Masters Predictions 2017: Power Ranking Top 10 for Augusta

How quickly things can change. Last year at this time, Dustin Johnson, who was considered merely one of the best players on Tour without a major victory, entered the Masters with 20-to-1 odds. He was 10th in PGATour.com's Rob Bolton's power rankings and eighth in mine. But since finishing fourth at Augusta, he has made 20 official starts, tallying his first major win at the US Open, six overall victories and a ludicrous 15 Top-12 finishes. He's up to No. 1 in the world, he's the first player since 1976 to enter the Masters off three consecutive PGA Tour wins (two of which came at huge WGC events), and he's the clear favorite at 5-to-1 (full odds list here).

But while DJ feels like the clear leader of the pack heading into the year's first major at Augusta, the "pack" is consistently growing.

You have the obvious contenders in Jordan Spieth, Jason Day and Rory McIlroy, but the lines of the "Big 3" or "Big 4" (or whatever it is) are now blurred. Hideki Matsuyama and Justin Thomas have each won multiple times this year. Jon Rahm is no longer a future star because he's a present star. Rickie Fowler has looked unstoppable at times this year. Then there's the oncoming onslaught of European talent. Guys like Henrik Stenson, Adam Scott, Sergio Garcia and Justin Rose have been around a while, while young players such as Rahm, Tyyrell Hatton, Matthew Fitzpatrick and Thomas Pieters are now consistently making noise on the PGA Tour. And, oh yeah, there's Bubba Watson and Phil Mickelson, who have multiple wins at Augusta.

And, really, that still doesn't cover all the legitimate contenders in this year's field. It's been a long time since the sport has felt this loaded with stars, and it's going to make for a truly entertaining four days at Augusta.

With that in mind, you can click through the gallery for a ranking of my Top 10 contenders at the 2017 Masters. You can also head here for a rundown of top sleepers and value bets. (Getty)

1. Dustin Johnson

Odds: 5/1

Best Masters Finish: T4 (2016)

One of the strongest, most athletic players on Tour, Johnson has always been someone who could consistently pipe it 300 yards off the tee. But now that he's locked in with his irons (11th on Tour in strokes gained approaching the green, second in GIR percentage) and his putter (31st in strokes gained putting), he's practically unstoppable. Coming in with wins in three consecutive events, as well as Top-10 finishes in each of his last two trips to Augusta, there's no reason to call Johnson anything but the favorite. (Getty)

2. Jordan Spieth

Odds: 7/1

Best Masters Finish: Champion (2015)

Spieth's collapse at last year's Masters is something that most will never forget, but it shouldn't diminish his outlook at a spot where he has finished second, first and second in three starts. He's too mentally tough to let last year's slip affect him, and when it comes down to it, there is perhaps no course that fits any player better.

It also doesn't hurt that the 23-year-old is absolutely dialed in with his mid-range game now, ranking second in strokes gained approaching the green and first in GIR percentage, compared to 87th and 145th last season. (Getty)

3. Rory McIlroy

Odds: 15/2

Best Masters Finish: 4 (2015)

It's been a fairly quiet season for McIlroy, who missed nearly two months earlier this year with a significant rib injury. However, that's less of a concern considering how he's looked since his return, finishing seventh at the WGC-Mexico and fourth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

As always, the World No. 2's tee-to-green game is unmatched, with the exception of maybe DJ. But whether or not Rory--who has finished Top-10 here in three straight years--is able to finish off the career Grand Slam will come down to how he fares with the flatstick. (Getty)

4. Hideki Matsuyama

Odds: 20/1

Best Masters Finish: 5 (2015)

Between October and January, Matsuyama had one of the most dominant stretches in recent memory, tallying four victories, two runner-up finishes and one T6 across seven international tournaments. That run included a win at a WGC event, and a second-place finish at the Tournament of Champions, so it's not like he was strictly cleaning up on weak fields.

He has cooled off as of late, but the form he showed earlier in the year was just a reminder that it's only a matter of time before the World No. 4 captures his first major. Augusta, where he has Top-10 finishes in consecutive years, would be a fine place to do that. (Getty)

Rickie Fowler (Getty)

6. Jon Rahm

Odds: 18/1

Best Masters Finish: Hasn't Played

A year ago around this time, Rahm was playing in the ASU Thunderbird Invitational, a collegiate golf tournament. Now, he enters the world's biggest major with the fourth shortest odds, ahead of guys like Jason Day, Hideki Matsuyama, Justin Thomas and fellow Arizona State product Phil Mickelson.

It's been a remarkable ascent for Rahm, who has caught fire over the last couple months. After winning the Farmers Insurance Open in late January, he followed it up with a T16 at the Waste Management Open, a T5 at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, a T3 at the WGC-Mexico Championship and a runner-up in last week's WGC-Dell Match Play, taking Dustin Johnson to the wire in the final. The Spaniard ranks third on Tour in strokes gained tee to green, fourth in strokes gained overall, second in Par 4 scoring, 21st in GIR percentage and sixth in birdie-or-better percentage.

In other words, despite him having no experience at the Masters, it would be disrespectful to not include the talented 22-year-old with the way he's playing right now. (Getty)

7. Phil Mickelson

Odds: 25/1

Best Masters Finish: Champion (2004, 2006, 2010)

You know, this Mickelson guy is still pretty good. After a solid start to the season was interrupted by a couple of mediocre starts in February, Lefty returned back to form inside two strong fields, finishing seventh at the WGC-Mexico and seventh at the WGC-Dell Match Play. The 46-year-old is shaky off the tee, and he's just 199th in GIR percentage, but he has been lights out on the greens, ranking eighth in strokes gained via putting. And if you get hot on the greens at Augusta, that's going to take you a long way.

Also, it doesn't hurt that Phil has a pretty decent track record here, with three career wins and 15 Top-10's. He's actually missed the cut in two of the last three starts, but he still can't be overlooked at Augusta. (Getty)

8. Justin Thomas

Odds: 25/1

Best Masters Finish: T39 (2016)

Perhaps the ultimate boom-or-bust pick. Thomas, who ranks third in the FedEx Cup Standings behind only Johnson and Matsuyama and is first on Tour in birdie-or-better percentage, has undeniable upside. He gave a long glimpse of that in January, when he won back-to-back tournaments and fired a 59 in Hawaii. However, he has missed three cuts in six tournaments since that streak, while the lack of experience at Augusta (just the one start last year) also comes into play.

Ultimately, it wouldn't be surprising if the World No. 8 was on the leaderboard come Sunday. It also wouldn't be surprising if he wasn't playing on the weekend. (Getty)

9. Justin Rose

Odds: 28/1

Best Masters Finish: T2 (2015)

With four career Top-10 finishes and at least a T25 or better in six consecutive years at Augusta, Rose has oodles of comfort here. He also comes in with good form, having tallied a pair of Top-15's in his last three tournaments (not counting Shell Houston Open) and ranking 14th in birdie-or-better percentage.

If the veteran Englishman can find some consistency with his putter, the rest of his game is absolutely good enough to capture a Green Jacket. (Getty)

10. Tyrrell Hatton

Odds: 55/1

Best Masters Finish: Hasn't Played

Last year, Danny Willett, an Englishman, entered Augusta red-hot and ranked 12th in the world, but he had just 50-to-1 odds. This year, Hatton, an Englishman, enters Augusta red-hot (Top-20 in each of his last six tournaments) and ranked 15th in the world, but he has just 55-to-1 odds.

I'm not saying Hatton is going to repeat Willett's feat of winning the Green Jacket, but he needs to be in the conversation. He consistently plays well in North America (fourth at the Honda Classic, 10th at the WGC-Mexico, fourth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational), he proved last year he can perform on the major stage, finishing fifth at the Open Championship and 10th at the PGA Championship, and he has the all-around game (14th in strokes gained off the tee, sixth in strokes gained approaching the green and first in strokes gained putting) to excel at Augusta. (Getty)