US Masters / Paul Krishnamurty / 05 April 2009 /

Paul Krishnamurty assesses the Augusta hopes of the leading British candidates.

It's been 13 long years since Nick Faldo landed his third Masters title, becoming the seventh European winner in nine years in the process. At the time, it was widely assumed that this was the one US major where European players could compete on at least level terms with the US players, and nobody could have predicted the misery that would follow. No European has won since Faldo, and Britain's record is particularly dire. None of our players have put up a serious challenge, and incredibly we've managed just two top-five finishes during that period.

There is no obvious explanation for this repeated failure. Perhaps there was a spell around the turn of the century when there was a lack of world-class domestic challengers, but that certainly isn't the case anymore. In fact, I doubt UK golf has ever been able to boast such strength in depth. It seems to me that this is one run that has to end soon, and looking through our numerous challengers, 2009 could well be the year.

In the long run, Northern Irish teenager Rory McIlroy looks a probable champion, but as I've argued elsewhere, winning on his debut would surely be a miracle too far. For my money, our best chance lies with Paul Casey, currently available at the very appealing odds of [50.0]. Casey's four previous visits to Augusta offer plenty of potential. Many marked him down as a future champ when finishing sixth on his debut back in 2004, and top-11 finishes in each of the last two years confirm his suitability for the test.

In my view, Casey has shown significant improvement in the 12 months since a disappointing final day ruined what appeared an excellent chance to land his breakthrough major. So far in 2009, he's won the prestigious Abu Dhabi Championship and reached the final of the WGC Matchplay. His long game has been exemplary, and when the putter gets hot he looks as good as anyone in the world. Furthermore, amongst the Brits, Casey looks the most confident on US soil, perhaps because he went to college there and is married to an American.

Luke Donald and Justin Rose are also well settled in the States, and both have strong Augusta credentials. Though Donald has generally disappointed in the majors so far, this is the exception, having finished third on his debut and a fairly close 10th two years ago. However, there is a nagging doubt that Donald hasn't fully recovered from a wrist injury that curtailed his 2008 campaign.

Rose is not an easy player to predict. The leading European by far in 2007, and winner of the Order of Merit from an impressively small number of starts, he's only rarely shown glimpses of that ability since. Nevertheless, there has been the odd good week recently, most notably when runner-up in the Dubai Desert Classic, and we know he loves the Augusta test. Fifth place in 2007 could have been so much better with a little luck on the final day. Anyone playing the 'First Round Leader' market should also be aware that Rose has finished round one in at least a tie for the lead on his last three visits to Augusta.

The other two obvious English contenders are Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter. Both came close to winning their first major title last year; Westwood missing out on the US Open play-off by a single shot, and Poulter finishing second at the Open. Neither have ever really stood out as likely Masters winners though. Westwood has only two top-20s from nine visits, while Poulter's best from four is just 13th.

Finally, highly promising debutants Ross Fisher and Oliver Wilson also both deserve a mention, as they could well challenge for this major in the years ahead. However, as Augusta is a course where experience matters more than perhaps any other, just a top-20 finish would be a creditable achievement.

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