US Masters Preview 2015: A guide to Augusta

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Adam Scott

What: 2015 US Masters

Where: Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Georgia

Who: Ninety-eight of the world's best golfers ... and the returning Tiger Woods.

When does it start: First-round action gets underway Thursday night, 9.45pm (AEST).

Where can I watch it: On Fox Sports 2 and 7mate. Coverage from 4.45am-9.45am (AEST) Thursday-Sunday. You can even watch the Par 3 comp from 5am Thursday.

Who won it last year?

American Bubba Watson claimed his second Green Jacket with a three-stroke victory over Jonas Blixt and Jordan Spieth in 2014.

Bookies odds:

Click here for the latest Masters Sportsbet markets

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie ... Six Aussies, including 2013 champ Adam Scott are in the 98-man field. Scott ($19) and Jason Day ($13) are among the favourites to don the Green Jacket this year. Veterans Marc Leishman ($176), John Senden ($251) and Geoff Ogilvy ($301) are back for another crack, while 19-year-old amateur Antonio Murdaca rounds out the Aussie contingent.

What will Tiger do?

The four-time Masters champ hasn't played a competitive round since early February, when he was forced to withdraw when his troublesome back flared up. The 14-time Major winner has plummeted to 111th on the world rankings and is an outside chance at best to win this week.

The men to watch:

By our count only 15 of the 98 golfers in the field are any chance of winning – that's if you include Tiger. Here are the contenders:

The favourite:

World number one Rory McIlroy heads to Augusta as the bookies' pick to win his first Green Jacket. If he can do it he'll become just the sixth golfer to win a career grand slam. He has been close before, including his 2011 meltdown in the final round, and finished 8th last year.

Genuine contenders:

Defending champ Bubba Watson was built for Augusta and will win his third Green Jacket if he plays his best this week. Boom American Jordan Spieth almost won The Masters on his first attempt. He's equal second favourite with Watson and the form golfer on the planet. Aussie Jason Day has two top-three finishes at Augusta and is a genuine chance to match Adam Scott's 2013 victory. American Dustin Johnson has put his off-course troubles behind him – for now – and appears to be back to his best form in 2015. Scott has had a quiet start to the season but cannot be discounted as he takes his broomstick putter down Magnolia Lane for the last time before it is banned.

Don't write off these guys:

Henrick Stenson, Matt Kuchar, Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler, Sergio Garcia, Brandt Snedeker, Justin Rose and Charl Schwartzel cannot be discounted. We want to write of Tiger Woods and can't see him winning, but his name is still Tiger.

Sportal's predicted top three:

Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson.

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