With one round to go at the Texas Children's Houston Open, who's got the best shot to qualify for the Masters Tournament April 10-13 at the Augusta National Golf Club?
Fifty players who made the weekend cut who have a mathematical chance of earning an invitation to the season's first major at Memorial Park on Sunday. They are in two categories: eight players who can reach the top 50 on the World Golf Rankings, and 42 who need to win to qualify for a Masters invitation.
But let's get realistic. Not many have a shot in the final round and it would have to be a combination of the round of their lives and multiple players ahead of them falling apart.
For example, Sam Stevens needs to finish solo second to make the top 50 in the world. He's tied for 41st in Houston at 5-under, eight shots behind second-place Alejandro Tosti. That means Stevens would have to tie the course record and hope for a bunch of players such as Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Wyndham Clark to collapse.
Take the category of players who need to win. Rickie Fowler is tied for 55th at 4-under, 13 off the lead. Charley Hoffman is tied for 41st at 5-under, 12 back.
Is it possible? Yes. Probable? Highly doubtful.
Here are 10 players who have the best chance in Sunday's final round to punch their ticket to the Masters:
Top 50 on the World Golf Rankings
Michael Kim: He needs to finish among the top 50 or higher to get off the No. 50 bubble and ensure he's headed for the Masters. Kim is tied for 29th at 7-under in Houston.
Notable: Kim is tied for 26th on the PGA Tour with a final-round scoring average of 69.0. He tied for seventh last year at 68.36.
Ben Griffin: He was even par with six holes to go on Saturday and made five pars and birdied No. 9 to finish tied for 41st at 5-under. Griffin, 53rd in the world, needs to finish 28th or higher to crack the top 50.
Notable: Griffin was pretty good in the final round last year, averaging 68.72 to finish 17th on the Tour. This year, not so much. He's tied for 76th at 70.25.
Eric Cole: After a second-round 67 that got him into the top 10, Cole faltered with a 71 and is tied for 35th at 6-under. He ...
