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7. Ernie Els. The best player never to have won a Masters, Els came close in 2004 when he played solidly on the back nine but was edged out by Mickelson's memorable last-hole putt. Els has been in the top ten six times. The Big Easy's window appeared to have closed following his knee injury and subsequent slow recovery, but his recent win in the Honda Classic was a healthy sign. (True, he finished 75th at Doral a few weeks later.) Els can play Augusta well if he can forget about his past history here.
8. Vijay Singh. It appears his swing renovation is successful, as his play at Doral showed. Vijay's struggles with the putter continue, though, and it's difficult to see him holing enough putts to win, whether he's using a conventional-length model or a belly putter-he changes back and forth on a whim. Singh hasn't ranked among the top 20 in fewest putts in the last six Masters even though he hasn't been out of the top ten in greens hit in regulation during that time.
9. Rory Sabbatini. The mercurial South African was runner-up to Johnson last year. He can handle the greens. The big question is whether his feel-based swing can hold up under the pressure for four days. I think he proved last year that it can. He hasn't cracked the top 30 in his last four appearances this year, however, and is coming off a final-round 79 at Doral. And clearly, if he ends up in a duel with Tiger, Woods has his number. Then again, who wouldn't be at a disadvantage versus Woods?
Pick your Fantasy Foursome in the Masters Challenge
10. Andres Romero. The young Argentinian is an impressive talent. He scored his breakthrough PGA Tour victory two weeks ago in New Orleans and has the tools to succeed here. He's long, powerful, sharp with his irons and a streaky hot putter. He simply makes a lot of birdies, as he showed last summer at Carnoustie when he unleashed 10 birdies in the final round but finished double bogey-bogey and missed out on a playoff for the British Open title. This is his first Masters-which means he has to process a big learning curve of local course knowledge. Give him a few rounds here, though, and he could be a factor one of these years.
11. Fred Couples. Can somebody really win the Masters at the age of 48? Fred seemed to have his Nicklaus moment two years ago when he played in the last group Sunday with Mickelson, his charge ending only when he three-putted from close range at the 14th hole. You don't usually get a second late-career chance like that. However, Fred is seeing a new back specialist, he's feeling better than he has in a long time and he's been able to practice and play more than he has in years. He has already played seven events, four more than he managed in 2007. His 67-66 finish in Houston earned him a fourth. He's a sentimental pick but he plays Augusta as well as anyone-he's never missed the cut here.
12. Justin Rose. The Englishman is coming off his best year in '07, when he was a factor in several majors. He led the Masters after the first round last year (he finished fifth) and after the first two rounds in '04 (he faded to a tie for 22nd). He is quietly progressing in his career and while he hasn't won in the U.S., he's got four victories in Europe. In his last three events, he was 15th at Honda, 14th at the PODS Championship and 15th at the CA Championship.
13. Adam Scott. For a player with his potential who is ranked among the top 10 in the world (he's No. 8 going into the Masters), he has been in the hunt in surprisingly few majors. He's never been a factor at Augusta and hasn't finished in the top 20 in the last five. It's all about the greens and he hasn't found a way to handle them yet-he's never ranked among the top 25 in Masters putting stats.
