Does early-year success lead to a Masters green jacket?

As we enter the home stretch of tournaments leading up to the Masters Tournament in April, there will be a lot of talk about how a win could jumpstart a player and give them the momentum needed to capture the green jacket.

But how much does an early-year win actually translate into success at Augusta?

For all of you looking at how to pick players for your upcoming Masters pool, we took a look at the past 32 years of Masters champions to see what tournament or what month a win is most likely to lead to a Masters win.

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It turns out, however, that not winning an early-year tournament historically provides the best chance to conquer Augusta National. Over the past 32 years, 15 times the eventual champion had not won that season.

For those players who did capture a trophy in the early months of their Masters championship year, March is the month that leads to the greatest success. On eight occasions, a March tournament winner has gone on to claim a green jacket.

But what about players who have won multiple times before heading to Georgia? Only three times in the past 32 years has a two-time winner prior to the second weekend of April won the Masters — Sandy Lyle in 1988, Tiger Woods in 2001 and Mike Weir in 2003.

Some other notable facts about Masters champions during this period:

• Every player who has won had at least one previous win on either the PGA or European Tour.
• Of the 15 players who had no early-season wins, nine of them had won the previous year. Larry Mize had the longest pre-Masters drought at 4 years.

So, if you’re using this method to pick your pool this year, watch out for the players you think are due for a win this season.

Here's a look at each champion over the past 32 years and which tournament was won (or not won) prior to their Masters win:

Year	Champion	Jan-April win prior to Masters win	Win date prior to Masters
2018	Patrick Reed	No 2018 wins	Aug. 28, 2016
2017	Sergio Garcia	Omega Dubai Desert Classic	Feb 5th
2016	Danny Willett	Omega Dubai Desert Classic	Feb 7th
2015	Jordan Spieth	Valspar Championship	Mar. 15th
2014	Bubba Watson	Northern Trust Open	Feb 16th
2013	Adam Scott	No 2013 wins	Aug 2011
2012	Bubba Watson	No 2012 wins	May 2011
2011	Charl Schwartzel	Joburg Open	Jan 16th
2010	Phil Mickelson	No 2010 wins	Sept 2009
2009	Angel Cabrera	No 2009 wins	Nov 2007
2008	Trevor Immelman	No 2008 wins	Dec. 2007
2007	Zach Johnson	No 2007 wins	Apr. 2004
2006	Phil Mickelson	BellSouth Classic	Apr. 2
2005	Tiger Woods	Ford Championship at Doral	Mar 6
2004	Phil Mickelson	Bob Hope Chrysler Classic	Jan 25
2003	Mike Weir	Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, Nissan Open	Feb. 2, Feb. 23
2002	Tiger Woods	Bay Hill	Mar 17
2001	Tiger Woods	Bay Hill, The Players	Mar 18, Mar 25
2000	Vijay Singh	No 2000 wins	Mar 1999
1999	Jose Maria Olazabal	No 1999 wins	Mar 1998
1998	Mark O’Meara	No 1998 wins	Feb 1997
1997	Tiger Woods	Mercedes Championship	Jan 12th
1996	Nick Faldo	No 1996 wins	Jun 1994
1995	Ben Crenshaw	No 1995 wins	Apr 1994
1994	Jose Maria Olazabal	Turespana Open Mediterrania	Mar 6th
1993	Bernhard Langer	No 1993 wins	Apr 1992
1992	Fred Couples	Nestle Invitational	Mar 22nd
1991	Ian Woosman	Fujitsu Mediterranean Open	Mar 3
1990	Nick Faldo	No 1990 wins	July 1989
1989	Nick Faldo	No 1989 wins	Oct 1988
1988	Sandy Lyle	Phoenix Open, Greensboro Open	Jan 31,Apr 3rd
1987	Larry Mize	No 1987 wins	1983