2023 Masters Preview: Scheffler eyeing back-to-back wins at Augusta National
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- It's Masters Week -- where the sports world turns its attention to Augusta, Georgia where Amen Corner, Magnolia Lane, Rae's Creek, pimento cheese sandwiches, and green jackets are the talk of the town.
Will we see a repeat winner?
Can Scottie Scheffler go back-to-back and become a repeat winner at The Masters? That's the question in everyone's mind as we head into the busy weekend at Augusta National.
No one has won back-to-back at the Masters in over two decades since Tiger Woods achieved that feat in 2000 and 2001.
So, the question stands. Can Scottie Scheffler do it?
Scheffler has six tournament wins since February of last year, winning the Waste Management Phoenix Open twice, the WGC Dell match play event last year, last year's Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, this year's Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, and of course, was the winner of last year's green jacket, winning the Masters.
If not Scottie Scheffler, then who?
If winning back-to-back Masters titles doesn't seem like your type of pick, then who will it be?
Will it be a past winner putting on another green jacket or will it be a newcomer? Will it be a top-ten player in the world like Jon Rahm, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, or Will Zalatoris? Can Rory McIlroy finally complete the career grand slam and add a Masters victory to his trophy case?
Will a LIV golfer like Cam Smith, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, or Brooks Koepka make a splashing headline by coming back to the big stage and winning at Augusta?
Soon enough, all of these questions will become answers.
LIV golfers making a 'major' appearance
Can a golfer who has moved to the LIV tour make the quick adjustment to a four-day tournament with a cut after growing accustomed to playing in a 48-man field without a cut?
@foreplaypod Is LIV getting their money’s worth from the big names they signed? #liv #livgolf #golf #golftiktok ♬ original sound - foreplay
It's no secret that some players like Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson aren't blowing the doors off of the competition on the LIV tour. What happens now when they get thrown back into the grind of a regular-style event?
Last weekend, Brooks Koepka became LIV's first two-time winner. It will be interesting to see if he can continue the charge to find himself at or near the top of the Masters leaderboard.
Changes at Augusta National
Augusta National has a history of making changes to its course in order to challenge the players in the field, so let's take a look at some of the changes that were made during the past year.
The Par 5 13th hole, known from being the famous dogleg left and third hole of Amen Corner, has had its tee box pushed back by around 35 yards, stretching the total distance back to 535 yards.
Will this change cut down on possible eagles and make it less of a scoring hole? Many seem to think that this added distance will force players to take a driver off of the tee instead of being able to turn over a 3-wood to cut the corner on the left. The downside of hitting a driver will likely leave many players sitting on the side lie in the fairway for their second shot from a much farther distance back, putting a long iron in the players hands if they want to attack the green for a look at eagle.
Comparatively, last year, the Par 5 15th hole was extended by 20 yards -- and no eagles were made during the 2022 tournament.
The Tiger Effect
Will Tiger Woods be able to contend at this year's Masters? We all know that Tiger won't compete just to compete if he doesn't think he has a chance to win -- and the Tiger Effect will definitely be in play at Augusta this week.
He won the tournament in 2019, but, as we all know, he hasn't been the same since his scary accident just over two years ago.
He did play well at the Genesis Invitational at Riviera earlier this year, making the cut.
The Tiger Effect was visible in the galleries, but it's hard to say just what we can expect from the Big Cat at Augusta this year.
Begging for a classic Sunday at the Masters
With the past three years at the Masters not being all that competitive during the final round, will we get a tournament this year that feels like a classic Sunday at Augusta?
Last year, Scottie Scheffler cruised to a 3-shot victory, having as high as a 6-shot lead for various stretches of the final round. The day was made most interesting by two things. First, Collin Morikawa and Rory McIlroy traded hole-outs from sand traps on #18, making for a fun scene for a juiced up crowd.
Then, as the tournament was coming to a close, Scottie Scheffler, with 5-shot lead and his approach shot sitting on the 18th green, 4-putted his way home to victory. Needless to say, his reaction to the missed bogey putt was hilarious.
In 2021, Hideki Matsuyama may have only won the tournament by one shot, but it felt like he was in cruise control during the final round on Sunday. Everyone remembers the viral moment that came from Hideki's win, when his caddie, Shota Hayafuji, bowed to the course after Matsuyama clinched the victory two years ago.
The Masters' 2020 version, which was anything but traditional, having been played in November due to the COVID-19 pandemic with no patrons in attendance, and the scorecards reflected that lack of tradition.
Dustin Johnson won the tournament with a score of -20, setting a new Masters scoring record. The tournament being played in the fall under softer conditions helped lead to lower scores across the board, but at the time, everyone was just happy to get the tournament in.
Do we even need words to describe what 2019 was like at Augusta? This image says it all.
When Tiger Woods won The Masters in 2019, it was a Sunday at Augusta for the ages.
Here's to hoping this year's tradition like no other brings back some of that Sunday magic for all of us watching at home.
