Masters Picks

I have a standing bet on the Masters every year with a couple friends. We play for really big stakes – a sleeve of Titleist Pro V-1 golf balls. We each select 10 players in the Masters field and at the end of the tournament, the person whose team takes home the most prize money wins. What usually happens is that we each pick the same five or six top players such as Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh and the outcome depends on our eighth, ninth and tenth selections. The strategy is to make sure you have the winner and then pick players who will make the cut and finish high in the money. Because the fairways are wide and the course is long, the premium is on putting. Johnny Miller once called the Masters the biggest putting contest in the world. Here is my lineup for the 2007 Masters:

Tiger Woods – Duh, he’s the best player in the world and has four green jackets.
Phil Mickelson – The defending champion who also won in 2004. Needs to avoid a U.S. Open blowup.
Vijay Singh – Has not won at Augusta since 2000 but was T-8 last year and has six top 10 finishes in 13 starts.
Davis Love – Long hitter who has the all-around game to win. Also has six top-10 finishes at Augusta and two top-10s on Tour this year.
Retief Goosen – Former U.S. Open champion was T-3 each of the last two years at Augusta. Ranks 21st in putting average and putts per round on tour this year.
Ernie Els – Great record – six top-10s – and fully recovered from knee surgery. He is first in putting average and first in putts per round on tour.
Arron Oberholser – Finished T-14 in first Masters last year. Could break out in 2007. Finished 9th at Houston last week.
Aaron Baddeley – Young gun has never made a cut at Augusta but his game is on the rise. Is 8th in putting average and 9th in putts per round. Won the FBR Open and has two other top ten finishes this year.
Adam Scott -- Won the Shell Houston Open last week and was T-27 and T-33 in last two Masters.
Steve Stricker – First appearance in five years. Played well in majors last year and one of the leading putters on the PGA Tour ranking 10th in putting average and fourth in putts per round. Also a sentimental favorite as a fellow Wisconsin native.

I had a hard time leaving Jose Maria Olazabal and Fred Couples off the list. Both aging vets always play well at Augusta but Freddy’s back is hurting and I think the young guns will supplant the Spaniard.

Hitting range balls while wondering whatever happened to Roberto de Vincenzo.