There's one oddity entering this Masters, a real historical quirk: No golfer current ranked among the world's top 10 has won this tournament.
What’s so odd about that, sparky, you ask?
Well, it just doesn’t happen. Never before in the history of the world rankings — they were born in 1986 — has there not been at least one former Masters winner among the top 10 come the week of the tournament.
So, we’re saying there’s a very good chance that a very big name is going to have a breakthrough moment this next week? Very possibly, yes.
In the very first ranking of April, ’86, three of the top four — Bernhard Langer, Seve Ballesteros and Tom Watson — already owned Masters titles. And from there on it followed that somebody among the globe’s hottest golfers already had a Masters pedigree by this point in April. That was kind of a given when some guy named Tiger Woods practically homesteaded atop the rankings.
But now, Jordan Spieth and his wayward game have tumbled down the ladder. Woods is on the mend, rehabbing his ranking, but hasn’t quite returned to the top 10 since ending 2017 ranked 656th (he’s currently No. 12). Last year’s winner Patrick Reed hasn’t won anything since and stands 18th in the world.
Certainly, this anomaly speaks to a changing hierarchy of golf and an unsatisfied hunger among the new order to win one very old-fashioned green jacket.
Although getting any of these very accomplished players to admit that the Masters represents a gaping hole in their resumes is awfully tough. In some cases, it would be easier to get them to declare that cut-off jeans are the next big thing in golf fashion.
“Well I mean, it's just as important as not winning a U.S. Open or a British Open, to me,” poo-pooed Justin Thomas, who has one PGA Championship in the quiver. “(The Masters) is a major championship. It has the same weight as the other major championships in terms of World Ranking and FedExCup points, whatever it may be.”
Well, there are some in these parts who would regard the Masters a rank above the rest, taking a SEC-like stance and declaring, “It just means more.”
“I think it's just a coincidence that nobody in the top-10 has won the Masters,” Thomas continued. “It definitely speaks to the new wave of players. But the fact of the matter is it's just a coincidence that I haven't won a Masters or that Brooks (Koepka) or D.J. (Dustin Johnson) or Rosey (Justin Rose) haven’t. It very easily could have happened many times, but it just hasn't.”
No, it hasn’t. And that’s the point.
And in Thomas’ case, not only has he not won a Masters, he hasn’t even contended. He has finished no higher than 17th in three previous appearances.
Oh, there are plenty of other major titles among the current esteemed group. Six of the top 10 — No. 1 Rose, No. 2 Johnson, No. 3 Rory McIlroy, No. 4 Koepka, No. 5 Thomas and No. 7 Francesco Molinari — have between them five U.S. Opens, two British Opens and four PGA Championships. But not a Masters among the lot.
The others in the top 10 – No. 6 Bryson DeChambeau, No. 8 Jon Rahm, No. 9 Rickie Fowler and No. 10 Zander Schauffele — are all seeking their first major of any kind.
McIlroy has won the three other majors, and thus no green jacket is a particularly noticeable omission. Three-fourths of a career grand slam is nice, but it rings just the slightest bit incomplete, like three-fourths of a medical degree.
The most overdue among the bunch may be Rose, who is appearing in his 14th Masters. Losing in a playoff two years ago to Sergio Garcia, he has twice finished runner-up at Augusta.
“Listen, I haven't won three of the other majors. They're all holes at that point, the Masters no more than the others,” said Rose, winner of the 2013 U.S. Open and Olympic gold in 2016. “But of course I've come close at the Masters. And I've played golf capable of winning the Masters on both of those occasions. I wasn't really back-dooring my way into a second place; I was right there playing great golf against guys playing their best golf.”
A thoughtful bloke, Rose does get what the Masters represents apart from the other majors. And why winning this major carries a separate kind of significance.
“That's the one tournament that's maybe special to win based upon the fact that you get to go back to the same venue year upon year. All the other major championship venues rotate around, so winning the Masters gives you the opportunity for many years to walk down memory lane and be a significant part of that club,” he said.
“If you look at the skill sets of the guys at the top of the world rankings, Augusta really should suit most of us, to be honest with you,” Rose added.
“So, I would say that this year there's probably a very good probability that one of those guys will get it done.”
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