The 79th Masters golf tournament tees off this Thursday at the Augusta National Golf Club. As an avid golf fan and the number one golfer on the Holyoke High team, here’s who I think you should be on the lookout for.

1. Rickie Fowler – Some may not agree with this, but my number one pick for the 2015 Masters is Rickie Fowler. When most see Rickie they get distracted by the flashy clothes and aggressive way of playing golf, but behind all of that is and extremely talented 26 year old golfer. Rickie still only has one win to his name coming out of the 2012 Wells-Fargo Championship.

However, last year after being self-taught for nearly all his life, Fowler teamed up with Butch Harmon and his game has evolved greatly. The most impressive part of this major change for Fowler is that he finished top five in all four major championships last year, including two runners up finishes. Fowler has also seemed to be very fond of Augusta National in past years, always commenting on how much he loves the course and even putting up some good finishes over the years. Rickie hasn’t had that stunning of a season up to this point, but I expect him to continue this trend in the majors and maybe be the man putting on the Green Jacket this Sunday.

2. Jordan Spieth – Jordan Spieth is what some call the “next great American golfer”. Spieth is only 21 years old and already has two wins to his name, one of which came 3 weeks ago at the Valspar Championship. Spieth has had a very successful 2015 thus far and hopes to continue his stellar play at Augusta National. Last year in Spieth’s first masters as a professional, he found himself in contention and even with the lead on Sunday afternoon, but the pressure proved to be too great on the back nine for the 20 year old, and he unfortunately walked away without the Green Jacket, but with a whole lot of experience. After a hot start to this year and such a good performance for the young man at last year’s Masters, it looks like he is set up for a great performance and possibly his first major championship ever.

3. Patrick Reed – After self-proclaiming himself to be one of the top five players in the world last year, Patrick Reed has certainly proved through not only his words but through his golf game that he is worthy of that title. The 2014 season proved to be a great year for Reed and he shocked everyone with 3 wins including a WGC and also represented the USA in his first ever Ryder Cup. As for 2015 he got off to a very hot start winning The Hyundai Tournament of Champions and already has 3 Top Ten’s to his name. With his confidence, Reed has proved that he isn’t afraid to hit a great shot under pressure and step up when everything is on the line.

4. Rory McIlroy – When selecting the players to watch for at the Masters it’s almost impossible to not think of Rory McIlroy. At only 25 years of age, Rory is the number one golfer in the world and has a stellar resume that includes 9 PGA tour wins, 4 major championship wins, and many other awards that have been given to the young golfer over the years. Rory has been a little quiet on the PGA tour this year, only having 1 Top Ten but you can be sure that McIlroy will arrive at Augusta National with his A-game.

Augusta has proven to be a good fit for Rory’s game that have led to many low rounds and close calls, including a major heartbreak in 2011 when he entered the final round in the lead. The Masters is the one major that Rory has not yet won and it’s a fact that he wants it just as bad as anyone in the field. Maybe this will be the year where the young Rory McIlroy will slip on his first Green Jacket following the Masters.

5. Bubba Watson – After a great performance last year that led to Watson getting his second Green Jacket, there is no way I can count him out of my list. This course has seemed to fit Bubba very well over the years as he’s collected two victories and has made the cut in all of his six appearances at Augusta National. Watson’s massive distance and wide variety of shots allow him to attack the course in a very different way than most players would. Be sure to look for Bubba on the leaderboard when Sunday afternoon comes up because he loves the drama and can come up with some clutch shots at the right moment.