Five players I’m backing to win at Augusta this week

The organisers have done a brilliant job of wrapping the Masters Tournament in mystique.

The Open Championship, golf’s oldest major, was already 74 by the time the Masters launched in 1934, yet as we approach the 88th edition, this tournament has arguably become the one most golfers dream of winning.

The venue, Augusta National, is the most beautifully curated in golf, a masterpiece of design and horticulture. And since the tournament is always the first major of the year and takes place in the same spot annually, it has acquired a unique flavour in the golfing firmament.

Its significance is further heightened by the division that followed the creation of LIV Golf two years ago, which keeps the best players in the world apart, save from the four major championships.

Thus we get to see Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth et al face off against the likes of Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka and Cameron Smith, which, after a nine-month hiatus, has the effect of making the Masters feel even more valued and special.

As to whom might win, well, that would appear to depend on Scheffler. Here’s why, and a selection of candidates who might prosper should the world No 1 falter.

Scottie Scheffler

Scheffler’s record in his last three tournaments reads 1st, 1st, 2nd. In the last example he missed a five-footer at the Valspar Championship to force a play-off. The speed was a fraction out.

One pundit picked Scheffler in his top four predictions to win, i.e. if everything is in order he wins by six shots, if his putting is a little off he wins by four, if the full blown yips return he wins by two and if his recent neck injury flares up he wins by one.

But in every scenario, the world No 1 and 2022 Masters champion was his winner this week.

Ludvig Aberg

The man who came from nowhere to earn a captain’s pick from Luke Donald at the Ryder Cup continues his march towards the summit. Aberg turned pro only last June and is already up to ninth in the world.

The unflappable Swede swings it like Ernie Els and hits it miles with no discernible weaknesses. Only three have won the Masters on debut: Horton Smith at the inaugural event in 1934, Gene Sarazen a year later and Fuzzy Zeller in 1979. A fourth rookie champion is overdue.

Joaquin Niemann

Owes his place in the field to an invitation from the hosts. The tournament loves to spread its invites about the globe so the 25-year-old Chilean, a former world No 1 amateur, fits the template. And as a LIV golfer, his selection might also represent a thawing of relations among the major powers.

Niemann is one of 13 players from the LIV Tour in the Masters field, and as a two-time winner already this year in just four events is justifiably among the favourites at a course that rewards mammoth hitting like his.

Cameron Smith

Before Rahm’s arrival, the signing of the 2022 Open champion was arguably LIV’s biggest coup. The noise around his departure proved a disruption at last year’s Masters, where he finished a distant 34th.

With the arrival of defending champion Rahm, Smith might be seen as just another LIV attendee this year. The numbers say otherwise. In seven appearances he has never missed the cut and boasts five top-10s and two top-threes. He lost out in a play-off at LIV Hong Kong last month, so his game is trending.

Brooks Koepka

Koepka is in the Tiger Woods class of big-match finisher. He was furious with himself for uncharacteristically blowing a two-shot, 54-hole lead last year, but bounced back at the PGA Championship to claim his fifth major.

And this after revealing how close he was to quitting during his injury plagued period before his move to LIV. Though a little undercooked, a fifth outing of the year at Miami should bring him nicely to the boil in Augusta.