by Fairway Jay, team handicapper at www.sportsmemo.com

While Bill Murray had a memorable line about "a Cinderella story" at the Masters in the movie "Caddyshack", the tournament hasn't produced too many underdog victors over the years. Other majors can routinely produce some obscure champions like Ben Curtis and Shaun Micheel. Of course, the other three Grand Slam events are played on different courses on a yearly basis. The Masters is the only major that is played on the same course every year. The layout of Augusta National has more often than not led to the cream of the crop rising to the top on Sunday afternoon. Legends Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer combined to win ten Green Jackets by overpowering foes who could not match the big drives from Jack and Arnie at Augusta. The combination of power and skill is still producing champions two decades after Nicklaus won his last Masters title.

Golf's current "Big 5" of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Ernie Ells, and Retief Goosen have been all over the Masters leader board in this decade. Woods, Mickelson, and Singh have combined to win six of the seven Masters titles since 2000. While some no-names typically pop up on Masters leader boards on Thursday and Friday, they usually disappear by the back 9 of Saturday's 3rd round. It is at about this time every year when golf's best usually make a charge to the top of the leader board. When 72 holes are completed at Augusta, the "Cinderella" golfers from Thursday and Friday are absent from the final leader board. The "Big 5" have produced some solid and consistent results since 2000:

Woods-3 Wins,5 Top 5's
Mickelson-2 Wins, 7 Top 10's
Singh-1 Win, 6 Top 10's
Ells-5 Top 10's
Goosen- 3 Top 5's

So, if you are looking for a long shot to back this week, you might not get much bang for the buck. The remaining three Grand Slam events will likely provide some better opportunities to find some live underdogs. The Masters is the ultimate tournament for golf's best of the best to shine.