2017 Masters: Ranking First-Time Competitors’ Chances to Win

Will a first-timer win the 2017 Masters? It has been nearly four decades since a rookie champion prevailed.

What are the odds that a first timer will will the 2017 Masters? Many die-hard golf fans are aware that it’s a tall task winning at Augusta National on your first go-around.

Almost as many of them can recite the last time it’s actually been done: Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979.

For reference, my hurried math says there are 64 players in the 2017 Masters field that weren’t even born when the 27-year-old Zoeller edged Ed Sneed and Tom Watson in a playoff.

It goes without saying that experience is key. How else can young guns fizzle in between the azaleas so often, yet ageless legends like Fred Couples and Bernhard Langer always seem to make the cut and even contend?

Still, in an era where the Cubs won the World Series, Northwestern men’s basketball made the NCAA tournament and a 73-win team failed to win the NBA title, the unlikely now seems likely in sports.

There are 16 Augusta newcomers this time around. Four are amateurs with microscopic odds to don the green jacket on Sunday. There are some interesting names among the other 12, including some young guns coming into 2017 Masters week showing fine form.

So, who has the shot to put an end to the 38-year first-timer drought? Let’s break it down.

All odds and statistics are through March 28.