The Masters – golf’s Melbourne Cup
Scottie Scheffler – can he repeat his 2022 win?
They may be seven months apart and on the other side of the world to each other but the Masters and the Melbourne Cup are two sporting events in which Australians, whether they be fans of the respective sports or not, suddenly become experts and enjoy the prospect of picking a winner.
The Melbourne Cup has a much longer history and is very much built into the Australian psyche but the Masters is also an event which provides the amateur pundit the opportunity to pit his or her skills against those of the expert and the extensive coverage allows their investment to be watched with interest.
The 2023 Masters has the added prospect of the golfing world (currently under considerable divide) to unite, at least temporarily, and the prospect of the golfing traditionalists against the newcomers (LIV Golf) adds another dimension to a week which has become one of the ‘must watch’ sporting events.
The respective sides will deny any such battle exists but it is hard to dismiss that the performances of the 18 LIV golfers against the other 70 players this week will be watched with interest by the golfing world and perhaps provide some level of bragging rights for the side that succeeds.
Amongst the 88 man field are five Australians and one New Zealander, Cameron Smith the favourite amongst that line-up as he looks to continue an outstanding record at Augusta National, having recorded three top 5 finishes in six appearances and not having missed a cut since first teeing it up in 2016.
Like others now competing on the LIV Tour, however, Smith’s schedule ahead of his 7th Masters appearance has been considerably different to those of previous years and his capacity to overcome a schedule which has seen him play in just four events in 2023 may yet be a factor in just how he performs.
Smith missed the cut in his opening event of 2023 in Saudi Arabia and then, in LIV Golf events, did well in Mexico when 6th before disappointing efforts in Tucson and Orlando.
His affinity with Augusta National is apparent, however, and he will still start as one of the favourites generally and certainly amongst the Australians.
To a large extent Smith, along with Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson, carry the flag for LIV Golf while, undoubtedly, defending champion, Scottie Scheffler, along with Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm are the headliners for the balance of the field.
Amongst the other Australasians, Jason Day is another with an excellent record at Augusta National having finished runner-up on debut in the event in 2011 and 3rd two years later. In more recent years he has struggled at the Masters, but that has often coincided with illness or injury issues.
Over the last twelve months Day has improved from outside the world top 150 to a point where he is now the second highest ranked Australian after several top ten finishes in 2023 including six top tens in his last seven PGA Tour appearances.
Day has proven he is a big event player having won big titles and on some of the most demanding golf courses and while he might not yet be back to the giddy heights of six or seven years ago he is clearly improving quickly and I expect a good week from the 35 year old.
Adam Scott is of course the only Australian to have won the Masters and will play his 7th event of 2023 when he tees it up on Thursday.
Scott has yet to record a top 20 this year and without a top ten in his last five visits to this event his capacity to contend in 2023 has to be questioned. He is undoubtedly a class player but while his putting has improved considerably in recent times his iron play is perhaps not as precise as previously and as nice as it would be to see him in the firing line this week it is hard to imagine.
Min Woo Lee will play his second Masters after a sterling effort twelve months ago when finishing 14th on debut. He has yet to gain full PGA Tour status but he showed when 6th at the Players Championship he has the capacity to compete at this level and with the benefit of last year’s experience behind him he could do well.
Sydney amateur Harrison Crowe gets his start courtesy of his win at the Asia Pacific Amateur Championship late last year and the former NSW Open champion is clearly one of the bright young stars of Australian golf.
His goal is to make the weekend and be the leading amateur and if he can do that then his golfing stocks will rise even further.
New Zealand is represented by Ryan Fox who in 2022 elevated his standing in the game by finishing runner-up to Rory McIlroy in the DP World Tour standings.
Fox will make his debut at Augusta National and he can view this as a huge learning curve for future years. He has focused his attention on events in the US of late and all things considered he has done well with a top 20 finish at Bay Hill and another other solid showing at the Players Championship.
His powerful game will certainly assist on the par 5’s such as the 8th, 13th and 15th but whether he can ratchet his game back to overcome the subtleties and nuances of Augusta National remains to be seen..
Fox did, however, display a much more refined game in 2022 and as the first New Zealander to play the Masters since Danny Lee in 2016 his appearance will spark much interest across the Tasman.
As for my selections I get no prizes for selecting Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy as a likely winner.
Scheffler just keeps putting himself in contention every week and does have the benefit of knowing he can win the event. In his last ten PGA Tour stars he has been inside the top 4 on a remarkable six occasions. He may or may not win but surely he will provide plenty of interest through all 72 holes.
McIlroy has the burden of winning this event to complete the Grand Slam of major victories and that he has been one of the main critics of LIV Golf, but if he can overcome those distractions then he must surely be in the mix at least on Sunday.
A missed cut at the Players was a surprise but McIlroy played well at Bay Hill and again at the recent Dell Match Play suggesting his game is not far from where it needs to be.
I will also be investing on Jason Day because of the reasons outlined above and a player who might be worth consideration at longer odds is Sungjae Im who finished runner-up on debut in 2020, missed the cut in 2021 when a disastrous 9 at the 15th put paid to his chances and then finished 8th last year.
Looking for a longshot then I will be having a few dollars on Im.
Good luck and what a week it is going to be.
