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junker-town · 8 years ago

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The entire 2017 Masters field, ranked

From Weir to Johnson, let’s handicap every single dang player in the 2017 Masters field.

The Masters gets underway from Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga., later this week. A mix of world-class pros, amateurs, and past champions make up the field of 94 who will stroll the East Georgia grounds to compete for the 81st Masters title. Here is every one of those dang players, ranked.

Just happy to be here, man

94. Mike Weir, 93. Ian Woosnam, 92. Sandy Lyle, 91. Larry Mize, 90. Toto Gana, 89. Jose Maria Olazabal, 88. Mark O’Meara, 87. Trevor Immelman, 86. Brad Dalke, 85. Stewart Hagestad

This is your blend of post-prime winners still making their yearly appearances on the golf scene and amateur guys making their first appearances ever. You know it’s been a steep fall from grace for Weir when he’s now ranked behind a Division II recruit and a guy with an office job in lower Manhattan. None of them will win The Masters.

A chance to turn back the clock?

84. Angel Cabrera, 83. Ernie Els, 82. Vijay Singh, 81. Fred Couples, 80. Steve Stricker

Hey, crazier things have happened! Couples is healthy again and playing well on the Champions Tour, and he’s always a threat to sneak up the leaderboard. He’s finished in the top 20 five times since turning 50. He might even be underrated in this set of rankings. Keep an eye on Els, too. 2017 will likely be his final Masters unless he’s able to pull off some magic this week.

Amateur contenders (to make the cut)

79. Scott Gregory, 78. Curtis Luck

Luck, the world’s top amateur, will likely turn pro shortly after this event, and has all of the talent to make the weekend at Augusta. But it’s hard to put amateur players ahead of Tour pros, especially when they’re coming off a 79-then-DQ in their last start with the big boys at the Arnold Palmer in March. Most everyone in this field is really, really good! Still, if Luck is back in good form, he could make noise this week.

Probably not!

77. Rod Pampling, 76. Brian Stuard, 75. James Hahn, 74. Daniel Summerhays, 73. Si Woo Kim, 72. Mackenzie Hughes, 71. Billy Hurley III

The beautiful thing about the PGA Tour? Truly almost anyone in the field can win or have a big showing any given week. All these guys are consummate pros, but even they’d likely tell you they won’t be considered favorites when they make the drive down Magnolia Lane. Still, this tier will feature one of the tournament’s best stories in Billy Hurley III. If he can make it onto the leaderboard, it could turn into one of golf’s best stories — ever.

The old dude that could actually Do It

Photo by Harry How/Getty Images

70. Bernhard Langer

Every year, there’s an older interloper among a Sunday leaderboard that seems to get younger and younger year after year at Augusta. Last year, it was Langer -- who sat just two shots off Jordan Spieth’s lead entering the final round at age 58. He stumbled down the leaderboard on Sunday to a T-24 finish, but the German returns to Augusta at age 59 still dominating the senior circuits.

If there’s a guy who’s a real contender to make Tom Watson at Turnberry-like magic this coming weekend, it’s Langer — because he’s already done it. Maybe this year he’ll remember to grab a sponsor for his visor ahead of time. Count on it being valuable ad space again come Sunday.

The cut-line crew

69. Hideto Tanihara, 68. Yuta Ikeda, 67. Roberto Castro, 66. Kevin Chappell, 65. William McGirt, 64. Pat Perez, 63. Jason Dufner, 62. Brooks Koepka, 61. Sean O'Hair, 60. Webb Simpson, 59. Jhonattan Vegas, 58. Francesco Molinari, 57. Byeong Hun An, 56. Russell Henley, 55. Hudson Swafford

A smorgasbord of names you know who aren’t doing much at the moment and names you might not know who are surging. Need to take a flyer on a guy a little further down the betting list? Keep an eye on Jhonny Vegas, who has been a consistent bet to make the weekend on Tour, if nothing else. He’s made 22 of his last 23 cuts.

Major winners! — just not this week

Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images

54. Bubba Watson, 53. Jim Furyk, 52. Jimmy Walker, 51. Danny Willett, 50. Charl Schwartzel

Is it dumb to discount two guys who have won two of the last five green jackets, the reigning champion, the winner of the most recent major championship, the 2011 champion, and the reigning US Open runner-up? Maybe! But we’re gonna do it anyway. Just none of the lot here are consistently playing well at the moment — and Jimmy Walker’s even battling mononucleosis. It’d be a mild surprise to see more than a couple from this group high on the leaderboard come Sunday.

Early weekend tee-times

49. Charley Hoffman, 48. Kevin Na, 47. Gary Woodland, 46. Russell Knox, 45. Shane Lowry, 44. Ross Fisher, 43. Jeunghun Wang, 42. Andy Sullivan, 41. Bernd Wiesberger, 40. Chris Wood, 39. Brendan Steele, 38. Ryan Moore, 37. Marc Leishman, 36. J.B. Holmes, 35. Emiliano Grillo, 34. Kevin Kisner

A bunch of good players playing well at the moment! None, individually, would be a shock to the system if they were inside the top five to start Sunday afternoon. Woodland could make for a heartwarming story this week, coming back to the course just two weeks after he and his wife suffered the loss one of his unborn twins during the WGC-Dell Match Play.

The Good Enough To Win A Major guys

33. Alex Noren, 32. Scott Piercy, 31. Soren Kjeldsen, 30. Tommy Fleetwood, 29. Paul Casey, 28. Matthew Fitzpatrick, 27. Rafael Cabrera-Bello, 26. Branden Grace, 25. Bill Haas, 24. Patrick Reed, 23. Brandt Snedeker, 22. Matt Kuchar

Either in talent or credentials, none out of this tier would be out of place as a major champion. Some, such as Casey, Haas, Snedeker, Noren, and Grace, have the credentials. Piercy and Kjeldsen have become reliable Sunday major contenders. European stars Fleetwood, Fitzpatrick, and Cabrera-Bello all have the talent to do it.

And then, of course, there’s Reed. The polarizing Ryder Cup dynamo has never cracked the top 10 of a major championship in 12 career starts. It seems like he’s due after a strong finish to 2016 and his heroics at Hazeltine, but he’s off to a very meh start to 2017. It doesn’t seem likely.

The dark horse rookie

Photo by Mike Lawrie/Getty Images

21. Adam Hadwin

Fifth in the FedExCup standings, a 59, three Top-6 finishes, a win on one of the PGA Tour’s toughest courses. And he just got married. It’s been a hell of a start to 2017 for Hadwin.

The 29-year-old Canadian will come to Augusta as one of the game’s hottest players not named Dustin Johnson, though most casual fans won’t know him from, well, Adam. If you’re in need of a true dark horse, Hadwin fits the bill. That’s a heck of a whirlwind for a guy who expected to be on his honeymoon this week just a month or so ago. If wedding prep didn’t get in the way of tournament prep, count on him showing up as a weekend contender as a Masters rookie.

Major championship vets

20. Adam Scott, 19. Zach Johnson, 18. Louis Oosthuizen, 17. Lee Westwood, 16. Martin Kaymer, 15. Henrik Stenson

There’s a level you reach where form doesn’t matter — these are the guys you can always seem to expect to find their way onto a major championship leaderboard if they’re fully healthy. Notice that Stenson’s lower on this list than his top-five world ranking: he’s never fared particularly well at Augusta.

The young guns

14. Daniel Berger, 13. Thomas Pieters, 12. Tyrrell Hatton

For each of these youngsters, it’s likely a matter of when the major comes -- not if. Hatton is one of the world’s hottest players right now and has already cracked the top 20. Berger fits the mold of a young American who could break out at Augusta. The long-hitting Pieters might be the biggest talent of the bunch, and he’s fared well (fifth at Mexico, second at Riviera) when coming to North America this year.

The struggling star who could still win

11. Jason Day

Photo by Darren Carroll/Getty Images

It’s hard to know what exactly to do with Day this week. Day’s undoubtedly one of the two or three biggest talents in the game right now, but he’s been in poor form to start 2017. But after emotionally confessing his mother’s lung cancer diagnosis to the world two weeks ago, it’s been admittedly hard for the world’s third-ranked player to even focus on golf — as it rightfully should be. Hitting a little white ball is not important.

But, as it’s perhaps been his whole life, hitting that little white ball can be Day’s reprieve. He’s sometimes at his best when he’s completely counted out. His ninth-place finish at the 2015 U.S. Open while falling over with vertigo is still one of the more impressive feats I’ve seen in any sport, period. If Day could work up some magic at an Augusta track where he’s been quite successful, it could be an emotional, magical scene on Sunday.

Your contenders

Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

10. Justin Thomas

Remember when JT seemed primed to dominate 2017? What I wrote then still holds true — he’s a superstar. The major will come. But he’s cooled off since, missing three of six cuts since his early-season hot streak. On what could be a wet, soft week at Augusta, big hitters may rule. Count on Thomas being around on Sunday.

9. Justin Rose

Olympic gold would pair nicely with Augusta green. There have been few more consistent golfers over the past five Masters than Rosie — his worst finish in that span was a 25th in 2012. He might not win, but it’d be a major surprise to see him out of the picture come the weekend.

8. Sergio Garcia

Is this finally the year? El Nino picked up a big win in Dubai earlier this year, and he’s aging like a fine wine — finally finding comfort in big tournaments. Sergio’s one of the all-time great ball-strikers, and if the world is right, he deserves at least a major championship win. He’s a far more compelling pick at the U.S. Open, Open Championship, or PGA -- but he’s in good enough form to be considered a contender this week.

7. Phil Mickelson

Age isn’t a factor yet, you can still count Phil among the favorites this week at Augusta. Last year’s Open Championship proved Mickelson can still get it done in the biggest events, and he’s held good enough form since to be labeled a contender. There’s no track where he’s been better in the majors. If he could add major No. 6 this week, he’d best Jack Nicklaus’ 1986 performance for the oldest Masters champion ever.

6. Rickie Fowler

Fowler hasn’t been a factor in a major championship since 2014, but that seems poised to change. After a swoon in form in 2016, Fowler’s already picked up one win to start 2017 and turned in a solid third-place performance in Houston last week. Augusta’s produced first major wins for big-time names in recent years (Watson in 2012, Scott in 2013, Spieth in 2015). Could Fowler be next?

5. Jon Rahm

Sure, sure — maybe this is a little high for the Spanish rookie. But is there anyone in the world not named Dustin Johnson playing better than Rahm at the moment? He’s got a win, two top-three WGC finishes, and two other top 10s in his last six starts. Could he win in just his second major championship start as a pro? Yes.

4. Hideki Matsuyama

He’s been in contention each of the last two years, and now he’s playing the best golf of his life after a strong start to the 2016-17 season. Matsuyama’s brilliant ball-striking makes a perfect fit for Augusta’s demands, but the question for the young Japanese star remains the same: the putter. If he can be a replacement-level putter on the greens this week, it’ll be hard to keep the Green Jacket off his shoulders.

3. Rory McIlroy

It feels almost weird listing Rory third here. He didn’t skip a beat after his rib injury, coming back with solid performances in Mexico and at Bay Hill. He’s perfectly suited to play well at Augusta, too. But he has not won his last three events — or sat in the final group of the last three Masters. So, he’s third here. Don’t worry: he’s still a great pick to win this week.

Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images

Rory and Jordan, that dream final pairing from last year’s third round.

2. Jordan Spieth

One mistake doesn’t change it. Spieth has dominated Augusta National for each of the last three seasons. There’s an alternate choose-your-own-adventure world where Spieth wins the last three Green Jackets. But, yeah, golf happens. Weird stuff happens. A dominant, steely player wise beyond his years hits a fat wedge into the drink. That small mistake doesn’t eliminate his performance over the last 12 rounds here, and there’s still reason to make him the favorite — even with Dustin Johnson’s blistering-hot form.

Dustin Johnson

Any other option here would be foolish: Johnson is dominating golf right now, and he’ll be a big favorite this week — especially if the golf course is as wet as expected. He’s the best player in the world right now, carrying a three-tournament win streak. That’s more than enough to be the favorite to spend Sunday evening in Butler Cabin.

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