Three talking points ahead of the 2022 Masters

There’s nothing quite like The Masters. From the drive up the famous Magnolia Lane, to the old club house, to the pristine spring conditions of the prestigious Augusta National in full bloom, to the winner being fitted into the sought-after, yet unique Green Jacket, it is one of the most special tournaments not only in the golfing world, but in the entire sporting calendar as a whole.

With the 2020 edition rescheduled to November and last season’s Masters taking place with a massively restricted crowd at the Georgia-based course, it will be great to see Augusta and the tournament back to its true best with a full house of avid golf fans trampling around the hallowed grounds in early April in a bid to get a glimpse of their favourite players and some top-class action.

With all that in mind, let’s take a look at three big talking points ahead of the first major golf tournament of the year. Read on to find out more!

Can Hideki Matsuyama defend his title?

There appears to be few things harder in professional golf than defending your Masters title. In fact, only three players — Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods — have had the honour of entering the exclusive Champions Locker Room at Augusta in successive years in the tournament’s rich history. In most cases, the defending champion doesn’t even finish inside the top 10 the following year, with Dustin Johnson the latest to fall victim of this curse as he missed the cut last April.

Hideki Matsuyama upset all the sports betting odds when he won the 2021 renewal of the Masters, and it certainly won’t bother the first Japanese winner of the tournament that he won’t be very fancied to win it again this year. But the lack of pressure could perhaps help the 29-year-old.

Everybody expected Johnson to defend his title last year and maybe that weight on his shoulders was too much of a burden — Matsuyama shouldn’t have that pressure. He has already won the Sony Open this year, taking his career PGA Tour wins to eight, proving he has the ability and form, so don’t rule him out!

Can Rory McIlroy finally complete his career Grand Slam?

A question that gets asked around this time every year, will Rory McIlroy join the select few in the Grand Slam Hall of Fame? Just five players, including Woods and Nicklaus, have ever completed the career Grand Slam — winning all four of golf’s major during their playing days — and the Masters’ Green Jacket is the only one missing from the Northern Irishman’s locker.

It’s been a long seven years for McIlroy. Since bursting onto the scene and winning four major titles in five years, the 32-year-old has gone on a dry-spell since 2014 — surprisingly failing to win any of the majors since. That drought has to end at some point, and where better to put it to a stop than at Augusta National? Third in the recent Dubai Desert Classic, McIlroy has started the season in fine form and winning the Masters and completing that Grand Slam could give Rory the confidence to go on and keep adding major victories to his CV.

Will we see another outside winner at August?

Aside from Johnson’s victory in late 2020, you could argue that the players who have gained access to the exclusive champions locker room at Augusta have been somewhat of a surprise. Danny Willet, Sergio Garcia and Matsuyama were all far from favoured, while Tiger Woods pulled off the near impossible back in 2019.

With just a quick glance at the outright winners’ market, you will see the likes of Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka and Xander Schauffele at odds of around 18/1. DeChambeau’s science hasn’t yet been able to uncover a formula to master the difficult Augusta, as he’s yet to even finish in the top 20 at the Masters, but you can never count the big hitter out.

Koepka, a four-time major winner, has the pedigree to win the Masters and he’ll be hoping to make up for missing the cut last year by bettering his previous best of second in 2019 and gunning for that Green Jacket. It’s hard to believe Schauffele is yet to win a major, though he won golf gold at the Olympics last year while finishing in the top 10 at the Masters (T3) and the US Open (T7). After a fantastic season, he’ll be keen to break his duck in 2022 and the Masters would be the perfect place to start.