US Masters / Tareq Quiroz / 26 March 2010 /

Tareq Quiroz's heard enough hype and is putting his faith in proven ability over promise with his main bet at Augusta

With just a couple of weeks until the year's first major excitement is building for what should be a cracking Masters. There are so many things going on in the world of golf right now that you just don't know where to put your money but on this side of the pond a lot of bullish folk are predicting a European success.

There is no doubt that Europe is currently blessed with some amazing talent and the youngsters coming through are as good as any anywhere in the world. However, as good as they are do you really see one of them slipping into the green jacket on Sunday evening?

I like the lad McIlroy(currently [44.0] and rising to win the Masters). He is a nice young fella who comes across very well. But as a punter I am only interested in his golf game. He has been consistently very good up until the last month or so but even when he was at his best he lacks the killer instinct. Nice gets you nowhere on the back nine of a major. If you are in contention at that point then it is not your golf game that gets you over the line it is your will to win. I have yet to see that glint in the eye that says I am going to win from McIlroy and until I do he is unbackable in any major.

One of my favourite players is Germany's Martin Kaymer ([48.0]). Now this guy is the real deal. He has the game to get to number one in the world but he is still learning what US golf is all about and that is one of the frustrating things about the European Tour players. It takes them so long to learn how to win in the US. Which is very strange as many of them went to college in the US so it's not as if they don't know the style of golf out there. Kaymer is no different in so much as that he looks like he is still learning what it takes. Well, he had better learn fast as there are only four majors a year and every year there is a new crop of hotshots to beat.

There will be a lot of media attention on these young guns in the build up to the Masters but despite all their hype it isn't them that hold the key to Europe's hope of victory. That clearly comes in the form of three time major winner Padraig Harrington ([22.0] fourth favourite). He doesn't come with any razzamatazz but he sure does have the goods to win the big ones.

What Padraig has achieved in the past few years has been remarkable but his greatest feat is pulling the wool over the media's eyes. He has convinced the world that he is nothing more than a determined work horse, that he doesn't have as much as talent as others but he works hard to get the most out of his game. Total rubbish. It is designed to deflect attention off him and it has worked a treat. You don't win three majors without having a world class all-round game.

The notion that all Padraig can do is scramble is laughable. He hits it longer than most and as is the case with most big bombers they miss a lot of fairways. The genius Irishman is in good nick at the moment and for me there is no doubt that he holds the key to Europe's hopes in this year's US Masters.

One of the greatest lines from the blockbuster movie The Usual Suspects is when Kevin Spacey claims "The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist"...well for me the greatest trick Padraig ever pulled is to convince the world he doesn't have game! And just like that. He's won three majors! I will take the odds of [22.0] to say he is fooling them all again as sinks the winning putt on the final day at this year's US Masters.

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