PGA Championship-t37, U.S. Open-t8
Best of 2020: Winning multiple tournaments for the fourth consecutive year.
Masters memory: Being paired with Jordan Spieth in the final round when Spieth went from nine shots behind to a tie for the lead with a birdie on the 16th hole in 2018.
Backspin: After a lull in August in which he finished no better than 25th in three big events, Thomas appears trending in the right direction going to Augusta. He has yet to finish in the top 10 in his four previous appearances.
Tiger Woods
Age: 44
Country: United States World ranking: 33 Worldwide wins: 93 Majors: Masters (1997, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2019), U.S. Open (2000, 2002, 2008), British Open (2000, 2005, 2006), PGA Championship (1999, 2000, 2006, 2007)
2020 majors: PGA Championship-t37, U.S. Open-cut
Best of 2020: Breaking par all four rounds at Torrey Pines to tie for ninth. It was the only time all year he finished in the top 10.
Masters memory: Winning in 2019 to end 11 years without a major, 14 years without a Masters, capping off a return from four back surgeries and being able to share the moment with his two children.
Backspin: This is the first year Woods has failed to contend in any tournament when he wasn’t injured. He went five months without playing because of the pandemic, and he has played consecutive weeks on only one occasion as he limits his competition.
Brooks Koepka
Age: 30
Country: United States World ranking: 12 Worldwide wins: 10 Majors: U.S. Open (2017, 2018), PGA Championship (2018, 2019)
2020 majors: PGA Championship-t29, U.S. OPEN-DNP
Best of 2020: Two shots off the lead going into the final round at Harding Park with a chance to become the first player to win the PGA Championship three straight years in stroke play. He didn’t make birdie until the 12th hole, shot 74 and tied for 29th.
Masters memory: Following a double-bogey in the water on No. 12 to an eagle on the 13th and finishing one back of Tiger Woods last year.
Backspin: With the pandemic and injuries, Koepka has spent more time at home than at tournaments. He started the year at No. 1 and goes into the Masters at No. 12. In 14 events this year, he has had a chance to win only the WGCFedex St. Jude Invitational. He drove into the water on the 18th and tied for second.
Collin Morikawa
Age: 23
Country: United States World
ranking: 4 Worldwide wins: 3 Majors: PGA Championship (2020)
2020 majors: PGA Championship-won, U.S. Open-cut
Best of 2020: Making a 25-foot birdie putt to stay alive in a playoff he won at Muirfield Village, then winning his first major title a month later at Harding Park.
Masters memory: This is the first appearance for the Cal alum. He was 2 months old when Woods won his first Masters.
Backspin: He has a chance to join an elite group if he were to win the Masters. In the past 100 years, the only players with two majors at age 23 or younger were Gene Sarazen, Jack Nicklaus, Seve Ballesteros, Woods, Mcilroy and Spieth.