US Masters / Paul Krishnamurty / 26 March 2008 /

Paul Krishnamurty runs the rule over Rose, Harrington, Donald and Westwood as Augusta approaches

JUSTIN ROSE

The highest ranked European, Rose has been in the spotlight ever since making the places at Royal Birkdale in the 1998 Open whilst still an amateur. He took a long time to start fulfilling the hype that surrounded him after immediately turning pro, but well and truly came of age in 2007. Despite spending almost the entire season across the Atlantic and only winning once, Rose won the European Tour money list from just 12 starts - an unprecedented achievement.

That golden run began with fifth place at last year's Masters, when he'd looked a strong contender right through till the last, and continued throughout all four Majors where his worst finishing position was just 12th. Nor was that the first time he'd shown promise at Augusta, having held the first-round lead on the second of three visits back in 2004.

On the downside, Rose has yet to produce the same level of form this term and worryingly has been affected by a niggling back injury. Nevertheless, he's been working hard over recent weekends and could well peak at just the right time.

VERDICT: Well capable of winning a Major in due course, and clearly likes Augusta. Certainly one of the most obvious candidates for Top European.
ODDS: [42.0]

* * *

PADRAIG HARRINGTON

Having ended his own, and indeed Europe's long Majors hoodoo by winning last year's Open at Carnoustie, the next target for this extremely popular Irishman must be to win a Major across the pond. A notorious workaholic, strong in every area of the game, there's no reason why he can't achieve it.

Surprisingly though for a player with a magical touch around the greens, Harrington's Augusta record is nothing out of the ordinary. In eight attempts, he's only made the top-10 twice, with a never-challenging fifth the best of those.

Furthermore, though he's played fairly well so far this year, Harrington has yet to hit last season's heights. Then again, that could turn out to be a blessing in disguise as in years gone by, he's been known to peak a week or two ahead of the main event.

VERDICT: Certainly capable, but has never seriously suggested in the past that he was about to conquer Augusta. Others make more appeal at around the same odds.
ODDS: [36.0]

* * *

LUKE DONALD

The second-highest Englishman in the world rankings, and another who has carried a big reputation almost from the moment he turned professional. Despite consistently reaching the upper echelons of the leaderboard, Donald has one glaring weakness that seems likely to prevent him ever breaking into the elite. His problem is a lack of driving distance compared to most of the top players.

As there is a widely held view that Augusta favours the long-hitters, one might therefore expect the Masters to be Luke's weakest Major though in fact the exact reverse is true. Whereas his overall Majors record is unimpressive, Luke has a perfectly respectable 3rd/42nd/10th record in this event. As with Zach Johnson's shock win last year, this suggests that quality long-iron play is of equal importance to driving distance around Augusta.

However, as anyone who reads the Betfair forum will appreciate, Donald is not exactly the punters' favourite. That's the inevitable consequence of throwing away a number of great winning opportunities and looking slightly weak under pressure in the process. Nevertheless he's been in good form again this year, with top-three finishes at the Honda Classic and Northern Trust Open.

VERDICT: Not a player you'd have the mortgage on in a play-off, but extremely reliable as far as place and match betting is concerned.
ODDS: [60.0]

* * *

LEE WESTWOOD

For a man who's won 26 times around the globe, Lee Westwood's record in the Major championships is bitterly disappointing. The only time he even challenged here was way back nine years ago. On that occasion, Amen Corner took his scalp and Lee confessed to nerves during what was a new experience for a then raw player. There's no good reason for this persistent failure in the biggest events. He's got a fine all-round game and bottle to die for. Nor is it stagefright in the big events - he will go down as one of the greatest Ryder Cup players of all time.

Westwood has been very up and down over the years, with as many dire seasons as he's had great ones. Currently though, he's enjoying his best run on the European Tour since winning the Order of Merit eight years ago. He won twice last summer, and has made the top-10 in each of his last eight European events.

He's certainly long overdue a run at a Major, and will surely contend for one soon. My only doubt about Augusta is whether he's a good enough putter on greens as fast as this.

VERDICT: Has the bottle, the game and is a tasty price, but needs to massively improve on his Augusta and Majors record in general.
ODDS: [110.0]

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