US Masters / Paul Krishnamurty / 07 April 2009 /

Paul Krishnamurty believes that the Goose's timely return to form makes him a golden shout in the rest of the world market.

Perhaps the most wide open market at this year's Masters is the race to be the top 'Rest of the World' player. Put simply, this means any nationality other than European or American. The fact that we still have such a market owes more to the past, when golf was largely dominated by the Ryder Cup combatants. Nowadays, as the growth in stature of the Presidents Cup testifies, golf has gone truly global and there are contenders from every corner of the world at Augusta this time around.

Recent years have seen this market dominated by South Africans, who have won four of the last five. Trevor Immelman, Tim Clark and Ernie Els all won the market outright, while Rory Sabbatini and Retief Goosen were tied in 2007. Even in 2006, when the result was a six-way dead-heat, two were South Africans.

Those five once again dominate their country's challenge, but none could exactly be described as being in peak form. Els ([7.0] in the Rest of the World Market and [44.0] in the outright winner), one of the best players never to win a Masters, looks a pale shadow of his former self, and has struggled badly in the last four Masters. Ernie's once magical putting touch appears to have deserted him; a weakness nobody can afford at Augusta.

Immelman's ([10.0] and [130.00]) triumph was one of the biggest priced upsets of 2008, and while it confirmed his liking for Augusta, there's been very little in the way of top-class form since.

Goosen ([4.5] and [27.0]) , who has just won the Transitions Championship, looks the most interesting. That win marked the end of a couple of years in the doledrums, and bodes well for the summer. Twice a US Open winner, Goosen's record in all the majors is pretty impressive, and the Masters is no exception. He hasn't finished outside the top-20 in any of the last seven Masters, making the top three on four occasions.

The Australian challenge seems to get stronger with every year, but the Masters remains their weakest major. The only Aussies to land a top-5 finish at Augusta this century were Rod Pampling and Mark Hensby, who were both tied for a distant third in 2006. This year, they can boast one of the favourites in Geoff Ogilvy.

Beyond Ogilvy [22.0 to win], the other leading Aussie candidates; Adam Scott [110.00], Robert Allenby [150.00]and Stuart Appleby [150.00]; are hard to fancy having persistently failed in this major.

An increasingly strong Asian challenge is led, as usual, by Vijay Singh ([10.0] to be the top rest of the world player and [95.0] to win), but the best player ever to emerge from that continent is no certainty to finish as their highest placed candidate. Champion in 2000, Vijay has a superb record in the event; never finishing outside the top-20 this century; and showed in last season's Fedex Cup race that he is still a match for the very best at the age of 46. However, he's been well below that form in 2009.

Korean star KJ Choi ([10.0] and [130.00]), seven times a PGA Tour winner already, must now rate as one of the best non-major winners out there, and having finished third in 2004, Augusta looks as likely a venue as any for that breakthrough. There are few better value [120.00] chances on offer.

At a huge price, I wouldn't completely write off Jeev Milkha Singh ([16.0] and [250.00]) to strike a blow for one of the world's emerging golfing nations; India. Well-known to European Tour fans, Jeev has stepped up a gear in the past 12 months and started to make an impact in the big Stateside events. Twenty-fifth here last year was his best ever major performance, though he went on to improve on that by making the top-10 in the PGA at Oakland Hills, and also finished fourth at the recent WGC-CA Championship. The key to all of those successes was his love of fast greens; an attribute that suggests Singh could fare even better as he gains more experience of Augusta.

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