**2023 Masters Thread**

[Fumbleweed 517]

The Masters is now exactly a little more than a week away and the field is rounding into form. For a few of us, it is just about our favorite sports weekend of the year. For most, probably not, but still a weekend of interest. Here are my initial top ten favorites for this year as has been done for several years now. List is subject to change as the month of March deepens in golf. Should be a great tournament!

Top Ten:

1. Rory McIlroy- When he finished with a flurry last year, I thought of him at that time as this year's favorite. Nothing has changed. I think Rory will win two majors this year. 

2. Jon Rahm- If Rory stumbles down the stretch on Masters Sunday, this is the guy who will be waiting with open arms. Should be the betting favorite. 

3. Patrick Cantlay- I really like Cantlay to win almost as much as I do Rory and Rahm. He can pressure putt alongside anyone in the world and I think a major is coming his way soon. 

4. Max Homa- Max should be in the mix in multiple majors this season as he has emerged as one of the game's very best players. 

5. Scottie Scheffler- Hard place to defend, but I think Scheffler's overall game lends itself to him being a factor in at least two majors this year, if not three.

6. Jason Day- Day's game is really rounding into form at the right time. Originally had Adam Scott here, but I think Day is emerging as top Aussie at this year's edition. 

7. Justin Thomas- JT has a surprisingly poor record in majors overall, but should be all over the par-5s all work giving him a chance to score well and remain in contention.

8.  Kurt Kitayama- Replaces Theegala who has not played well in March. Kitayama's 2023 so far has been a true breakout and I expect good things from moving forward also. 

9. Jordan Spieth- No matter how he's playing coming in, Jordan and Augusta are a good fit. I expect he'll do well this year, but accuracy off the tee will leave him short. 

10. Cameron Smith-  Smith will surely come into the Masters with a chip on his shoulder- the question is: Has he played enough competitive golf recently to contend? 

 

Players outside of my top ten who still have a very legitimate shot at winning:  Tony Finau, Tyrrell Hatton, Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele, Adam Scott, Will Zalatoris 

Highly ranked players who are off to slow start in 2023, but could catch lightning in a bottle for a week: Sam Burns, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Billy Horschel, Shane Lowry, Hideki Matsuyama

Young, exciting players with little Masters experience, but tons of game: Corey Conners, Viktor Hovland, Sungjae Im, Tom Kim, Seamus Power, Sahith Theegala, Cameron Young 

LIV participants: Abraham Ancer, Bryson DeChambeau, Sergio Garcia, Talor Gooch, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Jason Kokrak, Phil Mickelson, Kevin Na, Joaquin Niemann, Louis Oosthuzien, Mito Pereira, Thomas Pieters, Patrick Reed, Charl Schwartzel, Harold Varner III, Bubba Watson, 

Solid, tested players...wouldn't be a shocker if they won: Keegan Bradley, Harris English, Tommy Fleetwood, Russell Henley, Brian Harman, Tom Hoge, Si Woo Kim, Chris Kirk, Francesco Molinari, Justin Rose, Danny Willett, Gary Woodland, Tiger Woods

Guys who have a punchers chance, but would make for a somewhat shocking winner: Cameron Champ, Ryan Fox, Makenzie Hughes, Kevin Kisner, K.H. Lee, Adrian Meronk, Keith Mitchell, Alex Noren, J.T. Poston, Scott Stallings, Sepp Straka, Adam Svensson, Aaron Wise

Guys who have no real shot at winning from my perspective:  Fred Couples, Zach Johnson, Bernhard Langer, Sandy Lyle, Larry Mize, J.M. Olazabal, Vijay Singh, Mike Weir, All amateurs

 

[patweisers44 819]

@Fumbleweed, who would be your favorite to win one (any) major this year.? Tossup between Rahm and Rory?  Include The Players for the sake of this discussion

[bostonlager 2,664]

This will make EdEx quite interesting. Are the LIV guys still motivated and practicing like they used to? Looking at scores from their first tournament a few weeks ago would suggest they are just showing up to cash checks. Do we consider any of them contenders outside of Cam Smith?

[Fumbleweed 517]

1 hour ago, patweisers44 said:

@Fumbleweed, who would be your favorite to win one (any) major this year.? Tossup between Rahm and Rory?  Include The Players for the sake of this discussion

I would take Rory, but it's close. I really like Rory's chances at Hoylake. Considering Dufner won the last PGA at Oak Hill, I would think a ball striker wins that one. Who would you consider the better ball striker of the two? 

[Fumbleweed 517]

1 minute ago, bostonlager said:

This will make EdEx quite interesting. Are the LIV guys still motivated and practicing like they used to? Looking at scores from their first tournament a few weeks ago would suggest they are just showing up to cash checks. Do we consider any of them contenders outside of Cam Smith?

I do not and I struggled with leaving Smith off the list. I just remember how well he played last year and know as such that his best is really, really good. 

I think the LIV guys sorta sold their competiitve souls and will flop in the majors this year, but I could be wrong. Makes for some fascinating back-drama for sure. 

[edjr 6,578]

Tiger  

[patweisers44 819]

1 hour ago, Fumbleweed said:

I would take Rory, but it's close. I really like Rory's chances at Hoylake. Considering Dufner won the last PGA at Oak Hill, I would think a ball striker wins that one. Who would you consider the better ball striker of the two? 

I think they are dead even from a ball striking standpoint. They both have games that travel are, despite rahm this past weekend, in good form. Might be a coin flip

[WhiteWonder 2,682]

6 hours ago, bostonlager said:

This will make EdEx quite interesting. Are the LIV guys still motivated and practicing like they used to? Looking at scores from their first tournament a few weeks ago would suggest they are just showing up to cash checks. Do we consider any of them contenders outside of Cam Smith?

I think with LIV having a lot of past masters champions, and it being the kind of venue where guys who have played well in the past can sometimes flip the switch if they don’t have good current form, this is one where we could see a LIV guy or two contending. 

aside from Cam, I can see Dustin and Reed finding their way on the first page… maybe even. Niemann and Louis. 

[Cruzer 1,995]

Cali boys don’t win Green Jackets, have to go back to ‘82 and the Walrus to find one that did. Homa and Cantlay - luv ya but you’re out. (Yes I know Tiger and Phil, I’m talking about regular human golfers - not legendary Golf Gawds)

 

And idk about Cam having a chip on his shoulder, he knew the ripple effects when he left. As far as Rory, yaaaawwwnnnn, ho humm. 8 freaking years, during his golfing prime, healthy as a horse - and not a single major?? Wake me up when Jay-Boy’s parrot does something when it matters. 

[Fumbleweed 517]

38 minutes ago, Cruzer said:

Cali boys don’t win Green Jackets, have to go back to ‘82 and the Walrus to find one that did. Homa and Cantlay - luv ya but you’re out. (Yes I know Tiger and Phil, I’m talking about regular human golfers - not legendary Golf Gawds)

 

And idk about Cam having a chip on his shoulder, he knew the ripple effects when he left. As far as Rory, yaaaawwwnnnn, ho humm. 8 freaking years, during his golfing prime, healthy as a horse - and not a single major?? Wake me up when Jay-Boy’s parrot does something when it matters. 

OK. So who do you like?

[WhiteWonder 2,682]

38 minutes ago, Cruzer said:

And idk about Cam having a chip on his shoulder, he knew the ripple effects when he left. 

tough to know with Cam. He has always seemed kind of aww shucks and laid back. He obviously knew the ripple effects. If anything might motivate him it's the narrative that he was the first (and only) true golf star just entering their prime to go to LIV. I have no doubt DJ, for example, can still win a major.... or that young risers like Niemann didn't sting to lose... but Cam is the only guy who just had a player of the year worthy season winning a Players and a Major and then left. 

[Mike Honcho 5,135]

On 3/6/2023 at 2:00 PM, Fumbleweed said:

 

Guys who have no real shot at winning from my perspective:  Fred Couples, Zach Johnson, Bernhard Langer, Sandy Lyle, Larry Mize, J.M. Olazabal, Vijay Singh, Mike Weir,

All amateurs

 

I made a list! 

[Cruzer 1,995]

10 hours ago, Fumbleweed said:

OK. So who do you like?

 

On 3/26/2022 at 11:57 PM, Cruzer said:

Scheffler

J. Niemann

I did call Scottie last year..............but so far, I've no pick just yet. 

If I have to throw out a name - Rahm and Jordan are safe bets to be there Sunday I think, Tom Kim as a sleeper. 

[Fumbleweed 517]

Will provide an update to this on Monday after the Match Play concludes. 

One guy I am warming up to as a real contender is Jason Day. It appears his game has come back around. He'll easily crack the top ten in the update. 

[Fumbleweed 517]

A few adjustments to the OP at top. Jason Day in for Adam Scott. And, Kurt Kitayama in for Sahith Theegala. Other than that, Scheffler moves up two spots while JT moves down two. 89 players now locked in with a 90th coming this weekend if the VTO winner is not already in the field. 

[Fumbleweed 517]

Champions dinner one week from tonight. That is going to be interesting... 

[Hardcore troubadour 14,976]

I drew D Johnson in a pool. Any chance? 

[edjr 6,578]

4 minutes ago, Hardcore troubadour said:

I drew D Johnson in a pool. Any chance? 

Winning? less than 5%

He could make the cut maybe. 

He gets to play for life though. Be interesting to see how that pans out. 

[Hardcore troubadour 14,976]

3 minutes ago, edjr said:

Winning? less than 5%

He could make the cut maybe. 

He gets to play for life though. Be interesting to see how that pans out. 

Wasted that 100 bucks. Thanks. 

[Cruzer 1,995]

12 hours ago, Fumbleweed said:

Champions dinner one week from tonight. That is going to be interesting... 

At the end of the day, it will be a room full of rich, old dudes.......eating at the house of Bobby Jones. They will behave and the hype will far outweigh the actual events.

Plus I'm betting, much like real life - nobody will say much when in actual person and not in front of a Twitter feed. 

[edjr 6,578]

2 minutes ago, Cruzer said:

At the end of the day, it will be a room full of rich, old dudes.......eating at the house of Bobby Jones, they will behave and the hype will far outweigh the actual events.

Plus I'm betting, much like real life - nobody will say much when in actual person and not in front of a Twitter feed. 

All the collared greens and fried chicken they can handle!

[listen2me 23 1,831]

26 minutes ago, Hardcore troubadour said:

Wasted that 100 bucks. Thanks. 

I dont think so. Looking over possible bets Id like to stay away from thr LIV guys as I think they lost some edge on their games.  But the numbers have adjusted and some of the numbers are generous.  DJ is a possible for me at 33 to 1.  It 9s a possibility that some of these LIV guys have geared their whole year around thr majors they can play in.  Perhaps a big chip in their shoulder.  

Could have pulled a worse player that is for sure.  Way worse.  

[edjr 6,578]

3 minutes ago, listen2me 23 said:

Could have pulled a worse player that is for sure.  Way worse.  

Which PGA player has the hottest wife. Important things

[Hardcore troubadour 14,976]

8 minutes ago, listen2me 23 said:

I dont think so. Looking over possible bets Id like to stay away from thr LIV guys as I think they lost some edge on their games.  But the numbers have adjusted and some of the numbers are generous.  DJ is a possible for me at 33 to 1.  It 9s a possibility that some of these LIV guys have geared their whole year around thr majors they can play in.  Perhaps a big chip in their shoulder.  

Could have pulled a worse player that is for sure.  Way worse.  

Well thanks.  I’ll temper that vs sunshine Ed.  Lol. 

[edjr 6,578]

12 minutes ago, Hardcore troubadour said:

Well thanks.  I’ll temper that vs sunshine Ed.  Lol. 

  He's been playing terribly on LIV

[listen2me 23 1,831]

Just now, edjr said:

  He's been playing terribly on LIV

I haven't followed much but didn't he win the year last season?  

[edjr 6,578]

19 minutes ago, listen2me 23 said:

I haven't followed much but didn't he win the year last season?  

last year. before his skills really had a chance to erode. he has been miserable this season

2 starts.

LIV Golf History

2023 LEAGUE

EVENT	SCORES	FINISH	TEAM
MAYAKOBA	68-71-78 (+4)	37th	2nd
TUCSON	65-66-77 (-5)	13th	2nd

[listen2me 23 1,831]

Just now, edjr said:

last year. before his skills really had a chance to erode. he has been miserable this season

2 starts.

LIV Golf History

2023 LEAGUE

EVENT	SCORES	FINISH	TEAM
MAYAKOBA	68-71-78 (+4)	37th	2nd
TUCSON	65-66-77 (-5)	13th	2nd

Shot a 78 and 77 in final rounds otherwise nice rounds.   Looks to me like a guy who doesn't care because the tournaments don't mean much of anything.   Probably just goes for pins all 3rd round with a win it or go down in flames attitude.   Only 2 rounds.  

I am a big proponent of these guys lost some edge.  But have to think one of the LIV guys contends on Sunday.  There are what 30 players with any chance at thr Masters?

[edjr 6,578]

6 minutes ago, listen2me 23 said:

Shot a 78 and 77 in final rounds otherwise nice rounds.   Looks to me like a guy who doesn't care because the tournaments don't mean much of anything.   Probably just goes for pins all 3rd round with a win it or go down in flames attitude.   Only 2 rounds.  

I am a big proponent of these guys lost some edge.  But have to think one of the LIV guys contends on Sunday.  There are what 30 players with any chance at thr Masters?

How much do you think the LIV guys practice? They were given 100 million just to show up

[Fumbleweed 517]

Just now, edjr said:

How much do you think the LIV guys practice? They were given 100 million just to show up

I would venture to say not much. There's little to suggest that any of them are really grinding to be the best they can be at the present time. 

[edjr 6,578]

Just now, Fumbleweed said:

I would venture to say not much. There's little to suggest that any of them are really grinding to be the best they can be at the present time. 

And why would they? Can't blame them. Had to practice 12 hours a day to get on PGA tour. Just show up for LIV

[listen2me 23 1,831]

Just now, edjr said:

How much do you think the LIV guys practice? They were given 100 million just to show up

I agree.  I've said this.  Seems like I would rather not play than expose myself knowing I would come shoot 75 75 and going home with the PGA guys pointing and laughing.

We will find out soon

[edjr 6,578]

Just now, listen2me 23 said:

I agree.  I've said this.  Seems like I would rather not play than expose myself knowing I would come shoot 75 75 and going home with the PGA guys pointing and laughing.

We will find out soon

Deshamblow is a complete mess. He has been doing long drive competitions, cause he can't play

[listen2me 23 1,831]

3 minutes ago, Fumbleweed said:

I would venture to say not much. There's little to suggest that any of them are really grinding to be the best they can be at the present time. 

What I usually say when I talk to people about LIV is: if one has a rough day 1 are they going over to the range like they always would have to grind back into form or are they going to the bar?   

It is why lesser players are going to win at a high rate.  They are still grinding a bit as their pockets aren't nearly as heavy.  

[listen2me 23 1,831]

Just now, edjr said:

Deshamblow is a complete mess. He has been doing long drive competitions, cause he can't play

Oh yeah I have totally written him off.  Brooks not too far behind.

[Fumbleweed 517]

19 hours ago, Cruzer said:

Plus I'm betting, much like real life - nobody will say much when in actual person and not in front of a Twitter feed. 

I think this is probably right and the most likely scenario. 

[Fumbleweed 517]

18 hours ago, edjr said:

And why would they? Can't blame them. Had to practice 12 hours a day to get on PGA tour. Just show up for LIV

I don't necessarily blame them per se. I just don't understand why anyone would want to watch them half-ass their way around a golf course. Not sure how they're getting any viewership at all. 

[edjr 6,578]

Just now, Fumbleweed said:

I don't necessarily blame them per se. I just don't understand why anyone would want to watch them half-ass their way around a golf course. Not sure how they're getting any viewership at all. 

because they are names people know. I enjoyed the last LIV event way more than the PGA event that was on that weekend. 

[Fumbleweed 517]

1 minute ago, edjr said:

because they are names people know. I enjoyed the last LIV event way more than the PGA event that was on that weekend. 

To each their own then. I like to see guys pushing to compete and win tournaments. With stuff on the line. The shotgun start, music blaring, party-time angle doesn't do it for me. Most of the guys on LIV are washed anyway. Some are not. Smith, Johnson, Niemann, and Ancer are all still in their primes with Johnson getting closer to being out of his. 

[listen2me 23 1,831]

41 minutes ago, Fumbleweed said:

To each their own then. I like to see guys pushing to compete and win tournaments. With stuff on the line. The shotgun start, music blaring, party-time angle doesn't do it for me. Most of the guys on LIV are washed anyway. Some are not. Smith, Johnson, Niemann, and Ancer are all still in their primes with Johnson getting closer to being out of his. 

Agreed.   The pro bowl has names but I haven't watched that in 20 years because it doesn't matter.