2021 Masters week: They’re coming in hot
By Bill Felber
10. Max Homa, 22.00
Despite his missed cut at the Players in March, there’s good reason for the golfing world to take Homa seriously this week. He’s coming off four top 25 finishes prior to that, among them a playoff victory over Tony Finau at the Genesis in mid-February.
He was 10th at the Arnold Palmer, 22nd at the WGC Workday and seventh at the ATT National Pro-Am. His stroke average for his most recent 18 medal play rounds is 70.00, a bit better than one under par.
Beyond that, it wouldn’t take much to envision Homa having won the Match Play. In the group stage, he lost a sudden death playoff to the eventual champion, Billy Horschel.
9. Matthew Fitzpatrick, 21.00
Fitzpatrick is 18th in the Official World Golf Ranking. That includes a string of four consecutive top 11 finishes in PGA Tour stroke play events. By Tour standards, that’s hot.
Fitzpatrick came home with ties for ninth at the Players, 10th at the Palmer, 11th at the WGC Workday and fifth at the Genesis.
Even including his missed cut at last November’s RSM, Fitzpatrick has a 70.05 scoring average in his most recent 18 rounds, about 1.6 strokes under par.
His record of four straight top 11s suggests that even if Fitzpatrick doesn’t win this week, he’s a sure bet to contend.