The first major tournament of 2012 golf season gets underway Thursday at the famous Augusta National Golf Club and it will be an impressive field competing for the much-coveted Green Jacket.
Here is a look at 10 contenders to keep an eye on at this year’s Masters. Some are former champions, some have come close in the past, and others look to make an impression at the tournament for the first time.
Luke Donald
World Rank: 1
Age: 34
Country: England
Career PGA tour wins: 5
Masters appearances: 7
2011 Masters result: Tied for 4th.
Donald is currently the No. 1 ranked golfer on the PGA. He has three top-10 finishes at the Masters but has yet to put on the Green Jacket. He was named the 2011 PGA Tour Player of the Year and a win at Augusta would put him in a prime position to win that honour for a second straight year.
Rory McIlroy
World Rank: 2
Age: 22
Country: Northern Ireland
Career PGA tour wins: 3
Masters appearances: 3
2011 Masters result: Tied for 15th
Following his breakout 2011 season, McIlroy has established himself as one of the best golfers on the planet and is looking to have a breakthrough performance at the Masters. He is a U.S. Open champion and won the Honda Open earlier this year. For a while he found himself atop the rankings as the PGA’s No. 1 golfer.
Lee Westwood
World Rank: 3
Age: 38
Country: England
Career PGA tour wins: 2
Masters appearances: 12
2011 Masters result: Tied for 11th.
Westwood had four international wins in 2011 and has 37 professional wins in his career. He typically plays better when in Europe but with top-10 finishes at the U.S. Open and PGA Championship last year, you can’t count out this Brit.
Hunter Mahan
World Rank: 4
Age: 29
Country: United States
Career PGA tour wins: 5
Masters appearances: 5
2011 Masters result: Made the cut.
Mahan is having a solid year with wins at the 2012 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship on Feb. 26 and the Shell Houston Open on Apr. 1. Those two wins jumped him 10 spots on the PGA rankings. Mahan didn’t have a great showing last yeat but if he can build on the momentum he’s got going right now, the field better look out.
Tiger Woods
World Rank: 6
Age: 36
Country: United States
Career PGA tour wins: 72
Masters appearances: 17
2011 Masters result: Tied for 4th
Following Tiger’s win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational last month, he was named the odds-on betting favourite to win the Masters. Tiger is one of three players to win this prestigious tournament on four separate occasions. If the Tiger of old shows up, it could be bad news for his competitors.
Charl Schwartzel
World Rank: 8
Age: 27
Country: South Africa
Career PGA tour wins: 1
Masters appearances: 2
2011 Masters result: Tournament champion.
Schwartzel is the defending Masters champion so he knows what it takes to win this tournament. He also had solid outings at the U.S. Open, PGA Championship and British Open and is looking to carry that momentum into this year’s Masters. Back-to-back Green Jackets is not an easy task, though. Woods was last to do it in 2001-02, and prior to that Nick Faldo did it in 1989-90.
Jason Day
World Rank: 11
Age: 24
Country: Australia
Career PGA tour wins: 1
Masters appearances: 1
2011 Masters result: Tied for 2nd.
Day made an impression in his first Masters tournament last year, finishing in second place behind Schwartzel. The 24-year-old had 10 top-10 finishes in 2011 and tied records (for first-time Masters competitors and second-round play) at Augusta last year by shooting an eight-under 64 in Round 2.
Adam Scott
World Rank: 13
Age: 31
Country: Australia
Career PGA tour wins: 8
Masters appearances: 10
2011 Masters result: Tied for 2nd.
Scott had last year’s Green Jacket in his sights after shooting back-to-back rounds of 67, but he couldn’t hold on to the lead and ended up tying Day for second place. His last win was at the 2011 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in August.
Phil Mickelson
World Rank: 14
Age: 41
Country: United States
Career PGA tour wins: 40
Masters appearances: 19
2011 Masters result: Tied for 27th.
Mickelson is a three-time Masters champion and will be looking to join an exclusive club of four-time winners. With his recent win at the 2012 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, Mickelson moved into ninth place on the all-time PGA wins list. Lefty can never be counted out.
Keegan Bradley
World Rank: 19
Age: 25
Country: United States
Career PGA tour wins: 2
Masters appearances: None
2011 Masters result: Did not compete.
Bradley is making his Masters debut, but he won the 2011 PGA Championship so big tournament experience and success is something the Vermont native possesses. He forced a playoff in February at the 2012 Northern Trust Open and his solid play this season makes him a player to keep an eye on.
Other notables in the tournament include: Steve Stricker who is currently ranked fifth on the PGA tour; Justin Rose, another top-10 ranked player who is playing well of late; Veterans Nick Watney, Sergio Garcia and K.J. Choi; 2009 champion Angel Cabrera.