Michaux's Masters faves

FIVE FAVES

Rory McIlroy Undisputed No. 1 seeking to slam career case shut

Bubba Watson Defending champ has a game made for Augusta

Adam Scott Married with child now, but still a Masters stud

Jason Day Only 27 and he’s already Masters leaderboard fixture

Jordan Spieth Oh so close to being the youngest winner last year

FIVE MORE FAVORITES

Jimmy Walker Late-bloomer is making up for lost time

Henrik Stenson No. 2 in the world deserves a little respect

Phil Mickelson Rebounded only comparably bad season (2003) in style

Dustin Johnson A changed man should change for the better here

Patrick Reed Ex-Augusta State star isn’t afraid to make waves

FRESHMAN SENSATIONS

Brooks Koepka Get used to his name; rib injury could blunt his debut

Brian Harman Diminutive lefty has power; needs the putter to shine

Robert Streb In case you hadn’t noticed, he’s consistently present

Shane Lowry Irishman isn’t cowering at Augusta’s freshman mystique

Bernd Wiesberger Austrian keeps banking Euro Tour top-10s in 2015

GREEN JACKET SEQUELS

Tiger Woods Confidence and health nowhere close to his usual self

Angel Cabrera Been flashing form since card-saving Greenbrier win

Zach Johnson Another major added to 12 wins gains Hall of Fame traction

Charl Schwartzel Still only 30 and due to make another challenge

Fred Couples Timeless cool could give Tiger lesson in treating back

NO SURPRISES HERE

Rickie Fowler Poised to convert those top 5s into major cred

Sergio Garcia Looked more comfortable in contention at Hoylake

Brandt Snedeker Ability is only exceeded by his desire to win here

Justin Rose Has to reverse his St. Andrews Open-year curse

Matt Kuchar Best bet to restore Georgia Tech’s Augusta pride

THEY’VE GOT GAME

Jim Furyk May have one major left … if he can close it

Gary Woodland 7-under Saturday surge shows he can overpower course

Hideki Matsuyama Most likely candidate to take first green jacket to Asia

Louis Oosthuizen All the albatrosses this year bring him to mind

J.B. Holmes Has the length and is playing as well as anyone

HEART PICKS

Ernie Els Champions locker room would be enhanced with his presence

Erik Compton Ex-Bulldog three times the heart pick of anyone else

Graeme McDowell Doesn’t shape the ball properly, but we can still hope

Geoff Ogilvy A guy who totally gets what Augusta is all about

Miguel Angel Jimenez A green jacket would perfectly complement cigar

NOT GONNA HAPPEN

Jason Dufner Unrecogniz-able in many ways, including his game

Luke Donald Getting closer but still working to find his old mojo

Darren Clarke Chances are thinner than he is now

Vijay Singh Showing a little form this year, but not Augusta level

Ben Crenshaw Fate shining with one last made cut would be nice