Who will win The Masters?

Augusta, Ga.

Forecasters are predicting high winds for this weekend in Augusta, and that is blowing away a lot of previous predictions about who will win the 2016 Masters.

Jason Day and Rory McIlroy are major winners with tremendous power and high ball flights. It would be easy to rank them among the favorites under normal conditions. If the wind blows, their high ball flights might hurt them.

After talking to a number of pros and writers, one name kept being mentioned. Rickie Fowler.

Has has been working with Butch Harmon for years now. He has come close to winning majors. He has added length to his drives but has the ability to hit the ball low. He shows great composure on the course and can putt. If I had to pick one player under these conditions, it would be Fowler.

The high winds might also help Jordan Spieth, who won here last year. He's so creative around greens and is such a good putter that he might win a tournament if it reduced to a short-game contest.

I've heard the name Brooks Koepka a lot, and Adam Scott and Louis Oosthuizen have been very impressive during practice rounds.

Give me Rickie, then Spieth, then Phil Mickelson as my picks.

I also talked to a few people who know Minnesota amateur Sammy Schmitz about his practice rounds. He didn't play particularly well on Wednesday, but in previous rounds he hit his driver extremely well, and hit miraculous recovery shots to birdie range out of the woods on No. 7 and No. 18.

He hasn't putted very well yet, and putting is usually a strength. If he can get comfortable on the greens, he has a chance to become the first Mid-Am champion ever to make the cut at Augusta.

``He needs some rest," said his coach, Joe Greupner of Braemar. ``But I really like the way he's swinging, especially on the range today, and if he putts well, he really does have a chance."