Masters Week!!!

I don’t think this week needs any introductions so lets jump right into my picks to click at the 2006 Masters.

My top pick this week is Retief Goosen. Goosen should never be counted out of any tournament he enters and he comes into this event on a roll. He finished fourth last week in the Bell South and third in The Players Championship two weeks ago. Goosen also finished third in The Masters last year so we know he can get it done on this track. A win here would be nice to help people forget about last year’s U.S. Open.

I don’t know if Jose Maria Olazabal has the length to win at Augusta anymore but I would certainly expect a solid showing from him this week. Surprisingly it has been Ollie’s putter that has hurt his chances of winning a couple times this year but he has been in contention in several events. If Olazabal can keep the ball straight off the tee he should grab himself another top ten finish.

I fully expect Sergio Garcia to be near the top of the leaderboard after Saturdays round. The question is if he can hold on on Sunday. Garcia needs to shed his tag as “best player not to win a major” and it might as well be this week. Garcia’s creativity around the greens will serve him well at Augusta if his putter can hold up.

K.J. Choi is my underdog pick. Okay, he’s not a huge longshot after finishing third in 2004 but he should have a good week. Choi’s solid iron play is well-suited to the new lengthened Augusta golf course.

So there it is. My picks for The Masters tournament. SirShanks will have his picks up later this week, stay tuned…