Zach Johnson: reigning champ - but Harmon's not convinced.
Will he win another major? Only time is going to tell
Butch Harmon on reigning Masters champion Zach Johnson's chances.
Also see
He's already told us you'd be hard-pressed to bet against Tiger, that he fancies Adam Scott to make a splash, and that Phil Mickelson is in the best form of his life but what does Butch Harmon make to some of the other challengers' chances in Augusta?
skysports.com caught up with the straight-talking golf coach for a second instalment of Masters 2008 predictions - including why he thinks Olazabal is a gladiator among men, and why a putting predicament could be Sergio Garcia's downfall...
Harmon was on hand to guide this year's favourite, Tiger Woods, to his first Augusta title in 1997. Eleven years later, his protege and the world number one is eyeing a place in the history books as the first player to win all four majors in one season.
But what about the man who donned the Green Jacket last year? Has reigning champion Zach Johnson got any chance of defying the bookmakers?
Zach Johnson
19th in the world rankings, Johnson had his first top ten of the season at Doral but his patchy form means any talk of a successful title defence finds Harmon decidedly muted.
"I think Zach Johnson is a good player but I wouldn't say he is a great player," said Harmon.
"It [last year's Masters] was a great win for Zach. The great players who were behind him and had the opportunity just didn't seem to get it done. He weathered the storm and you have to hand it to him, he won the championship.
"But will he win another major? Only time is going to tell."
Sergio Garcia
Sergio Garcia has not had a top-three finish in America or Europe since losing a four-shot lead and then a play-off to Padraig Harrington at last year's British Open in Carnoustie, and Harmon thinks the struggling Spaniard is unlikely to shake off his best-player-to-have-never-won-a-major tag this time around.
"Is Sergio going to step up and win a major? He definitely has the game but the putter is what's let him down.
"So that will be interesting because Augusta National is about two things - driving the ball long is an asset, and so is putting. If you don't have those you are never going to win the Masters and that will hold Sergio back, the way he putts. He definitely plays well enough.
Jose Maria Olazabal
Olazabal's build-up to the Masters has been dogged by injury but after tying for 26th place at the Houston Open, Harmon admits he couldn't be happier to see the two-time Augusta champion back on the green.
"I spoke to him last week and I am just so happy that he is back out here playing again," Harmon revealed.
"He says he feels the best that he has felt for about eight months at the moment but he doesn't how many tournaments he can play.
"The Masters is obviously very special for Jose, he has won twice there but he wanted to play a couple of events leading up to it just to see if he could play.
"I personally think Jose Maria Olazabal is one of the great, great champions and gentlemen of our game. I absolutely love him. I love being around him, I like watching him.
"The best way I can describe Olazabal is if it was a thousand years ago in the Coliseum and it is Rome, and you threw all the gladiators in among the tigers, there is only one coming out. It's Olazabal. He has the will and desire to get anything done.
Missing Monty
If your name's not down, you're not coming in.
And one that's not on the guest-list of the 72nd Masters is Colin Montgomerie's.
Monty misses out on the invite-only tournament after tumbling to 75th in the world rankings, and while Harmon admits he holds the big Scot in high regard, he reckons his performances have just not been up to par.
"I am a great fan on Colin Montgomerie and those that watch me on Sky know that. I have all the respect in the world for Monty but he just has to play better.
"Had he played better, he would have been invited. There are 18 different categories that you can be invited to the Masters on and he didn't come in any of those, so I think Monty has to be a little more realistic and say, 'If I had played better, I would have been invited'.
"I think that is the way you want to get in - you don't want a hand-out. You want to earn your way in and unfortunately this year he did not earn his way in."
See if Butch's predictions are on the money and follow all the latest from the Augusta fairways at skysports.com.
