Masters 2023 roundtable: Picks, storylines, favorite holes

It's Masters season again, and every time there's a major afoot, Yahoo Sports senior writer Jay Busbee and Yahoo Sports fantasy guru Scott Pianowski get to talking. Here, we'll talk picks, favorite holes and, of course, Tiger Woods.

BUSBEE: Scott, my friend, the wind is whispering through the tall pines, and the azaleas are in bloom. It's Masters season, and there's really nothing like it in all of sports. I'm here on-site, so I get the luxury of enjoying all this beauty up close (a job perk I never, ever take for granted). How about you? What about Masters week do you love the most?

PIANOWSKI: Because I've yet to view the Masters in person, I can't wax poetic about the lovely stuff you fall in love with on the site. So my Masters footprint is about what I've seen on TV, what I read and what I've rewatched (so much joyous rewatching). It boasts the best collective history of any tournament by far, and so much of that is the framing from CBS. Pat Summerall and Ken Venturi and Verne Lundquist (Maybe ... Yes, sir!) and Ben Wright and Jim Nantz, and on it goes.

I love that every hole has a unique name (note that I have a cat named Hollis — Holly, if you will — though it's a nod to Run-DMC, not Augusta National). I love the legends hitting the opening shots Thursday. I love the par-3 contest, plus the legend that some players would rather intentionally dunk it on No. 9 than win the contest and perhaps jinx their chances in the real event.

BUSBEE: So let's get to it ... who's your guy, and who are you fading?

PIANOWSKI: The Masters is usually a tournament for overdogs, not underdogs, with its small field and particular course design. So it's difficult to fade anyone with star power, but I like Jon Rahm the least of the Big 3. He doesn't have quite the same equanimity as Scottie Scheffler (does anyone?), and Rory McIlroy's the best driver in the world right now, and that's a gigantic advantage here, especially if the rains bring as much havoc as expected. If I have to eliminate one of the Big 3, I look away from Rahmbo.

BUSBEE: Let's talk LIV. How will the breakaway players fare in their first event with a cut all year?

PIANOWSKI: I wish LIV would just go away. Nobody ever went broke betting against Greg Norman. (I find it hilarious that LIV events are 54 holes; Norman was famous for hating Sundays more than paperboys and the town drunk.) It's exhibition golf more than it is competitive golf. Cam Smith admitted that he's not close to his sharpest right now, and I'm sure he's not alone.

Dustin Johnson should always contend here. He's longer than detention, and his short game came around in the second half of his career. But I have questions about his form and motivations. He won't be in my props or on my DFS lineups.

BUSBEE: Take me through your favorite spot on the course.

PIANOWSKI: The entire course is a delight, but you can't pick favorites without looking at Amen Corner. The 11th is a beast of a par-5, the 12th is the most devilish par-3 you ever did see, and then the 13th, Azalea, is a classic risk-reward par-5 (the site of the Fred Couples "Oh, baby" shot; Couples also had a classic memory at No. 12 eight years earlier). You have the Hogan Bridge on 12, the Nelson Bridge on 13. Water comes into play. It's as good as golf gets.

If you press me for one pick, give me 13. But it's like the medley on Side 2 of Abbey Road — it's meant to be played together, in order. Some great things can't be separated.

BUSBEE: Give me your picks at all the tiers. Can't go Big 3 all the way!

PIANOWSKI: Rory is the favorite I'll bet on. His profile is perfect for the course, and he's in good form. Plus he's owed a freaking major after last year's near-misses. Max Homa is my favorite of the midtier guys, a ball-striking machine and creative scrambler who has the nerve to win big events. And my favorite long-shot props are tied to Bernhard Langer making the cut and perhaps getting into the Top 40 or Top 20. No golfer has ever coaxed more out of his ability than Langer. He knows every blade of grass here. He will not be spooked when his playing partners bomb it 70 yards past him. He knows who he is. Langer, of course, would likely fare better on a dry track.

BUSBEE: You know we gotta ask ... Tiger Woods. Assessment, please.

PIANOWSKI: I'm worried the weather won't help Tiger. He admits the walk is challenging for him — what a drag it is getting old — and this is one of the sneaky-hilly tracks in all of golf. If the weather is rainy and cold on the weekend, I don't like that for Tiger. I suspect he survives the cut on guts and guile and then is a 75-74 guy the final two rounds. I take no joy saying that. Golf is obviously much better when Tiger is relevant.

BUSBEE: What's your dream scenario for the final round?

PIANOWSKI: The final round? Let's shoot for the moon. Rory over Scheffler in a one-shot classic, dropping a 20-footer on 18. Maybe it's the Mark O'Meara putt.

There you have it. Enjoy the tournament, friends!