Three Sleeper Picks for the Masters

We’re now only two days away from the start of the 2010 Masters, which means it’s time to start diving into predictions for the week. Today, we take a look at some potential sleepers who could come out from out and nowhere and pick up the win at Augusta. Here’s three players under the radar this week to look out for:

Nick Watney

Ever since Watney picked up the win last year at the Buick Invitational in February, I’ve thought that the guy has had the potential to win a big time tournament. That tournament could be this week if he continues to play like he has thus far this season. While he doesn’t have a victory in 2010 (yet), he’s finished in the Top 30 in all but two tournaments (a missed cut at the Northern Trust Open and T64 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational). He’s got three Top 10 finishes in there as well, so it’s clear that Watney is just a few bounces away from picking up a tournament victory.

He can drive the ball pretty well, which will benefit him on some of the longer holes that other players might lay up on. We know that Augusta has changed the course over the years to play more towards players settling for laying up instead of taking a risk. If Watney can get his usual long distance off the tee, and be accurate with it, he may be able to take advantage in places where shorter hitters can’t.

Watney finished 19th at Augusta a year ago, so he’s certainly showed that he can play well at the Masters. And with the way that he’s been very consistent this year, I wouldn’t put it past him to have a shot at winning the thing this year.

Ryan Moore

A guy like Moore has the right combination for winning at Augusta. He can drive it far. He can drive it accurately. And he’s a fantastic ball striker. Add a good few days of putting in there, and you’ve got a player that might the one that jumps out at us as a surprise winner, kind of like Trevor Immelman did a few years ago. Moore has had two Top 10 finishes this year, and finished 14th at the Waste Management Open. He’s been pretty consistent for the most part, and has the attitude to contend with the best of them this week.

What I like about Moore is that he’s gritty. Once he gets a little momentum, he tends to channel all of that into some pretty great golf. Putting will be the difference, as will be the case with everyone this week, so if he gets off to a good start in round one, he’ll build on that throughout the weekend. He’s another case of a long ball hitter with good accuracy, which are the types of players I’m leaning towards in these sleeper picks.

Again, the start is going to be important here. If he starts well, the rest of the field better look out. Moore has enough confidence to get the job done this week.

Adam Scott

Yes, Adam Scott. Everyone thought that Scott had fallen off the map last year, and had reasons to back up that assessment. Plain and simple, he was downright horrible at times in the 2009 PGA season, and made us wonder whether he could get it together mentally to make another run at being on of the best on tour. However, he’s turned it around this season, and looks out to show everyone why he was at one point the third ranked player in the world.

And while he’s only got two Top 25 finishes this season, you can tell that he’s starting to get back into the flow. He’s driving the ball well, and driving it with good accuracy. I tend to favor the long ball hitters more at Augusta these days (see Kenny Perry and Angel Cabrera at the 2009 Masters), so you’ve got to put this guy in contention because of the fact that he’s playing great off the tee this year.

But putting is where I get a little worried with Scott, because I don’t think he’s there yet in terms of getting back in a groove putting wise. It’s nice to get it on the green before your opponents and all, but if you’re using a large number of putts, it all kind of cancels out. If we see that Scott is putting well on Thursday, then I’m definitely going to put him in the mix as a possibility to make a splash this year, and have a shot at a great finish.