Masters Preview: Seven Questions in Augusta Heaven

My bad on The Masters. I hoped for more coverage on this week, and to be
honest, there was too much content on Monday. Per my editor note, this is an adjustment process and we all have to get used to it. I'll do a little bit of a Masters recap on Friday night/Saturday morning to see where we headed this weekend.

1. Can Rory or Jason Day win their first green jacket?  
Absolutely.  Rory McIlroy doesn't have a win this season, but he's still one of the best golfers in the game. McIlroy finished in the top ten in the last two years and had the lead heading into the back nine on Sunday before a collapse. Rory can withstand Augusta's pressure. So can Jason Day. He's used to it with his PGA Championship win. Day played well here in the past yet nothing recent. He finished in the top ten twice in the last five years. This would be an awesome final group.

2. Like San Francisco, is this an even year for Bubba and Adam? 
Adam Scott and Bubba Watson play well in the even years of the calendar. Watson trailed off a little bit in the final couple of weeks. Same with Scott yet these two golfers love Augusta. Reports are the boomers will be favored with how the course is playing currently.

3. How does the small field affect the results? 
Not much. They only have 79 participants, the lowest since 2002.  In that year, Tiger Woods repeated as champion with high scores. It might affect where the cut line will end up on Friday night. The other thing it allows for is a big time Saturday run which we have seen before.

4. Jordan Spieth isn't repeating, right?  
I'm skeptical. I liked how he finished up in Houston over the weekend and how he's played in Match Play yet it's really hard to repeat as Masters champion with only a few to ever to do it. The course playing long this week does not favor the phenom. Spieth will win a major this year, but it's not going to happen at Augusta.

5. Who is the sleeper of the tournament?
Okay, I'm cheating, I have two... Brooks Koepka and Louis Oosthuizen. Both players missed the cut in Houston so there's not much talk about either heading into this week. Driving distance, par 5 scoring are two major things that Masters champions ended up being leaders in before the tournament. Both players have it. Oostie is no stranger to the top of the Masters leaderboard.

6. What's the best result for golf?  
Rickie Fowler, Day or McIlroy taking home the Green Jacket. Spieth would be fun as would Phil Mickelson. But the three mentioned would be huge for golf especially Fowler without having a major.

7. Who wins? 
Ever since Fowler hit the hole-in-one at Ernie Els charity event, I've had a weird feeling about this being his weekend. I'm going that way. It's a weird reason to pick a player, but Fowler has been great this season. It's time for a major.

Charlie.