The Masters Tournament, held in AugUSta, Georgia in the United States is just around the corner, kicking off in the first full week of April. But who are the favourites for this year’s tournament?

Although Tiger Woods has had a bit of a dry spell in recent years, he is still the favourite for the 2011 Masters Tournament. Since his last championship win at the US Open in 2008, Woods has been plagued with rumours about extramarital affairs, and a car accident in 2009 which left him with facial injuries. Since then, he has won the WGC Bridgestone Invitational but no majors. But bookies think he is now almost back on top form and that we will see a comeback in April. Tiger is at the top of the Official World Rankings and has been given odds of 5-1 to win.

Other top runners include Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood, Dustin Johnson, Anthony Kim and Padraig Harrington.

Phil Mickelson is an American professional golfer who has won four major championships and 38 PGA Tour events during his professional career. He was born in June 1970 and he was the winner of the Masters Tournament last year in 2010. Mickelson started his golfing career during college, when he began a golf scholarship at the Arizona State University. He graduated from college in 1992 when he turned professional. He won his first Masters Tournament in 2004, the second in 2006 and the third last year.

Rory McIlroy is an Irish professional golfer who was born in May 1989. He will also be playing in the Masters Tournament this year. He won the PGA Tour last year, and also won the European Tour in 2009. Rory is relatively new to professional golf as he only turned professional in September 2007, however for his short time he has done very well indeed.

Another contender for the 2011 Masters Tournament will be Lee Westwood, a professional golfer from England born in April 1973. He turned professional in 1996 so has a good 15 years experience under his belt. He has won a PGA tour twice, in 1998 and last year.

Dustin Johnson is another young golfer, born in 1984. He is American, and will also be playing in the Masters Tournament for 2011. He, like McIlroy, only turned professional in 2007. He won his first PGA tour a year later and now has six major wins to his name.

Anthony Kim is an American professional golfer born in Jun 1985. His professional career began in 2006, just a year before McIlroy and Johnson. In spite of the fact that he has only been professional for 5 years, he has already had three PGA Tour wins which is very impressive for a young professional.

Padraig Harrington is another big name that we will see in the 2011 Masters Tournament. He was born in August 1971, and has won three major championships in his time: The 2007 and 2008 Open Championships and the 2008 PGA Championship.