SPIETH AND SMITH TO SHINE IN AUGUSTA

The long wait is finally over! After nine long months, which has included LIV Golf and PGA Tour drama aplenty, the stars of the golfing world will descend upon Augusta National to compete for the first Major Championship of the season – the Masters.

World renowned as a ‘tournament unlike any other’, this month’s edition truly plays on that slogan with LIV Golf players Cameron Smith, Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson going head-to-head with Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and co for the first time in nine months. Popcorn at the ready, this is going to be good.

I for one cannot wait to see Smith, who was arguably the hottest golfer in the world before moving to LIV, compete with the big boys of the golfing world once again. But I do have a concern - will LIV’s diluted 54-hole events, with no-cut shotgun starts and guaranteed money, be sufficient preparation for the game’s four Major Championships?

The Australian missed the cut in the last 72-hole event he played in Saudi Arabia, but won the DP World Tour’s Australian PGA Championship just before that, so maybe there’s not much concern to have at all? After all Smith has enjoyed a stellar record at Augusta National, finishing inside the top ten in his last four starts and becoming the first player to shoot four rounds in the 60s in 2020.

I’m often reminded in the office that I put my neck on the line by stating that Smith and his beautiful mullet would slip on the Green Jacket last year. It was a bold prediction, but one that nearly came true had it not been for that triple bogey on the 12th during the final round, after he had just cut Scheffler’s lead to three strokes. Of course, he would later go on to win the Open Championship after a display of putting perfection on the Old Course’s back nine…I knew he would collect a Major last year, I just picked the wrong one! Anyway, this year, I’m putting my neck on the once again. I believe Smith possesses the game to win the event and I’m pretty confident he will be there or thereabouts come Sunday afternoon. Barring another implosion on the back nine, this year he gets the job done to become just the second Australian to collect a Green Jacket. Having said that, this time around I’m going to be having two horses in the race as I also fancy Jordan Spieth to pick up a second Masters title. His game has been trending in the right direction for some time now and a win seems to be just around the corner. What better place to do it than the Masters, where he has finished inside the top three on five occasions – some record that.

The likes of Scheffler, Rahm and McIlroy will no doubt have something to say about this, along with a host of other star names looking to make a breakthrough on the game’s biggest stage. It’s all set to be a fascinating week of Major Championship golf. Play well boys.