2010 Masters Predictions

Whether you are an avid golf fan or not, just about everyone's attention will be on the 2010 Masters tournament thanks to the return of Tiger Woods to the professional tour.

Will he be able to capture his fifth Masters championship or will another golfer from the field earn the Green Jacket? Here are the top five favorites to come away with the 2010 Masters title:

2010 Masters Favorite # 1 - Tiger Woods

Woods decided to make his return to the course because of the strict rules already laid out at the Augusta National Country Club. While he may be protected from the random hecklers and the off-topic questions from the media, he won't be able to remove it completely.

Despite what some may think, Woods is going to show us how capable he is of putting aside his personal issues and competing at a high level in the 2010 Masters. Not only will he make the cut, he will be lurking near the top of the leader board on the final day.

2010 Masters Favorite # 2 - Phil Mickelson

Mickelson spend the start of the 2010 season searching for his form, but so far he has not been able to find success on the tour. Mickelson has a few tournaments left prior to the 2010 Masters to help improve his success rate in finding the fairway.

If Mickelson is able to regain his accuracy and reaches the fairway more than 50% of the time, he should have a chance to compete with the top golfers and earn a third green jacket.

2010 Masters Favorite # 3 - Ernie Els

Quietly, the Big Easy has been returning back to his top form since the start of the 2010 season. Els recently won the 51^st title of his career at the Doral, ending a drought that extended back to the 2007 Honda Classic.

He has found success during his win reaching the green in regulation 50 or the 72 times. If he continues to improve his putting stroke, Els is going to be the perfect dark horse candidate to win the 2010 Masters.

2010 Masters Favorite # 4 - Paddy Harrington

An admitted slow starter, Harrington appears to have found his groove again when he tied for third place in the WGC-CA Championship. After he closes out the week at Copperhead Course, Harrington will take two weeks off to prepare for the 2010 Masters.

After finishing a disappointing 35^th in the 2009 Masters, Harrington closed out the year with six straight top ten finishes. He has the chance to put some pressure on those at the top of the leader board. He will be ready to step in if any of the other big names falter.

2010 Masters Favorite # 5 - Steve Stricker

One of the hottest golfers in 2010 has been Stricker, who won the Northern Trust open in the beginning of February. Stricker is currently at the top of the leader board with a scoring average of 68.3 per 18 holes and has been hitting the fairway 68.4% of the time in 2010.

Stricker was within striking distance last year and is looking to build upon that in the 2010 Masters. Don't expect him to disappear because the big names are beginning to play well.

Resources

www.golf.com
www.masters.com
www.pga.com