Prediction: Gary Woodland will win the Masters in 2019

Gary Woodland will win the 2019 Masters. Vegas has him at 80:1 odds. Go become a millionaire. You’re welcome.

I’m calling my shot. Gary Woodland will be the 2019 Masters Champion. Of course, unless you are Babe Ruth or Michael Jordan calling your shot is almost always a terrible idea. But hey, it’s Masters Week! I’m feeling a little giddy. The thermometer is hitting 70 in my neck of the woods. Spring has arrived. There’s no better time to inch out on a budding limb.

So why Gary? Of all the hot picks I could make, why do I think Woodland has the right stuff, right now? Woodland hasn’t made it to Saturday at Augusta since his T26 in 2014. Yikes!

Everyone seems to be picking Rory. Or Jordan. Or even Tiger. All good, albeit boring, picks. There are a lot of Majors in that trio. Matt Kuchar seems to be a solid pick this year as well. He’s earned that with two victories already and sitting atop the FedEx Cup standings.

But there is something about Gary.

First off, he’s a Kansas boy – the closest thing to a home town favorite in Kansas City since Tom Watson. But I’m not letting my emotions rule me. This isn’t like taking Matt Cassel in the first round of your 2012 NFL Fantasy league because he’s totally going to be the next Len Dawson. I’m not an idiot … anymore.

I already wrote a piece this year from the Waste Management Phoenix Open about what a great guy Gary is. If you can’t root for him, you just don’t have a heart. That’s as good a reason as anything outside hitting an actual golf ball.

Most of all, I’m on the Woodland Wagon because I think his current game is well-suited for Augusta. He is playing well this year, and, despite no wins, he has two 2nd place finishes. He currently stands 5th in the FedEx Cup which, if I understand the archaic trigonometry behind the rankings, basically means he’s been consistently good all year.

A deeper dive into his stats also reveals some encouraging trends. Woodland hits the ball a long way. Like, low-earth orbit long. He’s currently 12th on Tour in driving distance averaging 310 yards off the tee. He’s also pretty accurate, ranking 39th in fairways hit on tour. Only Bryson DeChambeau has a similar coupling of distance and accuracy.

You might think that Woodland and DeChambeau have similar G.I.R stats, but again, Woodland is significantly better by almost 6% – an enormous gap by Tour standards. Woodland also beats Bryson in holes per eagle, birdie average, and scoring average, too.

Ever since they Tiger-proofed Augusta in the early part of the century, some weird winners have emerged. Tiger-proofing didn’t stop Mike Weir, Trevor Immelman, Charl Schwartzel, and Danny Willet from slipping on the Green Jacket. That’s not exactly a list of bombers off the tee.

On the flip side, Bubba and Phil both won twice in that span, so long hitters haven’t been affected much either.

Woodland, I believe, has the right mix of length, patience, and moxie to tame Augusta if he can just get hot with the littlest club in the bag.

Now about that putter. Gary isn’t a bad lag putter – something Augusta always demands – but he’s been awful inside 10 feet. Like Ray Charles-bad. The greens at Augusta aren’t typically friendly to those with an imprecise blade. But Woodland’s stats show he has been able to put together a 6th best YTD streak of 11 one-putts or better.

Gary, I’m gonna need you to do that again. I believe in you. Just taaaaaaaaaap it in.

So that’s my fearless Masters prediction. Gary Woodland at -15, beating Kuchar and Koepka by two shots. It might not be a million dollar winner. But it’s worth what you paid for it.