Sportsmail 's Derek Lawrenson gives his predictions ahead of the 79th Masters at Augusta on Thursday . Best American . So many to choose from but given Augusta ’ s predilection for a tale of redemption — from Vijay ‘ kiss my ass ’ Singh to Adam ‘ this one ’ s for you , Greg ’ Scott — let ’ s go for the reformed party animal Dustin Johnson . Time for him to prove he can match his gargantuan yardage off the tee with the requisite amount of brain cells . Dustin Johnson watches his tee shot during a practice round on the Augusta course on Wednesday . Best European ( Non-UK ) Not so many to choose from , alas . Indeed , given Henrik Stenson spent a week in bed with flu recently and reckons his strength is still low , we ’ re almost empty-handed . Still , let ’ s hope the Swede can rise from his sick bed . Other than that , it ’ s time Victor Dubuisson returned to the limelight . Henrik Stenson has only recently recovered from flu but the Swede will be hoping to mount a serious challenge . Best from the UK . Let ’ s leave out the history man on the grounds he has his own category . Lee Westwood has got an impressive recent record at Augusta and Justin Rose has shown he can play well here . But I have a feeling Paul Casey is the most likely to join Rory and get into contention come Sunday afternoon . Best International . You can hardly have faith in Adam Scott to emulate Bubba Watson and win a second Masters in three years given he ’ s confused enough on the greens to be going back to the long putter . While Scott sorts himself out , compatriot Jason Day has an outstanding chance to grab another win for Australia . Jason Day has a great chance to become another Australian winner at the Masters . Best each way bet . When you think last year ’ s joint runner-up Jonas Blixt is 150-1 , there are some tasty odds out there . How about Padraig Harrington at 80-1 ? Or Bernhard Langer to finish in the top six at 400-1 ? My particular favourite is three-time Masters champ Phil Mickelson at 25-1 . A steal . Phil Mickelson watches his fairway shot on the 11th green during his practice round on Wednesday . How will Rory do ? Given what it would do for the sport and what an achievement it would represent , I fervently hope Bubba Watson is slipping a size 38 regular jacket on to McIlroy ’ s shoulders come Sunday night . But this might prove the major where he falls just short — and we have to wait a couple of years to enjoy his Slam . Prediction : Third . Rory McIlroy will begin his quest for a Grand Slam when the Masters kicks into action on Thursday . How will Tiger do ? Not as good as some American writers believe , who are fitting him up for his fifth green jacket already on the strength of shooting 33 for the front nine on a practice round on Monday . Not as bad as the doomsayers think either , though . He should make the halfway cut… and maybe scrape into the top 20 . Prediction : 19th . Tiger Woods was joined by his girlfriend Lindsey Vonn ( left ) and his two children on the course on Wednesday .
Dustin Johnson can prove himself at this year 's tournament . Comment: Phil Mickelson , at 25-1 , is a good each-way bet for the title .