The 2012 Masters Preview

It is that time of year again. Spring is upon us and The Masters will get underway at Augusta National Golf Club on Thursday. One of the most prestigious golf courses on this earth will play host to its 76th Masters. As always, the field is highlighted by Tiger Woods. Tiger returned to the winner's circle for the 1st time in over 2 years a couple weeks ago. Now he is looking for his 5th green jacket. You can never count Phil Mickleson out of this tournament either. A win for Phil would tie him with Tiger with 4 green jackets. The other favorite amongst the field is the world's current #2 golfer, Rory McIlroy. While these men will steal most of the headlines and television air time, there are plenty others that can walk away a major champion this week. Here are my top 10 bets to win the 2012 Masters.

1. Tiger Woods (4 to 1)
World Golf Ranking: 7th
Best Masters Finish: 1st (1997, 2001, 2002, 2005) in 17 starts
2012 Scoring Average: 68.67

2. Luke Donald (15 to 1)
World Golf Ranking: 1st
Best Masters Finish: 3rd (2005) in 7 starts
2012 Scoring Average: 69.83

3. Phil Mickleson (8 to 1)
World Golf Ranking: 14th
Best Masters Finish: 1st (2004, 2006, 2010) in 19 starts
2012 Scoring Average: 69.83

4. Charl Schwartzel (40 to 1)
World Golf Ranking: 8th
Best Masters Finish: 1st (2011) in 2 starts
2012 Scoring Average: 70.00

5. Bo Van Pelt (80 to 1)
World Golf Ranking: 28th
Best Masters Finish: 8th (2011) in 2 starts
2012 Scoring Average: 69.50

6. Hunter Mahan (20 to 1)
World Golf Ranking: 4th
Best Masters Finish: 8th (2010) in 5 starts
2012 Scoring Average: 70.17

7. Keegan Bradley (25 to 1)
World Golf Ranking: 19th
Best Masters Finish: Never Participated
2012 Scoring Average: 69.22

8. Adam Scott (25 to 1)
World Golf Ranking: 13th
Best Masters Finish: 2nd (2011) in 10 starts
2012 Scoring Average: 70.25

9. Angel Cabrera (80 to 1)
World Golf Ranking: 175th
Best Masters Finish: 1st (2009) in 12 starts
2012 Scoring Average: 72.00

10. KJ Choi (50 to 1)
World Golf Ranking: 23rd
Best Masters Finish: 3rd (2004) in 9 starts
2012 Scoring Average: 70.50

Prediction - Tiger Woods will win his 5th green jacket. I am drinking the kool-aid. Tiger has already won at Augusta 4 times, he has finished in the top 10 in each of the past 7 Masters, and finally won a tournament just 2 weeks ago. He has steadily gotten better in every outing in 2012 and he will eventually pronounce himself as back once and for all. Many have written Tiger off in his quest to catch Jack Nicklaus, but a win this week will certainly spark that conversation back up.