David J. Phillip/Associated Press
It’s a tradition unlike any other in a year unlike any other.
It’s the Mastersdelayed by seven monthsamid a global pandemic.
It seems like forever ago, but Tiger Woods will arrive at Augusta National as the defending champion after winning his 15th major there by a single stroke in April 2019.
Now 44 years old, Woods has slid to a No. 33 world ranking since that triumph but will still be the biggest story among a star-studded field as he seeks a sixth green jacket.
But it won’t come easy.
He’ll be joined in the fray by a fleet of hungry and talented youngsters that includes 23-year-old Collin Morikawa, who won the PGA Championship by two strokes in August, and 27-year-old Bryson DeChambeau, who captured the U.S. Open by six strokes in September.
Morikawa was just two months old when Woods won his first Masters in 1997, while DeChambeau turned four years old a few months afterward.
The field also includes the world’s top-ranked player in Dustin Johnson and the two most decorated players of the last decade in Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka, who’ve each won four majors but never a Masters.
So, what goes into the breakdown to determine this year’s winner?
A golfer’s last several starts and a glance at his world ranking were the primary considerations, and we also took a look at career performances at Augusta.
How do we factor in Woods’ history? Who is the best non-American contender? Can anyoneregardless of pedigreegive the youngsters a legitimate push?
In other words, who fills out our top 10 before the first groupings get going amid the mid-autumn chill Thursday?
Scroll through for the answers.