MAJOR TALKING POINTS

From Hideki's defence to the man most likely to don the Green Jacket, these are the 10 key talking points ahead of the 86th edition of The Masters

- MICHAEL CATLING, KEVIN BROWN

1 CAN HIDEKI GO BACK-TO-BACK?

Only three defending O champions - Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo, and Tiger Woods - have gone back-to-back, but Hideki Matsuyama has quietly evolved into something of an Augusta specialist with three top 10s and no missed cuts since 2016. He's always been a confidence player and, given he's won twice on the PGA Tour since October, you can easily put forward a strong case for Matsuyama doing it all over again in April. The counterargument is that he won't be able to avoid the frenzied media circus that often comes with shouldering the hopes of a golf-obsessed nation on the biggest stage. Last year the pandemic kept all but a few Japanese reporters from following his every move at Augusta National - something the publicity-shy Matsuyama admitted was a big stress reliever - but it's unlikely he'll be afforded the same level of freedom in April. Besides, others before him have struggled with the weight of the Green Jacket, so it wouldn't surprise us if he became the fourth defending champion in the last six years to make an early exit. After all, only four of the past 20 winners have finished in the top 10 the following year.

2 WILL YOU-KNOW-WHO MAKE AN APPEARANCE?

Trying to predict Tiger's next move is almost as hard as holing a four-footer on the last without shaking. One man who does operate in Tiger's circle is 11-time Tour winner John Cook, who told the Golf Channel that he doesn't expect to see Tiger play again until the PNC Championship in December. In truth, we can't see the 46-year-old passing up the chance to play the 150th Open at St Andrew's - even if only half-fit - but if Augusta does come too early, one fan will be seriously out of pocket. According to SuperBook Nevada, one punter placed a $1,046 wager at 100-1 odds for Tiger to win the 2022 Masters.