SI Golf's Picks to Put on the Green Jacket at the 87th Masters
The season's first major is finally upon us, with nearly as many storylines as there are azaleas at Augusta National. A top-ranked defending champion with a very real chance to repeat ... a superstar trying (again) to complete the career Grand Slam ... Tiger Woods is here ... oh, and 18 players from controversial LIV Golf.
The staff at SI Golf has studied the storylines and the field and has made its picks for the 87th Masters. Do you agree or disagree?
Illustration by Bryce Wood/SI
Bob Harig: Rory McIlroy
If not now, when? He’s playing some great golf again, with a blip at the Players Championship that he seemed to get straightened out at the Match Play, where he put a new driver in play and seemed to get settled with the putter. McIlroy’s length is an asset no matter the weather conditions, and if it’s soft, as expected, that helps him even more. Now’s the time for Rory to complete the career Grand Slam and win his first major championship in more than eight years.
Gabrielle Herzig: Jon Rahm
In the midst of the LIV vs. PGA Tour power struggle and Rory McIlroy's bid for a career grand slam, Jon Rahm is somehow flying under the radar at the Masters—and that's dangerous. The Spaniard has won three times already on the PGA Tour this season in Maui, La Quinta and Los Angeles, and he's incredibly consistent at Augusta National. In seven appearances, Rahm has four top-10 finishes and has never missed the cut at the first major of the year. Rahm may have put on a disappointing performance at the Dell Match Play with some dicey ballstriking, but if there was ever a week for the former U.S. Open champion to find his form again, it's this one.
Alex Miceli: Jordan Spieth
If you’ve won a green jacket you are not only part of Tuesday’s champions dinner and can use the champions locker room, but you are always looked on as a potential favorite every spring. The 2015 champion Jordan Spieth is no exception, with five top 5s in nine previous Masters. Add in the fact that he is playing well, trending toward this week after a solid T4 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and T3 at Valspar, Spieth is on the cusp of a second Masters victory.
Jeff Ritter: Max Homa
Yes, I know he's never cracked a top 10 in a major, but that stat feels like a glitch due for a correction. He does have six career PGA Tour titles and only one runner-up, so he knows how to close. He's currently fifth in strokes-gained approach, a key stat for me this week, and remains a player on the rise with another win to his name earlier this year. A major breakthrough is coming—why not now?
John Schwarb: Cam Smith
We root for stories in this business, and a LIV player putting on a green jacket—perhaps over his LIV team logo—would be a doozy. But Smith would have been on my radar as a pick regardless of his home tour; we saw his short-game wizardry at St. Andrews last July and his Masters record (four top 10s in his last five starts, T3 last year) is as good as you'll find among non-winners. He's also acutely aware of what this week means to LIV and will use that as fuel.