AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) - A capsule look at 12 top contenders for the Masters, to be played April 6-9 (listed in predicted order of finish):
DUSTIN JOHNSON
AGE: 32.
COUNTRY: United States.
WORLD RANKING: 1.
VICTORIES WORLDWIDE: 15.
MAJORS: U.S. Open (2016).
MASTERS APPEARANCES: 7.
BEST FINISH: Tie for 4th in 2016.
MASTERS MEMORY: Making two double bogeys in the final round of 2016 for a 71. He finished four shots behind.
BACKSPIN: Not since Tiger Woods has a player looked more forceful going into the Masters than Johnson. He is coming off his third straight victory, he is the best player in the world and he feels he has finally figured out how to play at Augusta National. He has tied for sixth and for fourth in the last two years. Woods in 2002 was the last No. 1 player to win the Masters.
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JUSTIN ROSE
AGE: 36.
COUNTRY: England.
WORLD RANKING: 13.
VICTORIES WORLDWIDE: 16.
MAJORS: U.S. Open (2013).
MASTERS APPEARANCES: 11
BEST FINISH: Runner-up in 2015.
MASTERS MEMORY: A two-shot lead going into the weekend in 2004 and shooting 81 in the third round.
BACKSPIN: A silver trophy from the U.S. Open. A gold medal from the Olympics. Would love nothing more than a green jacket from Augusta National. His putting is always a concern, but he has played the Masters better than any other major and was runner-up to Jordan Spieth in 2015. He has never missed the cut at the Masters.
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HIDEKI MATSUYAMA
AGE: 24.
COUNTRY: Japan.
WORLD RANKING: 4.
VICTORIES WORLDWIDE: 13.
MAJORS: None.
MASTERS APPEARANCES: 5
BEST FINISH: 5th in 2015.
MASTERS MEMORY: Making the cut twice as an amateur.
BACKSPIN: He was the hottest player in the world until cooling during the West Coast swing. Matsuyama already is the highest-ranked Japanese player ever. He made the cut twice as the Asia Pacific Amateur champion. He never will have faced as much pressure at a major as this one.
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JASON DAY
AGE: 29.
COUNTRY: Australia.
WORLD RANKING: 3.
VICTORIES WORLDWIDE: 11.
MAJORS: PGA Championship (2015).
MASTERS APPEARANCES: 6.
BEST FINISH: Tied for 2nd in 2011.
MASTERS MEMORY: Losing a two-shot lead with three holes to play in 2013.
BACKSPIN: Day is the best of the young players to never have won the Masters. Lost out only to Charl Schwartzel’s four straight birdies in 2011, and had a prime chance in 2013 until a late slide. No longer No. 1 in the world, but he’s a late starter. No weakness in his game when his health is right. The mystery is between the ears, especially the manner in which he pulled out of Match Play because his mother was having lung cancer surgery.
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JORDAN SPIETH
AGE: 23.
COUNTRY: United States.
WORLD RANKING: 6.
VICTORIES WORLDWIDE: 12.
MAJORS: Masters (2015), U.S. Open (2015).
MASTERS APPEARANCES: 3.
BEST FINISH: Won.
MASTERS MEMORY: His wire-to-wire victory and tying the 72-hole scoring record at 270 in 2015.
BACKSPIN: Spieth showed how much a meltdown on the back nine last year has bothered him when he said he looks forward to getting this Masters over with no matter how he finishes. Maybe he’s due for a mediocre Masters, but so far he has been a master at Augusta National. Had a two-shot lead with 11 holes to play in 2014 and was runner-up to Bubba Watson, and lost a five-shot lead with nine holes to play last year. Those were sandwiched around his four-shot victory in 2015.
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ADAM SCOTT
AGE: 36.
COUNTRY: Australia.
WORLD RANKING: 7.
VICTORIES WORLDWIDE: 27.
MAJORS: Masters (2013).
MASTERS APPEARANCES: 15.
BEST FINISH: Won.
MASTERS MEMORY: Making a 20-foot putt on the 18th hole that got him in a playoff, and making a 12-foot birdie on the second extra hole to win in 2013.
BACKSPIN: He has gone more than a year since winning back to back on the Florida swing and will have played only five tournaments before he arrives at the Masters. As pure as he hits the ball, he still has been inconsistent with the putting.
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RORY MCILROY
AGE: 27.
COUNTRY: Northern Ireland.
WORLD RANKING: 2.
VICTORIES WORLDWIDE: 21.
MAJORS: U.S. Open (2011), British Open (2014), PGA Championship (2012, 2014).
MASTERS APPEARANCES: 8.
BEST FINISH: 4th in 2015.
MASTERS MEMORY: Losing a four-shot lead in the final round of 2011 by shooting an 80.
BACKSPIN: Not since Lee Trevino in 1975 has a player come to the Masters with a chance to complete the career Grand Slam. This will be McIlroy’s third try at it, and while he has posted top 10s the last two years, he has never seriously challenged. He lost nearly two months recovering from a rib injury, but his form returned quickly. The key for him is not falling too far behind before the weekend.
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JON RAHM
AGE: 22.
COUNTRY: Spain.
WORLD RANKING: 14.
VICTORIES WORLDWIDE: 1.
MAJORS: None.
MASTERS APPEARANCES: None.
BEST FINISH: This is his Masters debut.
MASTERS MEMORY: Winning at Torrey Pines to earn his first spot in the Masters.
BACKSPIN: The last player to win the Masters in his debut was Fuzzy Zoeller, who was 27, in 1979. Rahm gets everyone’s attention. He turned pro only last June and already is No. 14 in the world. He was runner-up and tied for fourth in two World Golf Championships. He won at Torrey Pines. And he has no fear.
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HENRIK STENSON
AGE: 41 (on Wednesday of the Masters)
COUNTRY: Sweden.
WORLD RANKING: 5.
VICTORIES WORLDWIDE: 18.
MAJORS: British Open (2016).
MASTERS APPEARANCES: 11.
BEST FINISH: Tie for 14th in 2014.
MASTERS MEMORY: Attended in 1999 with his wife, saw Jose Maria Olazabal and meant to place a bet on him but forgot (Olazabal won).
BACKSPIN: Stenson has never been in the kind of form at the Masters that he was in last summer at Royal Troon, or the summer of 2013 when he was golf’s hottest player. His power and putting should be a good fit for Augusta National. Of all the top players, he has the worst track record at the Masters.
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PAUL CASEY
AGE: 39.
COUNTRY: England.
WORLD RANKING: 16.
VICTORIES WORLDWIDE: 15.
MAJORS: None.
MASTERS APPEARANCES: 10.
BEST FINISH: Tied for 4th in 2016.
MASTERS MEMORY: A personal-best 67 in the final round last year for his best result at the Masters.
BACKSPIN: Casey might be the best player who hasn’t won a tournament in the last three years. Now settled in Arizona, his attitude has turned him into a threat, and he’s always had the style of game suited for the Masters.
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SERGIO GARCIA
AGE: 37.
COUNTRY: Spain.
WORLD RANKING: 11.
VICTORIES WORLDWIDE: 25.
MAJORS: None.
MASTERS APPEARANCES: 18.
BEST FINISH: Tie for 4th in 2004.
MASTERS MEMORY: Winning the silver medal as low amateur in 1999.
BACKSPIN: Gone are the days when Garcia pouted that he doesn’t have what it takes to win a major. He’s still the best player without one, but there’s no reason he can’t contend at the Masters. His personal life has never been more settled, with a wedding date set for July.
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PHIL MICKELSON
AGE: 46.
COUNTRY: United States.
WORLD RANKING: 19.
VICTORIES WORLDWIDE: 45.
MAJORS: Masters (2004, 2006, 2010), British Open (2013), PGA Championship (2005).
MASTERS APPEARANCES: 24.
BEST FINISH: Won.
MASTERS MEMORY: Leaping with arms raised after an 18-foot birdie putt on the final hole to win in 2004 for his first major.
BACKSPIN: Since his last victory in the 2013 British Open, Mickelson has been runner-up in a major each of the last three years, including last year’s duel at Royal Troon with Henrik Stenson. He is coming off back-to-back top 10s for the first time since he won the British Open. The key for Mickelson is good driving and making the short putts, which he has been doing lately. Could replace Jack Nicklaus as the oldest Masters champion.
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