Masters field shaping up to be small but talented

The 2019 golf season has already produced many interesting moments, and that’s just through the first two months.

There have been rules controversies (thanks USGA and R&A). There have been meltdowns (thanks Sergio and Bryson). And there has been one highly publicized caddie dispute (thanks Kooch).

One thing that hasn’t changed, though, is the quality of PGA Tour winners.

There have been wins from the usual suspects (Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose and Rickie Fowler).

There have been wins from the old guard (Phil Mickelson) and from first-timers (Adam Long and Keith Mitchell).

And there have been wins from guys we haven’t heard from in a while (J.B. Holmes, Matt Kuchar).

Go back to the fall, when the PGA Tour’s 2018-19 season officially began, and you have a pair of two-time winners in Kuchar and Xander Schauffele. (No, Phil’s win over Tiger in their head-to-head duel for big money in Vegas doesn’t count.)

The Masters Tournament field is shaping up to be a small but talented one. With just 84 players through Sunday night’s Honda Classic, the field should grow by a few as the tour winds through Florida this month before making a couple of stops in Texas.

A win in any of those events will earn a player a spot at Augusta National. Also, the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking through the WGC Match Play will also get into the Masters field.

Mitchell, a former University of Georgia player, is the latest to get in. His one-shot win over Brooks Koepka and Rickie Fowler at the Honda featured four birdies in the last seven holes.

This year’s field includes 16 first-timers and six amateurs. But typically they don’t challenge.

Which brings us to this: who can win?

Will four-time winner Tiger Woods, who won last September at East Lake to break a five-year winless streak, get into the mix?

Can defending champion Patrick Reed, who hasn’t won since slipping on the green jacket, become just the fourth player to successfully defend his title?

Or will it be a player who has never won a major? Recent history suggests that could happen as the last four Masters winners were all first-time major champions.

Only time will tell. The next five weeks should be interesting to watch.