The Masters 2017: Top 3 Players To Watch
By Chris Mckee
Mark Zecchino is the host of TSN’s Golf Talk Canada and the play-by-play voice of PGA Tour Radio on Sirius/XM. All week we will preview The Masters and in this edition, Zecchino breaks down the top three golfers to watch at The Masters in an interview for Tip of the Tower.
In yesterday’s Masters Preview, we discussed Canadian Adam Hadwin’s chances this weekend at Augusta. Today we’ll preview the top three players to watch at The 2017 Masters.
In an interview with Mark Zecchino, who is the host of TSN’s Golf Talk Canada and the play-by-play voice of PGA Tour Radio on Sirius/XM, we discussed which three golfers have the best chance of winning the green jacket.
Dustin Johnson
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This may be the hardest year to pinpoint an exact guy or narrow down who has the best chance to win. Normally when you have a guy who is playing as hot as Dustin Johnson, everybody picks that guy. It has been a long time since we’ve seen somebody as dominant as DJ is; he looks like Tiger right now.
Johnson has won his last three starts in a row and just completed the World Golf Championship (WGC) Grand-Slam and only Tiger Woods has won more WGC’s than Johnson. Since DJ’s first year on the tour in 2008, only Tiger has more wins with 18, while Johnson has 15 under his belt.
If he sticks to his game plan and does what got him here, DJ will be one of the favourites for sure.
Rory McIlroy
Even though he hasn’t won this season on the PGA Tour, he has played exceptionally well. He did have a rib injury of late, but he shot 10 under par at the Arnold Palmer Invitational two weeks ago. Rory is playing for history, because he is trying to complete his career grand-slam.
If he wins The Masters, Rory will join Tiger Woods, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Gene Sarazen and Ben Hogan as the sixth player in history to complete the career grand-slam.
Will all that to play for, this is a big deal for him.
Jordan Spieth
If there is one player on the planet who hates losing and is as competitive as Tiger Woods; it’s Jordan Spieth. What happened last year at The Masters when he gagged a four shot lead with nine holes to go has to be eating away at him for the last 12 months. He is looking to avenge the biggest catastrophe of his career and one of the worst collapses in a major golf tournament.
All the writers in Augusta had typed up their stories with two hours to go in the broadcast and I’ve never seen so many guys tear up their stories all at once; it was unbelievable.
Next: Breaking Down Adam Hadwin’s Chances
Obviously, there are some other names that you can’t ignore including Phil Mickelson, who is playing exceptionally well and is a different guy when he gets to Augusta. Hideki Matsuyama and Justin Thomas have already had multiple wins this year and are the young guns.
But if you’re looking for the top three guys; Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth.