With less than a week now to go until the first major of the year kicks off, it’s time to take a closer look at some of the leading contenders for the Masters. Taking course history, current form and the necessary skill sets into account, here are my top-10 power rankings. In case you missed it, here are those who filled positions 10-6.

5. Tiger Woods (14/1)

Can Tiger put it all together to capture his first green jacket in 14 years? The 43-year-old, while not setting the world on fire in terms of results in 2019, is heading to Augusta giving off the signs that he is ready to peak at just the right time. Woods has played his way out of contention at Augusta over recent years with his play off the tee. The American stands 67th this season for strokes gained: off the tee, which may not sound exceptional, but it’s the highest he’s stood in this department since 2012.

With his tee game looking solid, Woods possesses all the weapons to claim his 15th major, with the four-time Masters winner sitting T2 for Ball Striking in 2019. However, the caveat is that surprisingly Woods, who is the greatest iron player of his generation, has all of a sudden begun to struggle with his approach play. The 80-time winner on the PGA Tour produced his worst display with his irons post-2011 at the Players, and also struggled with his approaches at the WGC-Match Play. Before the Players, Woods led the field for strokes gained: approaching the green at the WGC-Mexico, so the current drop off in form in this area is hard to explain. If Woods can get back to that level of confidence with his irons by next week, then he has his best chance since 2013 of slipping on the green jacket.

4.  Justin Rose (14/1)

After agonizingly losing out in a playoff to Sergio Garcia in 2017, Justin Rose is still without a green jacket, and considering his course form at Augusta a win surely can’t be too far away. A regular fixture on the leaderboard, the Englishman has recorded five consecutive top-15 finishes at the event, and ominously sits in the top-25 in all significant strokes gained categories over his previous 24 rounds.

An elite ball-striker, you can almost bank on Rose’s long game being in fine fettle for the test at Augusta National. The fact that the course suits the 2013 US Open champion’s eye just makes his supreme level of play in that department even more dangerous. The issue with Rose at these big events usually comes down to his performance on the greens, and in 2019, Rose has looked sharp in this area. Rose sits T33 in strokes gained: putting for this season and heads to Augusta having gained strokes on the greens in three of his last four events. Putting confidently, Rose is sure to be in contention.

3. Rickie Fowler (20/1)

False dawn after false dawn has created even more pressure on Rickie Fowler to land a major championship, but at last year’s Masters, the American exercised plenty of demons. Fowler shot 67 at the Masters on Sunday of last year, and a clutch birdie at the last to heap the pressure on the eventual champion, Patrick Reed, proved to everyone that Fowler could handle the pressure. Fowler is currently in the thick of it at the Valero Texas Open where his game looks sharp after suffering a little cooling off period after winning in Phoenix and then finishing runner-up at the Honda Classic.

What Fowler did at the Phoenix Open is something that I feel gives him an advantage over the rest of the field. The 30-year-old, even amid chaos on that Sunday, put the tournament out of everyone’s reach with his dominant putting. Fowler gained 9.5 strokes over the field that week for strokes gained: putting, and of the dozen or so players that will truly believe they can win the Masters, Fowler is the one who can produce those numbers with the flat-stick. We’ve seen outrageously good putting performances in recent years at Augusta, from Spieth in 2015 to Reed last year, and Fowler possesses the stroke and calmness with the flat-stick to deliver a knockout performance and finally land that elusive major championship next week.

2. Rory McIlroy (7/1)

This season, Rory McIlroy has been sensational, finishing no worse than T6 in six stroke-play events, and closing out the Players Championship in spectacular style. The Ulsterman has been dominant off the tee, and his approach play has been excellent too. Over his previous 12 rounds, McIlroy sits first for strokes gained: off the tee, tee to green and ball striking, and seventh for strokes gained: approaching the green. The only question is, can the 29-year-old keep his cool with the whole world watching, and for the most part, expecting him to complete his grand slam dream?

As we all know by now, McIlroy melted under pressure as a 21-year-old at the 2011 Masters. Eight years on, and four major championship victories later, the Ulsterman is still in search of redemption at Augusta National to complete the set. Five successive top-10 finishes at the tournament show that he has more than got to grips with the place, and is ready to create history. His performance in the final group on Sunday of the event last year may have brought up some demons, where he semi-shanked his opening tee shot and failed to lay down any challenge to Patrick Reed. McIlroy, however, is a much better player than he was 12 months ago, and if he can somehow free himself from the burden of pressure and expectancy that is on him, then he may well be joining an elite group of players next week.

1.  Dustin Johnson (10/1)

With three top-10 finishes and one win from his last four stroke play events, Dustin Johnson is in the envious position of being in top-form while being out of the Masters spotlight. Despite not winning a green jacket yet, Johnson doesn’t have the scar tissue at the event which Rory McIlroy does, and with the 34-year-old merely looking for his second major win as opposed to grand slam glory, Johnson has escaped all attention and comes to Augusta almost under the radar.

In 2017 it was very different for the American, who came to Augusta in excellent form, winning event after event, with the entire world expecting him to dominate at that year’s Masters event. An accident on his rented house stairs that week put paid to his tournament, and last month Johnson described his recent play as being the closest to the form he displayed prior to that year’s championship since. Three consecutive top-10 finishes at Augusta National shows that it’s a track which Johnson has warmed to and all parts of his game are razor sharp as he bids to claim his first green jacket. Over his previous 12 rounds, Johnson leads next week’s field in strokes gained: total and approaching the green, and is second in ball striking and fourth in putting. With his game in exceptional shape and without the immense pressure which his main competitors are under, Johnson has everything in his favour in order to win the 2019 Masters.