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2021 Masters Preview: Rating the field, from contenders to pretenders

By Dave Preston

Golf’s first major is more than merely a tournament. The Masters is an event and a tradition.

Past often meets present and future in the same grouping on a Thursday, and if we’re lucky sometimes they collide on a Sunday afternoon. Even with alterations and “Tiger-proofing” over the years, the course at Augusta National remains the same one that has hosted this event since 1934, although they reversed the front and back nines after the inaugural tournament.

From the green jacket worn by the champion to the pimento and cheese sandwiches — reasonably priced — available for purchase, this tournament evokes tradition.

Instead of fans, there are “patrons.” Instead of the rough, there is a “second cut.” And Augusta Nationals’ year-by-year contract with CBS creates a relationship between broadcaster and event unlike any other.

Recently, tradition has taken a back seat: the 2020 tournament was moved to November due to the COVID-19 pandemic while the final round in 2019 was moved earlier due to thunderstorms in the forecast (the leaders teed off at 9:20 a.m. instead of the customary 2:40 p.m.).

With Tiger Woods recovering from his car accident, the game’s biggest name will not be on the scene to give the TV ratings a spike in 2021. So forgive us if we’re a little starving for tradition this year.

But barring the unforeseen (the unforeseen has had a way of being seen over the last year) there will be a winner Sunday evening who will wear the green jacket, perhaps for the first time. Let’s rate this April’s field:

The favorites:

All odds are courtesy of cbssports.com.

The big names that will dominate the headlines over the next few days, especially if they get off to subpar starts and miss the cut:

Dustin Johnson (9-1 odds): The defending champ posted a record 20-under par score en route to his first green jacket last November. He’s also finished in the top 10 the last five times he’s played at Augusta National. Repeat winners aren’t as rare as in other majors in the modern 1960’s-onward era, but only Jack Nicklaus (1965-66), Nick Faldo (1989-90) and Tiger Woods (2001-02) have been able to pull off the feat.

Jordan Spieth (10-1): The 2015 champ enters this week fresh off a win at the Valero Texas Open, but only Sandy Lyle (1988) and Phil Mickelson (2006) have won the Masters after winning a tournament the previous weekend. Spieth has also tailed off in recent years, finishing 21 in 2019 and 46 in 2020.

Justin Thomas (10-1): The 2017 PGA Championship winner has improved each year he’s competed at this tournament, from missing the cut in 2014 to tying for 39, 22, 17 and then 12 before last November’s fourth place finish. He also won the Players Championship last month.

Bryson DeChambeau (11-1): The 2020 U.S. Open champion has yet to finish in the top 20 at Augusta National. His best finish was in 2016 when he tied for 21 and was the low amateur. He’s the proverbial bull in the china shop, and the course at Augusta National neuters most bulls.

Jon Rahm (12-1): The Spaniard is only 26 but already has three top 10 finishes at Augusta National, tying for seventh last fall after placing ninth and fourth the previous two years.

Rory McIlroy (14-1): It’s not as exhausting as Mickelson’s drive to win the U.S. Open, but the no-longer-young four-time major champ is still searching for his first green jacket. A rough Thursday torpedoed his 2020 hopes but Rory bounced back to tie for fifth. He actually has three top five finishes and six top tens in his career at the Masters.

Second Tier Contenders: If they contend you’ll say, “I should have taken him in my pool …”

Xander Schauffele (22-1) tied for second in 2019 and the 27-year-old has a top 10 finish in all four majors. He’s currently fourth on the PGA money list, entering this week behind Thomas, DeChambeau and Johnson. Each of these men has won at least one major.

Patrick Cantlay (22-1) was the low amateur in 2012. Since turning pro, he’s played in the tournament three times, missing the cut in 2018, finished in ninth in 2019 and ended in 17 in 2020. He’s currently sixth on the money list.

Brooks Koepka (25-1) has been money in major tournaments with four of his eight tour wins coming at the U.S. Open or PGA Championship. His best finish was tying for second in 2019 and Koepka tied for seventh last November. But he also had knee surgery last month after withdrawing from the Players’ Championship.

Patrick Reed (28-1) won the Masters in 2018 and tied for tenth last year. Other than that he’s had a rough go at Augusta National: two missed cuts and one top-30 finish.

On the Fringe-guys: They will make you say, “Man I didn’t see that happening …”

Collin Morikawa (30-1) took the PGA Championship last year before tying for 44 in his Masters debut. The 24-year old will likely find his second shot at the course a little more forgiving.

Tony Finau (33-1) is perhaps most famous for dislocating his ankle during the par-3 tournament three years ago (he’d wind up tying for tenth), but the 31-year-old tied for fifth in 2019.

Daniel Berger (33-1) has the buzz of February’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am victory, but is making his first appearance at Augusta National since a 32 place finish in 2018.

Viktor Hovland (33-1) was the low amateur (tying for 32) in 2019 and became the first Norwegian to win a PGA Tour event last year at the Puerto Rico Open.

Webb Simpson (35-1) has finished in the top 10 each of the last two years after posting one top-20 finish in his first six tries (with three missed cuts).

Sentimental Choices: Their last best chance may have been a few years ago, but that won’t stop us from rooting for them.

Lee Westwood (33-1) has finished second twice while posting six top tens in his career, but the window of opportunity may be closing on the 47-year-old. Westwood is ninth on the PGA earnings list and may be the sneaky pick to be involved Sunday afternoon.

Tommy Fleetwood (45-1) is often confused for Lee Westwood by those who follow the game just close enough to be dangerous (why is everybody looking at me?). Both are English and neither have won a major, but Fleetwood is 17 years younger and has never won on this side of the Atlantic.

Sergio García (45-1) remains the favorite of those who play the Smirnoff Ice commercial on YouTube (Did you say … Sergio?). The 2017 champion has one other top five finish and has missed the cut since winning the green jacket (Garcia did not play last November).

Bubba Watson (50-to-1) will deliver a spike to Waffle House stock with a victory, but the 42-year old has just one top 10 finish in a major since his 2014 triumph. He placed 57 in last fall’s Masters.

Phil Mickelson (100-to-1) has already begun his Champions Tour career, but not many have enjoyed a better second act in the majors (all five of his titles coming after the age of 33) than lefty. If a 50-something would get it done on this course in this tournament, I’d put my money on him.

He’s still playing?

Winning the Masters gives a player a lifetime exemption from having to qualify in future years. For example, other major winners get a five-year exemption, while those who won on the tour over the last year or are in the top 50 of the world rankings are invited.

Enter the likes of former champs José María Olazábal, Vijay Singh, Sandy Lyle, Larry Mize and Ian Woosnam, who are long-shots to make the cut. While they’re not “ceremonial” players, for the most part they’re rarely in the mix, with the exception of Jack Nicklaus tying for sixth at age 58 in 1998. Last year, two-time winner Bernhard Langer became the oldest player to make the cut at the age of 63, but the usual order of business is watching these guys record consecutive 70s before taking their bows Friday afternoon. Even so, it’s great to see them on the stage of their greatest golf triumph. Past, present and future reconvene Thursday.

Tiger Woods’ return and other memorable athletic comebacks

By NBC Sports Washington Staff
Tiger Woods' return and other memorable athletic comebacks originally appeared on NBC Sports WashingtonThe comeback is always stronger than the setback.Athletes regularly make inspiring comebacks, whether a healthy return after injury or a return to glory after ineffectiveness. For Tiger Woods, the next chapter in his latest comeback story is expected to be written this week at the Masters as he makes his return from career-threatening leg injuries following a car accident in February of 2021. Like Woods, the athletes below endured an unusual hiatus from the sport they played. Some were forced to leave because of a life-threatening diagnosis, others went to serve their country, some made poor decisions that paused their career, a few simply wanted to play a different sport.Whatever the reason for their departure, all eventually made their way back. Here are some of sports' most memorable hiatuses and comebacks:Tiger WoodsAt two different stages of his legendary career, it seemed Tiger Woods would get no closer to Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 major victories. Woods had captured 14 majors by the age of 33 before the beginning of a downfall that included marital issues and lingering injuries. Woods underwent spinal fusion surgery in 2017, the fourth procedure on his back. Woods played in his first tournament less than eight months later, shooting a final-round 68 to finish ninth in the Hero World Challenge. Woods took part in his first PGA Tour event the following month. Then in his fourth start since surgery, he was one shot off the lead to take second place, his best finish since 2013. A few months later, he finished second in the PGA Championship. The following month, he captured the 80th PGA Tour victory of his career by winning the Tour Championship at East Lake as the comeback continued to gain steam.In April of 2019, just over two years after having spinal surgery, Woods ended an 11-year major drought by winning the Masters by one stroke for his 15th major title.Less than two years later, Woods' career again was in jeopardy after he suffered multiple leg and ankle injuries in a single-car accident in February 2021. Less than 14 months later, Woods is set to return to competitive golf after announcing he intends to compete at the 2022 Masters. The quest begins for his sixth green jacket and 16th major championship.Tim TebowThere's only one professional athlete who has gone from being a star quarterback, to a minor league baseball player, to a tight end.Most QBs selected in the first round of the NFL draft spend a few games holding a clipboard on the sideline before taking over the starting job in what becomes a long career in the league. Things began that way for Tebow after being drafted by the Denver Broncos with the No. 25 overall pick in 2010. He got some starts late in his rookie season, had a thrilling game-winning touchdown pass in the playoffs and enjoyed mild success in his second year.Then things started getting weird.The Broncos signed Peyton Manning and traded Tebow to the New York Jets, where he attempted eight passes and was used mostly on special teams. After being cut by the Jets in 2013, Tebow got a chance with the New England Patriots but was cut just before the regular season. Tebow gave it another shot with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2015, and was cut after playing in all four preseason games. He wouldn't be back in a helmet and pads for a long time.Tebow spent the next four years playing minor league baseball in the New York Mets organization, where in 306 games he hit .222 with 18 home runs and 109 RBIs. He retired from professional baseball in February 2021, and three months later, signed a one-year deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars to return to the NFL, play a new position at 33 years old, and end a six-year hiatus. Tebow was released after one preseason game. Michael JordanTim Tebow isn't the first athlete to leave one sport and go play minor league baseball. Michael Jordan did so in the prime of his career, just months after winning a third straight championship. He retired from the NBA at 30 years old to play Double A baseball in the Chicago White Sox organization, hitting .202 with 3 home runs, 51 RBIs and 30 stolen bases in 127 games. After missing a season and a half with the Chicago Bulls, he returned and went on to win three more championships. That was the first of two NBA hiatuses for Jordan, who again would return in 2001 after a three-year second retirement to play for the Washington Wizards.  Lance ArmstrongArmstrong was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1996, and not only made a healthy return to cycling but became a worldwide source of inspiration after winning the Tour de France for seven straight years from 1999 to 2005. Armstrong’s legacy was later tarnished after a steroid scandal resulted in him being stripped of his victories. Rocky BleierOne of the few professional athletes who have earned both a Super Bowl ring and a Purple Heart. The Notre Dame halfback was drafted by the Steelers in 1968, and then by the U.S. Army the following year during the Vietnam War. While on patrol, Bleier was shot in the leg just before a grenade exploded nearby, sending shrapnel into his leg. Doctors informed him he’d never play football again. By 1971, he was back with the Steelers playing special teams and then, in 1974, earned a starting job. He went on to rush for 3,865 yards in his career and won four Super Bowls. Ben HoganHogan, the top golfer at the time, suffered a series of injuries after his car was struck head-on by a Greyhound bus in a near-fatal accident in 1949. Hogan’s injuries, according to Golf Digest, included a broken ankle, broken collarbone, cracked rib, leg contusions, double fracture of the pelvis, a head abrasion and internal injuries. Survival was in question, walking again was in doubt. Hogan won the 1950 U.S. Open just 16 months after the accident. In 1953, he captured the Triple Crown of Golf -- The Masters, The U.S. Open and The Open Championship. Six of Hogan’s nine career major wins came after the accident.Muhammad AliAli was suspended from boxing and stripped of his heavyweight title after refusing induction into the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War in 1967 for religious reasons. Convicted of draft evasion, Ali was sentenced to five years in prison (which he avoided after an appeal) and fined $10,000. He returned to the ring in 1970, knocking out Jerry Quarry, and later went on to become boxing’s first three-time heavyweight champion.Magic JohnsonThe basketball world was shocked by Magic’s sudden retirement at the age of 32 after he tested positive for the HIV virus in 1991. Johnson made an honorary return during the 1992 NBA All-Star Game, where he’d be named MVP, and then made his way back to the sidelines as Lakers head coach at the end of the 1993-1994 season, going 5-11. Johnson was back on the court with the Lakers during the 1995-1996 season at the age of 36, averaging 14.6 points 6.9 assists and 5.7 rebounds in 32 games as he got the opportunity to go out on his own terms.Bethany HamiltonAt the age of 13, Hamilton’s dreams of becoming a professional surfer were in doubt after she was attacked by a 14-foot tiger shark while surfing in Hawaii, severing her left arm. She taught herself how to surf with one arm and was back on a board less than a month after the incident. Within two years, she would capture her first national surfing title. Ted WilliamsIn 1942, Ted Williams won the American League Triple Crown and joined the Navy with the hope of becoming a fighter pilot. Williams, in the discussion for the greatest hitter of all time with a .344 batting average and 521 home runs, missed three seasons in the prime of his career to serve in the military during World War II. Williams returned to baseball for the 1946 season and was named Most Valuable Player after hitting .342 with 38 home runs and 123 RBIs. His playing career again was interrupted during the 1952 season after he was recalled to serve in the Korean War, where he flew 39 combat missions with the Marine Aircraft Group 33, twice having his plane damaged by ground fire. He missed most of the 1952 and 1953 seasons, before hitting .345 with 29 home runs and 89 RBIs in 1954.Yogi BerraBerra is best remembered for having won 10 World Series with the Yankees and for his Yogisms. Not mentioned often enough is the role he served in the military. In 1943, after his first year in the minor leagues, Berra was drafted into the Navy and volunteered for a secret mission. On that mission, he helped pilot rocket boats during the United States’ invasion of Normandy on D-Day, firing at -- and drawing fire from -- the enemy to allow U.S. troops to storm Omaha Beach. Berra went on to collect 2,150 major league hits, 358 home runs and three MVP awards.Bob FellerCleveland Indians’ Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller, after leading the league in wins for three seasons, enlisted in the Navy the day after Japan’s attack Pearl Harbor. He missed nearly four full seasons and spent more than two years aboard the USS Alabama. In his first full season after returning from combat, Feller went 26-15 with a career-low 2.18 ERA.Mario LemieuxWhen Mario Lemieux retired at age 31 in 1997, the NHL waived its customary three-year waiting period and immediately inducted him into the Hall of Fame. Deserving as the honor was, they probably should have waited. Lemieux had made comebacks before, most notably after missing the entire 1994-1995 season because of Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He had another successful one in him -- returning in 2000 at the age of 35. Just 33 seconds into his first shift, he assisted on a goal by Jaromir Jagr and would later add a goal and another assist. He went on to tally 35 goals and 41 assists in 43 games that season as runner-up for the Hart Memorial Trophy. Monica SelesMonica Seles, while still a teenager, won eight Grand Slam events.That included becoming the youngest French Open champion at the age of 16. In 1991, at the age of 18, she overtook Steffi Graf the world’s No. 1 women’s tennis player during a dominant two-year run. In April of 1993, while still the sport’s top-ranked player, Seles was stabbed between the shoulder blades by an obsessive Graf fan in Hamburg, Germany. Seles suffered a roughly half-inch wound that required surgery, but the psychological impact also took a toll and she wouldn’t play competitive tennis for two years. Seles returned in 1995 and went on to win the 1996 Australian Open, her ninth and final Grand Slam title.  Tommy JohnMany baseball fans are familiar with Tommy John surgery. Not as many are as familiar with Tommy John, the baseball player. The left-handed pitcher had won 124 games in the majors, and was 13-3 during the 1974 season with the Dodgers, when he tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow. Dr. Frank Jobe performed an innovative and career-saving ligament replacement surgery on John, using a tendon from elsewhere in the body to replace the torn ligament. John missed the entire 1975 season before going 10-10 with a 3.09 ERA in 1976. The following season was the finest of his 26-year career as he went 20-7 with a 2.78 ERA and finished second in NL Cy Young voting.John, after the surgery, spent 18 more seasons in the majors before retiring in 1989 at age 46 with a career record of 288-231. Tommy John surgery is now commonplace for pitchers, with the man’s name associated with successful athlete comebacks. George ForemanLong before becoming a beloved TV pitchman, the Olympic gold medalist and former heavyweight champion first retired from boxing in 1977 to be an ordained minister. He made his return to the ring 10 years later at age 38 -- and at nearly 300 pounds, put the heavy in heavyweight. He defeated Steve Zouski in a fourth round stoppage in what would be the first of 20 straight wins for Foreman. In 1994, at age 45, Foreman knocked out the 26-year old, undefeated Michael Moorer to become boxing’s oldest heavyweight champion.Greg LemondGreg Lemond in 1986 became the first American to win the Tour de France. A year later he was accidentally shot in a near-fatal hunting accident, which left buckshot in his liver, kidneys, intestines, heart lining, back and legs. By 1989, he was back in the Tour de France, making a dramatic comeback on the final day of the three-week race to win by eight seconds. He captured a third Tour de France win in 1990. Andre AgassiAndre Agassi went from being the No. 1 men’s tennis player in the world to No. 141.That was during a tumultuous two-year span from 1995 to 1997 that included a wrist injury, trouble in his marriage with actress Brooke Shields, and the admitted use of crystal methamphetamine. He focused on his recovery and would have a dominant four-year stretch, reclaiming the No. 1 ranking along the way. In the 1999 French Open, he became just the fifth male tennis player at the time to win all four Grand Slam singles titles.   Michael VickMichael Vick revolutionized the quarterback position early in his career.The No. 1 overall pick in the 2001 draft made three Pro Bowls over his first six seasons with the Atlanta Falcons. He would miss the next two seasons after being suspended by the NFL indefinitely after pleading guilty to federal charges for his role in a dogfighting enterprise. Vick spent 19 months in prison and was released by the Falcons. Vick returned for the 2009 season after signing with the Philadelphia Eagles. He made his fourth Pro Bowl in 2010 after throwing for 3,018 passing yards and a career-high 21 touchdowns to go with 676 yards on the ground and nine rushing TDs. Vick, after his two-year absence, spent seven more seasons in the NFL.   Gordie HoweA 43-year-old Gordie Howe announced his retirement in 1971 after 25 years with the Detroit Red Wings. But there was still plenty of hockey left in … well, “Mr. Hockey.”Howe came out of retirement in 1973 to sign with the Houston Aeros of the newly-formed World Hockey Association and tallied 31 goals and 69 assists en route to winning MVP. The Aeros won the league championship. Howe spent six seasons in the WHA, later signing with the New England Whalers. After the NHL-WHA merger, Howe returned to the NHL with the Hartford Whalers for the 1979-1980 season, becoming the oldest player in NHL history at 52 years old. That season, during which he played in the NHL in his fifth different decade, he had 15 goals and 26 assists. 
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