2012 Masters: Golfweek staff predictions for the Masters

2012 Masters: Our staff predictions

Tiger Woods last won the Masters Tournament in 2005.

We have seven reporters and editors on the ground at Augusta National, and each of them has an opinion about what will happen at the Masters come Sunday.

There are plenty of obvious picks - Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson - but there are plenty of wild cards that the staff is keeping a close eye on.

Players such as Keegan Bradley - who quipped that he has won every major he has played on Tuesday - could be a big factor in the Masters, especially with Augusta getting doused with a heavy thunderstorm for the second straight night.

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2012 Masters predictions

Staffer	Favorite	Wild Card
Babineau	Tiger Woods His victory at Bay Hill provided the renewed confidence he needed to get back to pursuing Jack's record.	Fred Couples He's playing well, and hey, we can dream a little: Can you imagine the impact on golf if a 52-year-old fan favorite could win at Augusta?
Rude	Rory McIlroy He's in form and showed last year, meltdown aside, that he can do well at Augusta National. If you think he still has a Masters hangover, you didn't see his Secretariat number at the U.S. Open.	Keegan Bradley Yeah, I know, first-timers don't win the Masters. But Bradley has a game (power and touch) that suits Augusta National.
McCabe	Phil Mickelson Hey, it's an even year, right, and like 2004, 2006, and 2010, why not the lefthander slipping into that green jacket? (Even in 2008, the even year when he didn't win, Mickelson placed T-5.) Say what you want about Augusta National being Tiger's playground, what his his four wins, in recent years no one has been more comfortable here than Mickelson, who also possesses that priceless commodity – he doesn't have an ounce of fear when it comes to a possible battle with Woods.	Rickie Fowler Strictly a hunch that his long-awaited first PGA Tour win might very well come on the grandest stage in the game. It's just his second Masters start, so maybe he's still too inexperienced, and there's a feeling that he sometimes may lack the patience necessary to seal the deal, but he's got tremendous talent and when he's on, he's a very good putter.
Miceli	Phil Mickelson It seems obvious that someone out of the big five is going to win, so Lefty is my pick.	Padraig Harrington Has shown signs of golfing life and has won the most majors over the last five years.
Martin	Rory McIlroy Most people will choose between one of three players: Tiger, Phil and Rory. I'm going with the Northern Irishman, who's learned enough in the past 12 months that we don't need to worry about a repeat of 2011's Masters.	Martin Laird The Scot is coming off a tie for 20th in his Masters debut.
Lavner	Tiger Woods You heard Tiger during Tuesday’s presser. He was relaxed, he was chatty, he was confident, he was ... happy. That means only one thing: This week, he wins No. 15.	Keegan Bradley First-timers don’t normally fare well at Augusta. Well, first-timers don’t normally fare well at their maiden major either, and Keegan stole the PGA last year in Atlanta. Bradley has been getting tips from Phil Mickelson, a three-time Masters winner. Don’t be shocked if his young protege contends or even slips on the green jacket.
Masuda	Tiger Woods There are two places on this planet where Tiger can putt with his eyes closed - Bay Hill and Augusta National. He romped to a win at the former, and I expect that he will also do so in the latter.	Nick Watney He has the distance, is a pretty steady personality and fits the same mold as a Charl Schwartzel - good golfer waiting for his big moment. He took down Tiger at Match Play, which had to be good for his confidence.

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A look at the Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings vs. the Official World Golf Rankings

OWGR	GW/Sags	Name
1	4	Luke Donald
2	1	Rory McIlroy
3	3	Lee Westwood
4	12	Hunter Mahan
5	2	Steve Stricker
6	22	Martin Kaymer
7	5	Tiger Woods
8	16	Charl Schwartzel
9	35	Justin Rose
10	6	Webb Simpson
11	8	Jason Day
12	21	Dustin Johnson
13	9	Adam Scott
14	11	Phil Mickelson
15	62	Graeme McDowell
16	13	Bubba Watson
17	23	Bill Haas
18	10	Matt Kuchar
19	30	Keegan Bradley
20	30	Nick Watney
21	7	Sergio Garcia
22	28	Brandt Snedeker
23	20	K.J. Choi
24	59	Ian Poulter
25	33	Peter Hanson
26	70	Mark Wilson
27	81	Louis Oosthuizen
28	19	Bo Van Pelt
29	17	John Senden
30	91	Sang-moon Bae
31	44	Jason Dufner
32	93	Thomas Bjorn
33	116	Alvaro Quiros
34	42	David Toms
35	63	Martin Laird
36	46	Simon Dyson
37	32	Robert Karlsson
38	161	Paul Casey
39	39	Aaron Baddeley
40	78	Anders Hansen
41	27	Rickie Fowler
42	55	Kyung-Tae Kim
43	64	Paul Lawrie
44	15	Zach Johnson
45	18	Fredrik Jacobson
46	66	Francesco Molinari
47	48	Kyle Stanley
48	100	Ben Crane
49	77	Geoff Ogilvy
50	45	Jim Furyk
51	86	Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano
52	127	Miguel Angel Jimenez
53	133	Ryo Ishikawa
55	52	Y.E. Yang
56	144	Jonathan Byrd
59	279	Darren Clarke
60	31	Gary Woodland
61	67	Johnson Wagner
64	96	Kevin Na
67	14	Charles Howell III
71	79	Robert Garrigus
75	105	Chez Reavie
78	124	Sean O'Hair
80	84	Vijay Singh
82	143	Rory Sabbatini
87	113	Lucas Glover
88	60	Ryan Palmer
90	166	Harrison Frazar
91	71	Edoardo Molinari
96	89	Padraig Harrington
125	162	Brendan Steele
127	61	Trevor Immelman
133	125	Ross Fisher
137	153	Scott Verplank
154	267	Scott Stallings
163	118	Stewart Cink
171	196	Henrik Stenson
175	459	Angel Cabrera
176	156	Kevin Chappell
185	N/R	Tim Clark
218	N/R	a-Hideki Matsuyama
356	478	Jose Maria Olazabal
373	N/R	Fred Couples
487	N/R	a-Patrick Cantlay
789	N/R	Tom Watson
976	N/R	a-Kelly Kraft
N/R	876	Mike Weir
N/R	N/R	a-Bryden Macpherson
N/R	N/R	Larry Mize
N/R	N/R	Bernhard Langer
N/R	N/R	Mark O'Meara
N/R	N/R	Sandy Lyle
N/R	N/R	Ian Woosnam
N/R	N/R	a-Corbin Mills
N/R	N/R	Ben Crenshaw
N/R	N/R	Craig Stadler
N/R	N/R	a-Randal Lewis