Sergio Garcia drains hole in one in Abu Dhabi

Sergio Garcia made a nice hole in one in Abu Dhabi at the 12th hole on Thursday. This showed quite a bit of improvement from his last tournament, when he got bitter and gunned his 5-iron into a lake after an errant shot.

The 2012 Major Champions will be ...

THE MASTERS: TIGER WOODS
Tiger has won the Masters four times and seems to be in contention at Augusta even when he doesn't have his A game. He finished in the top five the past two years despite injuries, swing changes, and the scandal. This year he appears to be healthy, his swing changes have become more ingrained, he's coming off a win at Chevron, and he'll have at least 4-5 tournaments to play prior to Augusta to prepare. Look for Woods to get his 15th major victory this April and get back on track to breaking Jack's record of 18.

U.S. OPEN: PHIL MICKELSON
Mickelson has finished runner-up five times in the U.S. Open and he wants this tournament more than any other. He's approaching his mid-forties so his window of opportunity to win is closing. No one knows if Phil will show up with one driver, two drivers, no driver, a regular putter, or a belly putter. Regardless, he will be gearing up and trying to peak this summer to try and win his first U.S. Open. He still has a good chance to win the career grand slam.

BRITISH OPEN: RORY MCILROY 
Well on his way to becoming the number one player in the world, McILroy is the most talented golfer to hit the scene since Woods. Injuries aside, he will no doubt be a top ten player in the world for the next decade. He should have won the Masters last year and won the U.S. Open in a runaway.  He grew up in Northern Ireland playing links style courses and there's no question he will eventually win the Open Championship. Other than Woods, McILroy is the only player with the potential in winning the calendar year Grand Slam. Look for him to earn his second career major in 2012.

PGA CHAMPIONSHIP: SERGIO GARCIA
Now in his 30s, it doesn't seem possible that a player with his talent could go a career without winning a major championship. After a self-imposed hiatus from golf, he came back last year looking sharp and winning back to back tournaments on the European Tour. Of course, he also made news for slinging his 4 iron into a lake after a bad shot. Garcia is definitely a wild card, but if he gets his putter rolling and keeps his head in check, he could finally win his first major championship in 2012.

Sergio Garcia gets livid and throws club in lake

Fed Ex St. Jude Classic Betting Odds

Before the big dance starts next week, the Fed Ex St. Jude Classic still has to be played. This will give some players the chance to tune their games prior to the U.S. Open, while others will be playing for the money and fed ex points. Lee Westwood comes in as the defending champ and will have a chance to win a regular tour event this week before he doesn't win a major next week.

Here are some notable player betting odds from Bodog:

Lee Westwood: 7-1
David Toms: 9-1
Zach Johnson: 14-1
Sergio Garcia: 25-1
Geoff Ogilvy: 40-1
Retief Goosen: 40-1
Padraig Harrington: 50-1
Y.E. Yang: 66-1
Anthony Kim: 66-1
Camillo Villegas: 80-1

Pick: I'll take Sergio this week. His game has slowly been rounding into form, he just hasn't been able to put four rounds together yet. His should have a lot of confidence after shooting two great rounds earlier in the week to qualify for the U.S. Open.

Update: Great pick by me. He shot 78 in first round. 

Final Four set at Accenture Match Play

Despite many of the top seeds losing early, some big names have reached the final four of the Accenture World Match Play.

In the quarterfinals Saturday morning, Ian Poulter defeated Thongchai Jaidee 1up while Sergio Garcia defeated Oliver Wilson by a score of 4 and 3. On the other side of the bracket, Camillo Villegas beat Retief Goosen 4 and 3 while Paul Casey whipped up on Stewart Cink, winning with a score of 5 up.

The semi-finals take place Saturday afternoon and the 36 hole final will be Sunday.

Final Four

Camillo Villegas
vs.

Paul Casey


Ian Poulter

vs.

Sergio Garcia

Predictions:

Villegas over Casey
Garcia over Poulter

AP photos / Nam Huh