How the 2008 Masters will play out

A local down in Augusta told me last week that they had been icing down the azaleas to keep them from blooming too soon.

Ahh…the profound embarrassment of premature foliation.

It’s been a hot spring in the land of Coke and peaches, and a volatile one. Remember the tornado in Atlanta?

Well, the volatile weather is going to make the 2008 Masters play out very strangely this year. Or at least, that’s what my crystal ball is telling me.

Thursday and Friday are forecast to be hot, with calm conditions on Thursday and a bit more wind on Friday. Saturday, all hell breaks loose with thunderstorms and a pretty serious cold front moving through. Sunday, the predicted high is only mid-50s, with winds upwards of 20 mph.

In other words, the winner this year is going to have to jump out to a great start, and then cling to the lead like grim death. No one’s going to come from behind, unless the leaders crumble so badly in the poor conditions over the weekend that some mudder shooting even par on Sunday stumbles into an unlikely win.

As for Saturday, play could be interrupted for hours — perhaps even all day — in which case the tourney might not wrap up until Monday. If so, then we might see someone make a charge on a wet, receptive course. If that does happen, it’ll be a long hitter who doesn’t need extra roll off the tee.

So who’s going to win?

Tiger and Phil are too easy to pick. Goosen’s got a chance as a dark horse (if a 2-time U.S. Open champ can be a dark horse).

But just to go out on a limb (and because I have no money riding on this), I’m going to pick Miguel Angel Jimenez. The guy plays well in majors, and he doesn’t seem to mind lousy conditions or waiting around during rain delays. Good putter, straight driver, long enough.

Besides, I want to see a 40-something native Spanish speaker with a ponytail don the green jacket. And I want just as much to watch the snooty members of Augusta National squirm in their padded seats.