The Masters is the most special golf tournament in the world, no matter who is playing in it. Part of the unique nature of this event is the emphasis put on the amateur contingent which competes every year. There has always been a charming, if mildly excessive, spotlight on an amateur contending and possibly winning this tournament. It won't ever happen, but it's an incredibly fun idea to consider.
To be fair, this runs both ways. Augusta loves its ams, and Charlie's golden ticket in "Willy Wonka" was likely less valuable than an invite to the first full week in April for most amateur golfers in the world. Golfers delay turning pro for several months just for a chance to tee it up at Augusta National. And why wouldn't you?
Visit SportsLine now to see who you can bank on to win the 2018 Masters and which long shots will make a run. Plus, we predict Tiger Woods' exact finish. All from the model that nailed three 2017 majors heading into the weekend.
The closest any amateur has come to winning this century is Casey Wittenberg, who back in 2004 shot an even-par 288 to place 13th. There have been three runners up in the event's history but none since 1961. Nevertheless, the dream exists until it doesn't, and we should look at the six amateurs contending in this year's Masters from most likely to win to least likely.
1. Joaquinn Niemann: Two years ago, Bryson DeChambeau got in the mix over the first few days of the tournament. He eventually cooled to finish T21, but the point here is that once every few years there is a golfer who can truly contend. This year it's the No. 1 amateur in the world Niemann. The Chilean won the Latin America Amateur Championship by five and is one of the players in the category I mentioned above; he will wait until after the Masters to turn pro. Niemann was planning on turning pro after the Latin America Amateur Championship, but a victory stymied that as he'll wait until after Augusta to start getting paid. He won nine (!) times in 2017.
2. Doug Ghim: The wrong player might have won last year's U.S. Amateur when Texas senior Ghim got upended by a scorching hot Doc Redman, who came back from two down with two to play to take home the trophy. Ghim had already qualified for this Masters just by making the finals, and he was chasing shots all over the back nine at Riviera (which was awesome to watch). Since that runner-up finish, though, Ghim has won a pair of amateur events and is all the way up to No. 4 in the amateur rankings.
3. Doc Redman: On the other hand, Redman just shot an 80 at the Jones Cup. Something similar happened to Brad Dalke last year on his runway to the Masters, and Dalke shot 78-75 to miss the cut. I think Redman, who is a sophomore at Clemson and just made the cut at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, will eventually be a good player on the PGA Tour. This week, however, he might be in a little deep.
4. Harry Ellis: The Amateur Championship winner from England is a junior at Florida State and ranked just behind Redman in the amateur rankings at 38th. He's a solid player but not in the class of somebody like Niemann. It would be a surprise if anybody outside the top two on this last made the cut, especially after Ellis shot 77-75 at The Open last year. Still, it's going to be an experience Ellis never forgets.
"It's a dream come true; it's the ultimate place to play golf and the ultimate tournament to be a part of," Ellis told National Club Golfer recently. "There are only six amateurs in the field. The important thing for me was to win the Amateur Championship. It was one of my goals because I thought it would be special to have the English and the British on the resume. To be a part of the Masters is very surreal."
5. Yuxin Lin: The 17-year-old will be the youngest player in the field, and he took the Asia-Pacific Amateur last fall with a 3-3-3 finish and course record 65 in the process. I love closers, and this left-handed stud, who will attend college at USC, appears to be just that. "I'm very, very, very happy that I can get a chance to play these majors," Lin said after his victory. "I'm actually very proud of myself to be able to do it. And for next year, I think I will just try to enjoy it as much as possible."The only Asian to ever win low amateur was Guan Tianlang, who shot 12-over 300 in 2013 at age 14.
6. Matt Parziale: This firefighter from Massachusetts makes Cinderella look like the 2015-18 Golden State Warriors. After winning the U.S. Mid-Amateur on a Sunday last summer, Parziale hopped on a flight to get back to his fire station in Massachusetts by Monday morning. If Parziale wins -- hell, if he contends -- a biopic will be in the works before the first tee shot is hit at Harbour Town the following week.
