AUGUSTA, Ga. — Here are my picks for this week’s Masters at August Nationals, which begins Thursday
Xander Schauffele
He’s won seven times on the PGA Tour and is seeking his first major. He’s finished in the top 10 in majors 11 times, and seven of those have been in the top six, six in the top five.
He’s ready and in a good head space.
This week is his time.
Scottie Scheffler
It’s difficult to pick against him considering he won the 2022 Masters and enters this week as the No. 1 ranked player and he’s won two of his past three starts with the one non-win a runner-up.
He looks almost infallible as the leader in almost every ball-striking statistic on the PGA Tour.
Brooks Koepka
You cannot ignore Koepka as the sport’s top big-game hunter when it comes to majors.
He finished runner-up last year, his second runner-up at the Masters.
He’s already bagged two U.S. Opens and three PGA Championships.
Maybe this is his time at Augusta.
Jon Rahm
The defending champion comes to Augusta as a member of LIV Golf and will have a chip on his shoulder for the criticism he’s gotten for making the jump for the money.
Will Zalatoris
He was runner-up at the 2021 Masters, and after a year of back surgery and rehab, he entered the week with solid results — T13, T2 and T4 earlier in the year.
He played with Tiger Woods on Monday and picked his brain.
Ludvig Aberg
Sure, this is his first Masters and no first-timer has won since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979.
But this 24-year-old Swede is good.
He led the Valero field in Strokes gained: tee-to-green last week and has performed well in pressure situations, as evidenced by his Ryder Cup debut last fall.