Aperitifs over, time for the main course

YOU might not realise it, but this week’s Masters has more than just one entrant.

For all the understandable hoop-la surrounding the return of world number one Tiger Woods to Augusta National, the four-time green jacket winner still has a field of 95 other players to beat when he tees it up today.

Nor should we forget that Woods, who has not hit a golf ball in competition for 144 days, has not won the Masters since 2005.

Woods’ old foe Phil Mickelson won it the following year but since then the last three Masters champions were not exactly household names when they pulled on their green jacket and accepted lifetime membership of one of the most exclusive clubs in the world.

To be fair, neither Zach Johnson, Trevor Immelman nor 2009 winner Angel Cabrera have joined the group of marquee players considered worthy of giving a Tiger a battle royal come Sunday afternoon, but who is to say the trend of “no-name” golfers winning amongst the azaleas will not continue this weekend? For various reasons, none of last year’s majors went to Woods or other big guns such as Mickelson or fellow three-time major winner Pádraig Harrington. Rather it was more a case of them being claimed by the light artillery with Cabrera being joined in the winner’s circle by Lucas Glover at the US Open, Stewart at the Open and YE Yang in the US PGA.

So who is next? The bookies still favour Woods, closely followed by former major winners Mickelson, Ernie Els, Harrington and Retief Goosen, five golfers no one would be surprised to see win the first major of the year. A look further down the list, though, provides some names, notable and otherwise, who are more than capable of continuing the trend for Anonymity at Augusta.

Dividing such contenders into three categories makes the selection process easier and looking at the best player never to win a major category that touring pros despise produces three very live contenders in American Steve Stricker, Camilo Villegas of Colombia and Englishman Lee Westwood, while the likes of Kenny Perry, who came close last year, and English duo Paul Casey and Ian Poulter should not be discounted.

Stricker, though, ticks many boxes. Twice the PGA Tour’s comeback player of the year, the world number two is the archetypal grinder and in the form of his career, with four wins in the last two seasons, including this year’s Northern Trust Open in Los Angeles, and a sixth place at Augusta last year.

Villegas, meanwhile, looks ready to live up to the potential he first excited fans with when he joined the PGA Tour full-time in 2006. The signs were there when he won two FedEx Cup play-off events at the end of 2008 and he has already won the Honda Classic this year.

If Villegas is getting hot, European number one and world number four Westwood is coming to the boil, getting closer and closer to a first major win after two ties for third last year at The Open and the US PGA, following a third place behind Woods and Rocco Mediate at the US Open in 2008.

No-one could argue that Westwood and Stricker haven’t put in the miles to warrant consideration at Augusta this weekend but for the likes of Rory McIlroy and Anthony Kim, their relative youthfulness is hardly a drawback Both have shown in flashes the game to tame Augusta.

Both made their debuts last year, each making the cut and tying for 20th place with a scoring average of 71.50.

Kim, who won the Houston Open last Sunday, set a Masters single-round record 12 months ago by recording 11 birdies during his second round on the way to a seven-under 65 but it was the American’s only under-par round of the week. Kim also had a 75 on his card while McIlroy carded two rounds under par and did not score higher than a 73.

Add in-form debutant Schwartzel and you have a trio of next big things before we arrive at a triumvirate of American outsiders.

Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar both have game but are still a million miles from being recognised outside of the players’ lounge.

The big-hitting Johnson made his Masters debut last year and played Augusta National’s par-fives at 14-under-par, tying for second-best all-time as he claimed a share of 30th.

Kuchar is a little different. Proving, along with Westwood, the exception to Harrington’s rule of thumb that Masters contenders get better with experience, Kuchar tied for 21st as an amateur in 1998 but made little impact since as a pro.

He has, though, had a great start to 2010 with three top 10s and is now a remarkably consistent PGA Tour performer. And the powers that be have paired him with a certain Tiger Woods.