sport news The Masters 2024: The SEVEN players you must watch at Augusta... including the ... trends now
The 2024 Masters gets underway this week with a packed 89-man field battling it out at Augusta National to get their hands on the hallowed Green Jacket.
Scottie Scheffler, the red-hot favourite to win the tournament, will look to throw down the gauntlet after the expected thunderstorms roll in above the course.
Several others in a field made up of the world's greatest players will also have their eyes on the prize, however. Indeed, Jon Rahm, 12 months on from an emotional victory, is seeking to defend his title, with intrigue added by his LIV defection.
Rory McIlroy is also in contention as he looks to end his decade-long quest to finally complete the Grand Slam by adding the Masters to his glistening collection.
Here, Mail Sport's RIATH AL-SAMARRAI takes a look at the seven players to watch...
Prices have been supplied by Paddy Power.
Scottie Scheffler is the favourite to win the 2024 Masters with the action set to get underway
A packed 89-man field will fight it out at Augusta National to win the coveted Green Jacket
Scottie Scheffler
Indisputably the heavy favourite this week. If he maintains recent form with the putter, his tee-to-green game is so far ahead of the rest that he might be unbeatable. His statistics in regard to the latter are the best golf has known since Tiger Woods.
Naturally, the putting will be the area of greatest intrigue. It was awful for more than a year, so you do wonder if a relapse might occur on these slick greens, but his switch to a mallet has inspired an immediate and ominous upturn.
With two wins and a second in his past three starts on the PGA Tour, all of which were achieved after the equipment change, he is coming in seriously hot and with no obvious weakness.
He also has the psychological equilibrium to withstand the pressure - having won the green jacket here in 2022, he would be better placed than most to override any of those doubts that surface at the business end of the tournament.
Odds:
To win - 7-2
Top five finish - 10-11
Top 10 finish - 4-9
Scheffler's tee-to-green game is so far ahead of the rest that he might be unbeatable
Jon Rahm
Back in the mainstream after his switch to LIV, the defending champion has questions over his form having failed to finish higher than third in five starts on his new circuit.
If he finds his best, his match up with Scheffler could be one for the ages and he has arrived here bullish and in the mood to prove a point. He is fired up.
But the worry is whether his game has been sufficiently sharpened on the LIV circuit. Preparing on resort courses with slower, gentler greens and with far sparser crowds could make a return to this stage feel a little like immersion in an ice bath, but Rahm has the nous and quality to overcome those factors.
Odds:
To win - 10-1
Top five finish - 9-4
Top 10 finish - 11-10
If he finds his best, Jon Rahm's (right) match up with Scheffler could be one for the ages
Rory McIlroy
Chasing the final piece of the career slam puzzle, but 10 years removed from his fourth major win.
He has looked sharp in practise and has a game that has always
