In less than 24 hours, they'll be teeing off at Augusta for the 2016 Masters.  With the year's first major upon us, we asked five of our golf-savvy staffers for their predictions on who will win, what sleeper will emerge as a surprise contender, what so-called favorite will end up disappointing, what amateur will fare the best and what the low round of the weekend will be. Their predictions are below.  (Hint: Bet on Jason Day and not Rory McIlroy.)  Winner: Jason Day. I said it in my rankings piece, but Day's putting has been the key to his success starting last year at St. Andrews. He's coming in red-hot, he's got all the confidence in the world and he finally knows how to win a major coming down the stretch. If anyone is going to run away with this Masters, it's going to be Jason Day, and that's why I'm riding the hot hand.  Sleeper: Danny Willett. He had his first solid finish at a major at the Open Championship a year ago, and it seems the 28-year-old Englishman continues to be more and more confident with his game as he moves up the world rankings. His first Masters was a year ago, where he finished T-38, and I expect a much better finish than that in 2016.  Disappointment: Rory McIlroy. I think of the Big Three or Big Four, Rory is the most likely to struggle, mainly because of how inconsistent he has been at times this year and how confused he seems to be with the putter (he's switched to cross-hand and it's worked great at times, and been ugly others).  Low amateur: Bryson DeChambeau. Considering I think DeChambeau could make a legit run at not only contending at this major but winning it, this is an easy pick for me. He's spent his entire year researching to get ready for this week, and after watching him at the U.S. Amateur, I think his game is the real deal.  Low round: 67. The forecast keeps saying it's going to rain and Bubba Watson said the greens already look a little more like they do on the weekend and not earlier in the week, so I'm going to go a little high.  Four out of five predictors think this is not going to be a good weekend for Rory McIlroy.  Winner: Justin Rose. Rose's last five Masters: T11, T8, T25, T14, T2. The Masters, more than any tournament, rewards those who know it the best. (For the obvious reason they play it on the same course every year.) Rose solved the mystery last year, but there was a better detective on the case in Jordan Spieth. This time, look for Rose to stay near the top of the leaderboard and then make a Sunday climb like he did in winning the 2013 U.S. Open, except that day involved shooting even par and watching the field come back to him. This Sunday he'll need to drop some putts on the back.  Sleeper: Hideki Matsuyama. The untold story over the past 10 years at Augusta is that it really didn't set up well for Tiger Woods' game. The cut fade he plays doesn't really fit the course (while it does perfectly for the left-handed Bubba Watson). The course does fit the towering shots of the young Japanese player Matsuyama, who also has a soft putting stroke that'll help him on the concrete greens of Augusta.  Disappointment: Rory McIlroy. How long will Rory hold onto that shot at No. 10, which was, amazingly, five years ago? He bottomed out the year after and has gotten better every year since, culminating with a fourth-place finish last year in an unwinnable tournament. But if it's Sunday and he's standing over a key shot at Amen Corner, will that disaster flicker into his head? Have you seen Phil Mickelson at the U.S. Open over the past decade, the memories of Winged Foot still dancing around in his head?  Low amateur: Bryson DeChambeau. You win the U.S. Amateur, you're the favorite at Augusta. Let's call it the Tiger Rule.  Low round: 65. Bill Haas, a former FedEx Cup champion and all-around solid golfer, has never been great at Augusta (last year's T12 was his best) but he's a streaky golfer who always has a low-round lurking somewhere. It's not hard to see him sneaking under the cut line and then going low on Saturday before the leaders go off.  Winner: Jordan Spieth. We haven't seen a golfer win back-to-back Masters since Tiger Woods in 2001 and 2002, but there's no reason to think the 22-year-old Spieth can't or won't join the club. Spieth had the lead going into Sunday in 2014 (he finished second) and led wire-to-wire last year, tying a tournament record at -18. Spieth hasn't exactly been himself through eight tournaments this year, to the point where he recently ceded his No. 1 ranking to Jason Day, but Augusta seems like a perfect venue for a return to form.  Sleeper: Matt Kuchar. His tie for 46th in 2015 notwithstanding, Kuchar has been a staple in the Top 10 at Augusta over the last few years, with a 2012 tie for third, a 2013 tie for eighth and a 2014 tie for fifth to his name. His missed cut at Bay Hill in March doesn't exactly inspire confidence, but he's hovered around the Top 15 for most of his starts this year (including a tie for second at the Franklin Templeton Shootout that started with a first-round 58) and could have his sights on his first major win at a course that jives with his game.  Disappointment: Rory McIlroy. The Masters is the only major McIlroy has yet to win, and while he'll be one of the handful of favorites when the tournament tees off Thursday, his career Grand Slam will have to wait. McIlroy has already shown how singular his focus is, opting to skip Wednesday's Par 3 Contest to focus on the big one, but he gets bit by a dreadful day virtually every year (a second-round 77 in 2014, a third-round 79 in 2013, a 77 and 76 on Saturday and Sunday in 2012 after entering the weekend one shot off the lead, etc.). I'm no longer giving him the benefit of the doubt until he proves he's capable of avoiding a championship-killing stinker.  Low amateur: Bryson DeChambeau. Not the most imaginative pick here, but DeChambeau is the prohibitive favorite among the six amateurs in the field. In winning both the 2015 U.S. Amateur and NCAA individual title, the 22-year-old SMU product joined an elite class that includes Jack Nicklaus, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods (and Ryan Moore, but whatever). DeChambeau's limited major history isn't stellar, as he missed the cut at last year's U.S. Open, but he'll be paired with Spieth the first and second rounds at Augusta in a group that will be a must-watch.  Low round: 63. The course record at Augusta is 63, a mark that has gone unmatched since 1996, when Greg Norman's first round matched Nick Price's 1986 third round for the best single-round Masters score of all time (Price had a birdie putt lip out on 18, otherwise he'd be alone at 62). However, this is the year someone else joins the list. Last year, Spieth opened with a first-round 64 even with a bogey on the par-5 15th, and if he's going to win a second straight green jacket anyway, he might as well tie a record in the process.  Bryson DeChambeau, the amateur star to watch this weekend.  Winner: Jason Day. This could be the hardest year in quite some time to pick a winner, or it could be the easiest. What does that mean? There seem to be so many guys that could win this thing, but in reality there's one guy who, if he plays like he's been playing lately, could run away with it. And that guy is the new No. 1 player in the world -- Day. So yes, I'm going with the favorite. But whatever, he's been on a roll for like the past year.  Sleeper: Paul Casey. Look out for Casey. He had two top-10 finishes before battling an illness at the Match Play. He finished T6 here last year. Could he win it? I don't think so. But he could definitely be a contender on Sunday afternoon.  Disappointment: Rory McIlroy. Gotta go with Rory here. Now, he could also win the green jacket on Sunday and make me look silly. And sure, he finished fourth last year. And T8 the year before that. But I just don't trust him on this course because I still think that collapse in 2011 creeps into his head when he heads to the 10th tee on Sundays.  Low amateur: Bryson DeChambeau. The guy whose irons are all the same and who majored in physics is probably the smartest guy in the field. And also one of the more interesting guys, too. It will be fun to see how the defending NCAA and amateur champ can hang in his first trip to Augusta. Plus, I don't really know any of the other amateurs.  Low round: 66. Weather looks like it will be a factor the first three days and the wind will be blowing. So I don't think the scores will be as low as we're used to seeing them. With that being said, I think someone could sneak off the course with a 66.  Hideki Matsuyama could be the sleeper contender on Sunday.  Winner: Jason Day. This guy could barely walk after an early round at the Match Play Championship and still went on to win the event. He's won his last two starts, and six of his last 13 events. Until he puts up a disappointing result, he's the favorite to win every event he enters.  Sleeper: Hideki Matsuyama. Matsuyama's ranked 14th in the world, so it's hard to really call him a "sleeper," but he's all-too-frequently overlooked as a favorite to win the green jacket this weekend. Matsuyama's already won a PGA Tour event earlier this season (over Rickie Fowler in a playoff), he's made three of five Masters cuts in his career, and he finished fifth in 2015.  Disappointment: Phil Mickelson. There are only a handful of golfers with shorter odds to win than Mickelson, a three-time Masters champ. The course certainly sets up well for Phil, but the 45-year-old hasn't won a tournament since the 2013 Open Championship. Mickelson winning would make for an amazing weekend, but I wouldn't bet on it.  Low amateur: Cheng Jin. The 18-year-old is already a veteran on the PGA Tour China, where he's won as an amateur. He played a practice round with Jason Day earlier this week, and will play collegiately later this year at USC.  Low round: 66. Weather forecasts are calling for significant wind for the first three days of the tournament, and that could keep players from going ultra-low with the easier pin placements in the early rounds.
Our staff sees a good weekend ahead at Augusta for Jason Day. For Rory McIlroy? Not so much.