4. Will Augusta crown another first-time major winner?
The 2017 Masters offers plenty of good candidates to win their first major.
Of the top-25 golfers in the world, 14 have yet to win a major. It’s a list that includes Hideki Matsuyama, Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler, Alex Noren, Sergio Garcia, Jon Rahm, Patrick Reed, Tyrrell Hatton, Paul Casey, Branden Grace, Matt Kuchar, Brandt Snedeker, Russell Knox and Brooks Koepka.
None of those guys would be deemed surprise winners.
And if we buy into recent trends, one of those gentlemen will likely win his first major. Or, if one of them doesn’t prevail, recent history suggests that someone will earn his first major triumph.
The 2016 season was the first since 2011 and the second since 2003 to crown four new major winners. In fact, if we go back to Jason Day’s triumph at the 2015 PGA Championship, each of the last five majors has given us a first-time winner.
But the trends don’t even stop there.
Of the seven winners at Augusta this decade, only Phil Mickelson (2010) and Bubba Watson (2014) had a previous major triumph.
So the recent majors, and more specifically the Masters, suggest this week will be a good opportunity for a lot of guys to get the major championship monkey off of their backs.