A Major Month

The Masters: it was all utterly predictable. I always knew that Bubba Watson was the man to beat …

But who would be a pundit? Of the thirteen former players, commentators and respected journalists - including Paul Azinger, Peter Alliss and Ken Brown - who were asked for their Masters' preview opinions on the BBC Website, four went for Sergio Garcia (missed cut), three for the injured Jason Day (T21) and surprisingly only two for Rory McIlroy (T8). Of the twenty names that got a mention, Matt Kuchar (T5), McIlroy and Henrik Stenson (T14) were the only players to finish in the top twenty. Bear in mind this was the British Broadcasting Corporation; there wasn't one mention of Lee Westwood (T7), Justin Rose (T14) or Ian Poulter (T20), and only Robert Lusetich of Fox Sports plumped for Luke Donald (MC) as the winner. Amazingly the in-form defending champion Adam Scott (T14) was also totally overlooked. All of which goes to prove that whilst it's mildly entertaining to speculate who might do what, even the experts haven't got a clue!

However, race-going punters will know that considerations such as current form, and course and distance history are all relevant, and that applies particularly to somewhere like Augusta. Witness the performances of the likes of Fred Couples (T20) and Bernhard Langer (T8). It's slightly baffling, therefore, why Garcia should feature so strongly amongst the tipsters [I picked him too – Ed]. OK, he was in good form going into the tournament, but his record there is pretty average with only two top ten finishes in fourteen attempts and a best of T4 back in 2004. He just doesn't like the place and has been incredibly negative about his chances there in the past.

Mind you, he is not unique in that regard. There are plenty of players who don't particularly enjoy the Masters experience, although not many will publicly admit to it, for fear the embossed invitation to play might not drop through the letterbox next year! Nick Price never felt at home there, despite being a joint course record holder (63), while Colin Montgomerie probably enjoys commentating there much more than he ever enjoyed playing. (Supposition on my part, but I know he always battled mentally). There are others who have been so passionate about the place and the title that they became almost too obsessed with winning a Green Jacket. Greg Norman and Ernie Els fall into that category, and sadly it looks highly unlikely that either will ever win one now.