For all of the unbroken promises the Masters delivers each year – the elegant charm, the blossomed beauty, the unmatched anticipation – it also comes with questions.
The particulars may vary but the themes remain the same. Whose turn is it this year? Whose leaderboard presence do we not see coming? Is there anything sweeter than the peach ice cream sandwiches in the concession stands?
As the best week in golf approaches, the questions this year focus, as they often do, on the expected contenders and this year a lack of clarity hangs in the spring air like the Georgia pine pollen.
Where to start?
Let’s begin with Rory McIlroy, the defending champion, who authored one of the most emotional adventures in Masters history last April before falling to his knees when his chase had finally ended.
All of it – the chunked wedge into the creek at the 13th, the boomerang 7-iron second shot around the tree into the 15th green, the missed putt to win on the 72nd hole and the subsequent explosion of emotion when McIlroy birdied the first extra hole to beat Justin Rose – still feels vibrant.
The feelings have been rekindled as this Masters approaches. The commercials. The magazine covers. The interviews.
And now it’s time to move on.
It’s tough to get a gauge on where McIlroy is with his game at the moment. He’s made only four PGA Tour starts and one of those resulted in a WD at the Arnold Palmer Invitational with a balky back, followed by a tepid T46 at the Players Championship.
McIlroy decided not to add a start between the Players and the Masters, though his game has not been in full sail. He hasn’t putted well – he ranks 104th on tour in strokes gained putting after being ninth last year – but, again, it’s a relatively small sample size.
Leaving the Players Championship, McIlroy said, “I feel like I hit the ball well the last three days. I didn’t get a lot out of it. But I do feel like I saw some good signs even though the scores didn’t quite reflect it.”
It will be interesting to see how McIlroy handles Augusta this year, knowing the career Grand Slam pressure is off, but he also knows he will only have so many chances in his prime to win another green jacket.
If last year was McIlroy’s dream come true, next week will be the sequel and we know how hit-and-miss those can be.
Scottie Scheffler had planned to play in Houston last week but was a late withdrawal due to family matters. He, too, is skipping the Valero Texas Open this week, meaning he will turn up in Augusta without playing a tournament in three weeks.
Scheffler finds himself in the curious position of almost having to defend his play because he has finished outside the top 10 in his last three starts.
Compared to the astounding standard he has set, some loose threads have worked their way into Scheffler’s play. The image of Scheffler pounding balls in the rain at the Players Championship spoke to both the dull edge and Scheffler’s insistence on working through whatever little kinks have developed.
There have been moments when his frustration has flared – tossing his ball into the water on the 18th hole at Bay Hill is one – and he’s shown some irritation with questions about why his results have been more pedestrian lately.
Look at this way: If you get first pick in a Masters draft, are you picking someone other than Scheffler?
For example, there was this exchange with the media Saturday at TPC Sawgrass: “Did I find anything? I think that would imply that I was lost, which is not the case.”
Statistically, Scheffler’s approach play has been off but when your worst result is a T24 this year, it’s hard to get too concerned. Look at this way: If you get first pick in a Masters draft, are you picking someone other than Scheffler?
Didn’t think so.
The Tiger Woods question had reached full boil after his appearance in the TGL finals early last week but, given the circumstances after his auto accident and arrest for suspicion of DUI last Friday, his presence in the field seems unlikely.
There are other questions:
Is this the year Bryson DeChambeau, arguably the hottest player in the game with consecutive LIV Golf victories in March, dials in his iron play at Augusta, putting himself in the right spots around the greens more often?
The analytics folks at Data Golf figured out the average age and world ranking (according to their rankings) of the last 20 Masters winners is 32 years old and ninth on their rankings list.
Check and almost check for DeChambeau, who slipped from ninth to 10th in the rankings this week.
Imagine DeChambeau in a green jacket under the big tree in perpetuity. It’s an interesting idea.
Is Jon Rahm ready for another round of questioning about his feud with the DP World Tour? Those questions are coming and, while the Augusta galleries are unfailingly polite, Rahm isn’t likely to be an emotional favorite.
This is golf’s version of the countdown to Christmas. There comes a point – and this is it – when time can slow down before the big event comes whooshing in.
Has Cameron Young fully arrived? Is Matt Fitzpatrick’s tenacity green jacket-worthy? Is Brooks Koepka giving us a hint when he says, “I feel very good, very confident going into Augusta in a few weeks?”
Of the 26 ways in which a player can qualify for the Masters, Scottie Scheffler (no surprise) led the way with nine. Three players checked the second-most boxes (six) – Chris Gotterup, Harris English and Young. Is that a hint about the Sunday leaderboard?
Will the weather intrude? Will Tommy Fleetwood do the big reveal with his new clothing sponsor or, in the spirit of the week, get his outfits from the Augusta National pro shop? How much longer will Jack Nicklaus hit a ceremonial tee shot on Thursday morning?
This is golf’s version of the countdown to Christmas. There comes a point – and this is it – when time can slow down before the big event comes whooshing in.
Santa Claus is coming to town.
Top photo: Charles Laberge, Courtesy Augusta National
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