By Wayne Redshaw
The first major of the year — the Masters — started today at Augusta National and there’s a lot of question marks as the elite field teed it up.
The biggest of all is how will the LIV players, 18 in all, not only do but will the rift between the Saudi-backed Tour players and the PGA Tour members be put aside for the tourney? Hopefully, nothing will come of it over the next four days and they just play and stick to golf.
And can a LIV member walk away with the coveted green jacket come Sunday evening? I’d say it’s possible as there are some past Masters Champions in the field along with former PGA Tour winners.
Also, it will be interesting to see how the fans react to the LIV players who qualified and received the invite to play from the Masters Committee. I don’t think that will be any kind of a problem or issue. And if anything erupts the security at the Masters will quell it fast. After all, this is the Masters, not the Waste Management tournament where they throw beer after both good and bad shots on a certain par 3. No one steps out of line at Augusta or out they go. It’s no nonsense, period.
Then there’s more questions. Can Scottie Scheffler, currently ranked No. 1 in the World, make it back-to-back conquests at the Masters? I think he can, especially the way he has played the past two months. Of course, it won’t be any cake-walk. There are some others who should make it interesting including John Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Jordan Speith and Patrick Cantlay. And you can’t forget about some of the LIV members such as 2020 Masters champion Dustin Johnson, Cameron Smith and Joaquin Niemann. It’s wide open to put it bluntly.
There is also the question how will the Canadians in the field do? It’s been 20 years since a Canadian has put on the famous Green Jacket. That’s when Mike Weir put on the coveted jacket after finishing seven under.
Weir is one of four Canadians in this year’s field but I have to rank him as an also-ran. In other words, I’m saying he won’t make it past the first two days. This year is Weir’s 24th Masters. Other than his victory in 2003 his best finish was a tie for fifth-place in 2005. The following year he tied for 11th.
From 2000 to 2010, he only played 36 holes once, then packed up his gear. But from 2011 to 2022, 10 times he left for home early. So it doesn’t look promising this week. Remember, Weir was much younger when he won in 2003. Now, he’s in his early-50s.
As for the other three Canadians, 29-year-old Adam Svensson is making his inaugural start at Augusta after punching his ticket by winning the RSM Classic last November for his first ever PGA Tour victory. He has played steady and could make it through to Sunday’s final round. However, early jitters could be a problem.
Likewise, McKenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ontario hopefully will be around for the final round. This is his fourth Masters. He bowed out early in his debut 2017 but tied for 40th in 2021 and last year tied for 50th spot.
The one Canadian I think who should make a good showing again is Corey Connors of Listowel. He’s coming off fresh from winning the Valero Texas Open last weekend. It was his second PGA Tour career victory.
What I like about Connors is he has played well at Augusta the past three years. In 2020, Connors tied for 10th at nine-under, the following year he tied for eighth at four-under and last year Connors tied for sixth at three-under. His game is A-1 right now and he could make some noise. He’s certainly capable of it.
(Wayne Redshaw has covered both amateur and professional sports for over 60 years. In 2018, he was inducted into the media section of the Ontario Golf Hall of Fame.)
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