The odds of Rory McIlroy completing the career grand slam are getting better due to the huge amount of rain that has dropped on Augusta National over the last couple of days. Heck, there was even a tornado warning. What all of this moisture means is big hitters are going to gain an edge when The Masters begins for real on Thursday. There won’t be a lot of roll-out so the shorter hitters will be pulling out long irons to get at the tricky pin placements on Augusta while the bombers such as McIlroy and Dustin Johnson will likely be pin seeking with shorter irons in hand.
McIlroy goes into the first major of the year trending well at golf’s hallowed piece of property.
More and more comfortable
The Northern Irishman posted performances of T10 last year, solo fourth in 2015 and T8 in 2014. Those were after a T25 finish in 2013 and a T40 in 2012. He’s getting more and more comfortable on the layout and the combo of his length and a hot putter will put him in prime position to fulfill his career goal. Johnson is a good bet to be right there on the leaderboard come Sunday as he arrives in Georgia as the world’s top ranked player and the leader in the FedExCup points race. Johnson is in search of a grand slam of his own since he tees off Thursday having won his last three events.
The big bopping native of South Carolina has trended upward like McIlroy at The Masters. His record includes a T4 last year, a T6 in 2015, a T68 in 2014, a T13 in 2013 and a pair of T38s in 2011 and 2010.
Owns a recent victory
Adam Hadwin of Canada joins McIlroy and Johnson on the favourite list because the native of Moose Jaw, SK, and resident of Abbotsford, BC, owns a recent victory this year at the Valspar Championship, a nice T6 effort at Arnie’s tournament and the Canuck is one of the few players ever to shoot a round of 59 – he did so at the CareerBuilder Challenge in January.
Augusta National Golf Club plays 7,435 yards and is a par 72.
Favorites: Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Henrik Stenson, Rory Mcilroy, Adam Hadwin
Players To Watch: Rickie Fowler, Thomas Pieters, Danny Willett, Bubba Watson, Zach Johnson
