Last Week

Just in time to defend his title at the Masters, Phil Mickelson won for the first time since scoring his third green jacket by capturing the Shell Houston Open. Lefty was stellar over the weekend going a combined 16-under. Chris Kirk was the only player at Redstone to fire four sub-70 rounds which resulted in a share of second with Scott Verplank.

All six of my picks made the cut, highlighted by Matt Kuchar, my Must Start, who finished T8. Lee Westwood and Charl Schwartzel each had their moments, but inconsistent rounds left them both T30. J.B. Holmes T42, Fred Couples T60, Francesco Molinari T73.

This Week

The Masters is the event all golf fans have been waiting for since the season began. Augusta National needs no introduction as this venue and event are brimming with tradition. As with any major, fantasy owners will face difficult decisions picking among the fully-loaded field.

Phil Mickelson – Must Start

Lefty is the defending Masters champion, his third green jacket, and has only finished worse than 12th at Augusta since 1998. As previously mentioned, Mickelson is coming off a victory last week giving him three top-10s in seven stroke play events this season. Phil ranks third in birdies, sixth in scoring and 14th in driving distance. With the lethal combination of momentum and event history, make sure you turn Left(y).

Tiger Woods

There is nothing about Wood’s play this season that suggests he’s a safe play at the moment. However, this is Augusta where Woods is legendary. He owns four green jackets, the last coming in 2005. Since then Woods has not finished worse than sixth, including two runner-up performances. A year ago, Wood finished T4 despite a long layover. He’s got one top-10 this season and should be a lock for another, despite the non-Tiger level of play thus far.

Nick Watney

In five stroke play events this season, Watney’s worst finish is T13 with four finishes of sixth or better. In three career starts at Augusta, Watney has yet to finish outside of the top-20 with a career-best seventh a year ago. On Tour, he ranks second in putting as well as first in birdies, scoring and All-Around Ranking. Everything about Watney’s play this season screams serious contender this week and beyond.

Hunter Mahan

With two straight top-10 finishes at Augusta, look for Mahan to look on rolling along. In addition, Mahan is coming off T8 last week, his fourth top-10 in eight stroke play events. Currently ranked sixth in both birdies and All-Around, Mahan is among the safest middle-tier players in the field.

Justin Rose

A year ago, Rose lost out on potential trip to the Masters after missing the cut at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Consider the lesson learned. Rose would go on win two Tour events last year and is now heading back to Magnolia Drive for the sixth time in his career. Rose enters with back-to-back top-fives, including the Arnold Palmer, and is a threat when he’s riding high. He ranks third in greens and fifth in All-Around.

Anthony Kim

Since returning from thumb surgery, Kim has been very inconsistent. However, he’s showing signs of turning it around. He began the season by improving his finishes from T19 to T13 to T6. From there, Kim hit a slide until finishing T13 a week ago. On Tour, Kim currently ranks 12th in putting and 17th in birdies. He finished third at the Masters a year ago and has shot one round of 65 at Augusta in two straight years.

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