Packed field could force Masters playoff

When Sergio Garcia beat Justin Rose on the first hole of sudden death last year, it broke a streak of three Masters Tournaments without a playoff.

Don’t be surprised to see another streak begin this year.

As usual, the world's best players (59 of the top 60) are at Augusta National Golf Club this year for the 82nd Masters.

But it’s been years since a Masters has shaped up to be this competitive. More top players (Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson, Rose, Jason Day, Jon Rahm and Bubba Watson) enter Thursday’s first round with wins already under their belts than typical. Tiger Woods hasn’t won, but he’s been in contention in his past three starts.

It’s safe to say Woods’ 12-shot margin-of-victory record from 1997 is safe.

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“I think it could be (another playoff),” said former U.S. Open champ Webb Simpson. “We have less players who are dominating and running away with golf tournaments. I think the odds are pretty high.”

The strength of the fields on the PGA Tour this season has resulted in nine playoffs in 23 events compared with two at this point of the season last year.

“The competition is getting tight,” Day said. “That’s why you’re seeing a lot of playoffs these days and the leaderboards are bunched.

“There’s a lot of talent in the pool now and there’s not really too many big fish anymore,” Day added. “There’s like just a lot of medium-large fish that are just trying to chomp at each other.”

The biggest fish in the pond this season is still last year’s top player, Thomas, who won five times. This season, he’s won twice and lost in a playoff. The other multiple winners this season are Watson and Patton Kizzire.

If Thomas wins, he would move past Johnson to No. 1, no matter what Johnson did.

Thomas had the chance to move to No. 1 for the first time in his career at the Match Play Championship last week with a victory in the semifinals, but he lost to eventual champion Watson.

“It’s very important to me,” Thomas said of being the No. 1-ranked player in the world.

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“It’s a huge goal of mine. But at the end of the day, if I just continue to play well and continue to be in contention to win tournaments and win tournaments, it’s something I feel like that’s going to take care of itself.”

The most popular storyline would be a victory by the 42-year-old Woods, who has regained form on his third comeback after back injuries. He’s going for his fifth green jacket, and his first in 13 years. It would also be his first major championship in 10 years.

“There’s some great stories with Tiger back and a lot of the young guys, the older guys, medium-age guys,” said two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer. “You’ve got great champions at all ages, and they all seem to have a possible chance. So all that is fantastic leading up to the tournament, and we’ll see how it all comes out."

Masters Record - Woods

Masters Record - Mickelson