The Masters represents the sport of golf's opportunity to take center stage. The first major championship of the year has risen to the top of the golf rankings among Americans, and it is the tournament that all of the game's top professionals want to win.

It was not always that way, as the the U.S. Open and the Open Championship used to be considered the most important tournaments. However, the demanding conditions of the U.S. Open have led to multiple complaints about the courses used for that tournament, and while the Open Championship may be the greatest golf competition in Europe, it is clearly not in the United States.

There are multiple story lines that will take center stage at this year's Masters. In this piece we look at four of those angles.

Can Scottie Scheffler continue to dominate?

There is little doubt that Scottie Scheffler is playing the best golf of anyone in the world. There is nothing he would like more than to cement his position by recording a second victory in the Masters.

As Scheffler prepares for Augusta National, he ranks first in the FedEx points. Scheffler has 2,465 points heading into the Masters, nearly 1,000 points ahead of Wyndham Clark, who is in second place with 1,555 points.

His dominant showing is even more obvious when it comes to his overall play and earnings this year. Scheffler has played in eight tournaments, and he has been in the top 25 in all of them. He has two tournament victories and has been in the top 10 seven times.

Scheffler has already earned more than $11.4 million, and that's $3.5 million more than Clark. Hideki Matsuyama is in third place with $5.6 million and Xander Schauffele has $4.6 million in earnings.

Scheffler has all the qualifications and he has won the 2022 Masters, so that proves he can win on the biggest stage. But now he is the big dog, and everyone in the field will be shooting to bring him down. Scheffler must prove he can handle himself under those circumstances.

Can Rory McIlroy win the career Grand Slam?

You have heard this before, because Rory McIlroy had won the three other major championships by 2014. It's now 10 years since his last major triumph. He desperately wants the recognition that comes with winning all four major titles.

He has come close before, coming in second in 2022 to Scheffler. However, McIlroy has been somewhat inconsistent for quite a while. It is quite difficult for McIlroy to put it together in consecutive rounds — let alone for 72 holes.

McIlroy ranks 43rd on the 2024 earnings list with slightly more than $1.4 million banked to this point in the year. He has just one top-10 finish in the six events he has played and his average score is an unimposing 70.0.

McIlroy has been feeling the pressure of trying to join the Grand Slam club for years, and it doesn't look like it is getting any easier.

Can Tiger Woods make it through the Masters?

Many golf fans would love another Tiger Woods comeback that sees him wearing his famous red shirt on Sunday as he strides up the 18th fairway and the masses roar their approval for his sixth Masters title.

This is extremely unlikely because he is a 48-year-old golfer who has had a myriad of medical issues. He has yet to demonstrate that he has recovered enough from his 2021 automobile accident that he can complete four rounds without issue.

Tiger attempted to play in the Genesis Open earlier this year but had to withdraw due to illness in the second round. His ankle and foot problems were not behind his decision to leave the course, but he still has to prove he can play 72 holes.

If Tiger can make the cut, complete the tournament and finish in the Top 25, it would be a successful Masters for him.

Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka and other LIV golfers get their chance to compete

There are a number of golfers from the LIV tour that are eligible to compete in the Masters. This tournament has its own set of qualifications, and even though it is not by design, those rules bring the best golfers in the world together.

Rahm, Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, Bryson DeChambeau and Bubba Watson are among the LIV golfers competing. Rahm (+1200) and Koepka (+1800) have the best odds of those golfers according to DraftKings, and there's no doubt that both are brilliantly talented performers.

However, are they ready to compete on golf's biggest stage? LIV golfers play on resort golf courses that are far easier than PGA layouts, and they get to play while wearing shorts. Hall of Famer, six-time major champion and former CBS lead analyst Nick Faldo believes that Rahm and the other LIV golfers have to increase their overall effort.

All the LIV golfers will have something to prove at the Masters, and it seems likely that at least one of them will put on a great show and come close to winning the green jacket before falling short.