1: Jordan Spieth, -13.89
That disaster on the 12th hole in 2016 notwithstanding, Spieth has been the most consistently effective performer at Augusta across the past decade.
His 2015 victory was the gold standard in that respect. Spieth’s score of 270 was 2.8 standard deviations better than the field average. Measured by dominance rating, it was the fifth best Masters in history, bettered only by Jack Nicklaus in 1965, Tiger Woods in 1997, Ray Floyd in 1976 and Arnold Palmer in 1964.
And it was only one highlight in Spieth’s ongoing love affair with the Masters. Recall that he tied for second as a rookie in 2014, and he also tied for second in 2016. Despite an otherwise unremarkable 2018 season, Spieth saved his best for Augusta, coming home third, just two strokes behind Patrick Reed.
Spieth started that Sunday nine strokes behind Reed, but very quietly birdied five front-nine holes on his way to a closing 64.
Spieth’s 70.05 Augusta scoring average is the lowest for any 2019 entrant over the past decade. Of his 20 scored rounds, he shot seven in the 60s, and has only been over par six times, never by more than three strokes.
His game is not going well. He enters the field ranked only 170th on the FedEx Cup points list and 109th in scoring average, so this may be the year Augusta gets even with the 2016 champion. But based purely on his Masters record, if there is one course and one tournament where Spieth can change the direction of his recent play, Augusta is it.