Only a few more sleeps now until the players tee off in the year's first major - the Masters. BRENDAN JAMES looks at the contenders and the pretenders for the title.

Ask anyone who follows golf and they'll have a tip on who will win the coveted Green Jacket. But tipping who will be victorious at Augusta is like trying to pick the winner of the Melbourne Cup ... it's bloody hard.

The weight of money will be on Phil Mickelson to successfully defend his Masters title but he is no lock, despite his resounding win at Houston last weekend.

To make it a little easier for those who want to have a bet on the Masters, I have cast my eye across the field of 99 players and have come up with some predictions.

THESE PLAYERS CAN'T WIN IT

First timers, amateurs and any Masters champion over the age of 50. That's 28 players - including Fred Couples, Mark O'Meara, Larry Mize, Ian Woosnam and Melbourne-based Korean Jin Jeong, the reigning British Amateur champion, that simply will not top the leaderboard come Sunday.

Two of the most exciting young players teeing it up at the Masters also, unfortunately belong in this category. Rickie Fowler and Queenslander Jason Day have the game to do well at Augusta but history suggests first-timers really struggle to cope with the nuances of the layout and their best results will come in future years.

That said, Fowler will put his name up there for a top-10 finish.

THE EURO INVASION

Not since Jose Maria Olazabal held out Greg Norman in the 1999 Masters has a European player triumphed at Augusta.

But another Golden Age of Euro golf is upon us with five of the top-10 spots in the world ranking occupied by a plater from the European Tour. Leading the contingent is World No.1 and reigning PGA Champion Martin Kaymer. This will be his fourth start at Augusta but don't hold your breath for the 26-year-old  German. He's never made the cut at the Masters and, despite his recent good form, he won't threaten.

One who will is the man Kaymer replaced at the top of the rankings - Lee Westwood. Yet to win his first major title, the 37-year-old has been playing career best golf during the past two years and one can only imagine it is only a matter of time before he claims a big one. He finished second behind Phil Mickelson last year and was second behind Louis Oosthuizen at the Open so he is primed to strike. He will, however, have to overcome the plane crash scare he, and fellow Englishman Ross Fisher, had en route to Augusta if he is to win this week.

Westwood will be the best of the Europeans at the Masters but keep an eye out for good performances from the Molinari brothers, Francesco and Edoardo, as well as  recently crowned World Matchplay champion Luke Donald.

PHIL v TIGER

Defending champion Phil Mickelson will start as favourite to win back-to-back titles and take his tally to four Masters green jackets, putting him right alongside Tiger Woods and Arnold Palmer.

His performance in winning at Houston left no doubt he's ready to fire at Augusta but I just have to question whether there will be anything left in the tank come Sunday afternoon. I can't recall the last time a player won the lead in tournament to a major and then was victorious in the major, so if 'Lefty' pulls it off best of luck to him. However, I'll be putting my money elsewhere because I think even Tiger will beat Phil this week.

Woods is in the deepest slump of his career and it is starting to get real boring listening to the former World No.1 talk about the "process" and "concepts" of rebuilding his swing. KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID! That's all Tiger needs to do and he could lap this field like he did in 1997 when he won the first of his four Masters jackets. Needless to say he won't be keeping it simple so he will finish top-10 at best.

THE AUSSIES

There are six Australians lining up at Augusta. The aforementioned Jason Day, Adam Scott, Robert Allenby, Stuart Appleby, Geoff Ogilvy and Aaron Baddeley.

The best possible chance to break the 74-year Masters hoodoo and become the first Australian to win the Masters is Adam Scott. There will be plenty to argue the case for Baddeley, whose form has been outstanding in recent months.

But the stats suggest to me that Scotty's superior ball-striking coupled with the new found confidence, and ability, he has in his broomstick putter could see the Queenslander win. Scott, who has never finished higher than a tie for 9th in 2002,  has made the cut seven out of ten starts at Augusta. His scoring average there is a not so impressive 73.19 and his best score is 69. However, all this was done with a dodgy putting stroke, it would seem.

Since he started using the brookstick putter last month, his putting numbers have fallen dramatically. During the recent Cadillac Championship Scott said of his putting: "My short putting was really ruining my good golf."

"It was very frustrating to the point where I just didn't feel like playing because, most likely, I'd leave two or three (shots) out there every round," he said.

Interestingly, he finished that tournament tied for 6th and had gone 72 holes without a three-putt.

I also like the fact that Scott by-passed Houston, where he was a previous winner, to concentrate solely on his preparation for the Masters this week. If it was a ploy good enough for Jack Nicklaus to use throughout his career then it might just work for Scott.

Scott will, however, have to overcome one significant hurdle if he is to win. No player during the past 25 years has won a major championship using a broomstick putter. Belly putters have a few victories, courtesy of Vijay Singh, but the longer version is winless in the four big ones.

The bookies have got Scott at $61, which is ripe for the picking ... even at each way odds.