Can golf’s top ranked stars deliver the goods at the 2023 Masters?

Can golf’s top ranked stars deliver the goods at the 2023 Masters?

Winning the Masters is the pinnacle of any golfers career. There’s something uniquely special about triumphing among the azaleas at Augusta National, and most players will tell you that nothing can compare. After all, Augusta is one of the most beautiful settings for any sporting event, and that makes winning there all the more satisfying.

However, for some of the world’s top golfers, a green jacket has still managed to elude their grasp. Rory McIlroy is a player who fits this category, having won all of golf’s majors except for the Masters. Each year, the pressure on the Northern Irishman to deliver Masters glory appears to grow, and that pressure usually results in a lacklustre performance.

McIlroy approaches the 2023 edition as one of the favourites among those betting on golf, and the Northern Irishman will have a degree of confidence after producing a sensational final round at last year’s tournament. Although he didn’t have much chance of actually pipping Scottie Scheffler to the green jacket, he produced his best golf at the Masters in many a year to record a final round 64. It will be interesting to see if McIlroy can produce a more consistent performance across the four days this year, after simply giving himself too much to do last time out.

Nearly there. #themasters pic.twitter.com/79jkBEs7wS

— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 4, 2023

Another player being touted for a maiden Masters title is Jon Rahm. The Spaniard earned his first major title in 2021 by winning the US Open, but he failed to light up any of the major championships last year. This season, he has been back to his best, and heads to Augusta in fine form. His best result there was a fourth-place finish in 2018, and he is a player who is often found in or around the top 10 at the business stage of the tournament.

Rahm is still relatively young, and although his US Open success didn’t quite lead to the influx of major titles many golf fans and pundits expected, there is still time for him to become one of the most successful golfers of his generation.

Scheffler will arrive as defending champion this year with his sights set on becoming the first golfer to defend the Masters title since Tiger Woods did so in the early 2000s. The American has maintained the fine form of last season in this campaign, and the titles have continued to flow, meaning he is clear at the top of the world rankings.

Scheffler did brilliantly to hold his nerve in the final round at Augusta last year, and it remains to be seen how he will cope with the pressure of being the man to beat.

Other players being touted as potential Masters champions this year include Jordan Spieth, Cameron Smith and Justin Thomas. Spieth is a former Masters winner and knows what it takes to get the job done at Augusta, while Smith has come close on two prior occasions to getting his hands on a green jacket. Thomas, having won his first major title last year at the PGA Championship, will also head to Georgia full of confidence.

The pressure is on the top ranked players to perform at the high level we know they’re capable of, but we’ve seen in the past that the Masters is unforgiving, and victory must be earned.

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