Fantasy Golf: Masters preview

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The first Major of the season is upon us and the the 2013 Today’s Golfer Fantasy Golf game tees off at the Masters this week.

As ever, expectation is sky high for a wonderful tournament and 54 of the world’s top 58 players will be teeing it up at Augusta National.

The layout is familiar to many of us and the 7,445 yard par-72 course will play tough again this year. Last season, Augusta was inside the toughest seven courses on the PGA Tour for par 4 scoring, par 3 scoring, scrambling, three-putt percentage and putts per GIR. It was the 12th hardest for green in regulation.

The key to success here is experience and the right strategy, good putting and taking advantage of the par 5s. The quartet of par 5s averaged just 4.72 for the whole field in 2012.

There is some wind and rain forecast for the start of the week but weather conditions should ease over the weekend leading to better scores after the cut.

Here is Today’s Golfer’s six-man team for the Masters:

Tiger Woods, £5.5m
He’s back to world number one after victories in three of his last four strokeplay events. He already has four Green Jackets in his wardrobe and has eight other top eight finishes at Augusta. Leads the PGA Tour in strokes gained – putting.

Phil Mickelson, £3.8m
Lefty won here in 2004, 2006 and 2010 and has 11 other top 10s to his name. He won the Phoenix Open in February and ranks 14th on the PGA Tour in adjusted scoring.

Jim Furyk, £2.2m
The world number 25 is coming in off the back of a T7 and T3 last week in Texas in his last three starts. He has four Masters top 10s and finished 11th last year. Ranked third in greens in regulation and T5 in fairways hit in Texas.

Freddie Jacobson, £1.7m
The Swede has forced his way back into the world’s top 50 with four top 15s in six starts in 2013, including a T3 at the Northern Trust Open. He has two top 20s and one missed cut in three previous appearances.

Stewart Cink, £1.0m
The 2009 Open champion has found some form this year after a quiet couple of season. He’s made five cuts on the bounce and finished T6 in his last start in Houston. Top 10 at Augusta in 2006 and 2008.

Trevor Immelman, £0.8m
The 2008 Masters winner offers good value in a field packed with expensive players. He recorded top 20s in the three years after winning and was 60th last year.

> The deadline to pick your team for the Masters is 1pm on Thursday 11th April. Sign up now and find out more about prizes, game format and scoring by clicking here.

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