How This Could Be a Masters Unlike Any Other

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Legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus hits a ceremonial first tee shot during the first round of the Masters golf tournament on Thursday.

OK, sure, Jack Nicklaus's victory 25 years ago at the 1986 Masters is legend.

It had everything a fan could want: an unexpected charge by the game's greatest player ever—at age 46, no less. There were final-round challenges by other stars at their peaks, including Seve Ballesteros, Greg Norman and Tom Kite. Birdies, eagles and roars echoed through the azalea-bedecked vales.

But enough about that. What would it take for this year's tournament, or any Masters, to be just as memorable?

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Will Phil Mickelson be putting the green jacket on Dustin Johnson on Sunday?

It's hard to imagine any aging hall-of-famer making a charge like Nicklaus in '86. The only conceivable candidate might be two-time Masters winner Tom Watson, who finished 18th last year and, of course, nearly won the British Open two summers ago. Watson can still hit the ball just far enough to compete at Augusta National, even at its modern length of 7,435 yards. But he'd have to putt supernaturally for four rounds, defying his 61-year-old nerves, to make a bona-fide run.

A second Masters win by the bountifully long Fred Couples, 51, would be nearly as popular, but his back is in much worse shape than it was last year when he finished sixth. Davis Love III, 46, and Vijay Singh, 48, are in the field, but an improbable victory by either still wouldn't approach the transcendent quality of Nicklaus in '86.

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In fact, any win by an older guy, other than Watson or Phil Mickelson, 40, would be more of a splendid asterisk than a reflection of the state of golf. "Golf these days is a young man's game," Nick Faldo said Tuesday when I asked him about the prospect of an over-40 winner. "Given the way they've lengthened the course in the last decade and the nature and power of the talent out there, you're probably going to see mostly guys in their 20s or early 30s contending."

Even if there's little hope the 2011 Masters could match the special ingredients of '86, it could still be a thrilling affair. Here's a blueprint:

Round One

Jhonattan Vegas, the charismatic 26-year-old Tour rookie from Venezuela, shoots a seven-under-par 65 to grab the first round lead, in part by hitting every par-five green in two shots. He's goaded on by his playing partners, Gary Woodland of the U.S. and Spain's Alvaro Quiros, who together comprise arguably the longest-hitting threesome in Masters history. Phil Mickelson shoots a credible 70, but a trio of young long-bombing Americans, Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson and Nick Watney, each score two strokes better.

Round Two

Rory McIlroy, 21, has the round of the day. His 63, which includes a string of five birdies followed by an eagle on 15, ties the course record. Only a twitchy three-putt on eighteen keeps him from matching the final-round 62 he shot last year on his way to victory at Quail Hollow. "Is the prodigy from Northern Ireland finally ready to meet his destiny?" Jim Nantz intones. Faldo, also on TV, takes McIlroy to task for shooting at pins unnecessarily, rather than at the safe quadrants of the greens. "I'm glad it worked out for the young lad," he adds. Tiger Woods recovers from an erratic opening-round 74 to shoot a bogey-free 68. Asked afterwards if he feels his game is still "progressing," he stares down a reporter and spends the next three hours on the range with his coach, Sean Foley.

Round Three

Martin Kaymer, the world No. 1, makes his move with a 64. A natural left-to-right fader, he's been working for months on getting comfortable with a right-to-left draw, specifically for Augusta where he's suffered three cuts in three tries. Eight of the 14 full-out tee shots here favor a draw. It's not that he can't hit a draw, he says, only that he needs to feel more comfortable. On Saturday, the draw kicks in.

Kaymer's total is 10-under, two shots behind the co-leaders, Mickelson and McIlroy, and one behind Johnson and Watney. Vegas and last year's U.S. Open champ Graeme McDowell stand a shot behind Kaymer, three off the lead. They're tied there with Luke Donald and Bubba Watson, whose games and scorecards could hardly be more different. Donald, a short hitter who nevertheless ranks No. 2 on Tour in making birdies or better on par-fives, has only two bogeys for the tournament against 11 birdies. Watson, a booming free-wheeler who curves his shots based on the way he's feeling at the moment, has 15 birdies and two eagles, but a mess of bogeys and double-bogeys. World No. 2 Lee Westwood, Justin Rose and Ryo Ishikawa are another shot back. Woods is out of contention.

Round Four

The final round is yours to imagine, but I'd suggest the ultimate winner should shoot 32 or better on the back nine Sunday—and that someone else should shoot 30. I'd also suggest, for a lesson to the youngsters, that McIlory fall apart. His aggressive approach shots should start missing by a few critical feet, rolling into various creeks and rough patches.

Watney, on the other hand, ought to build on his fine putting performance from a victory at Doral last month—and also learn from his scalding in last year's PGA Championship final round, when, he said Tuesday, everything sped up for him.

Mickelson, Kaymer and a few of the others—maybe their putting is a fraction off. The winner at a tightly-contested Masters is usually the player who makes more mid-length putts down the stretch. This year that could be Donald, though he's never come through convincingly in majors.

My choice for a wildly boffo finish would be a duel to the death between Watson and Johnson. Both are young, unpredictable, immensely talented players who could easily feed off the roars in Amen Corner.

And I'd recommend Johnson for the green jacket. With his fearlessness and native ability, he strikes me as the most likely among the new crop of stars to win multiple majors.

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