Euro stars

A European winning at Augusta is something we discuss every year leading up to the real season opener. Ever since dominating the 80's and 90's, when European players were victorious 11 times at Augusta, we have hoped for a similar period of glory. This year comes with more optimism than ever thanks to a purple patch that has seen European's charge the upper echelons of the world rankings. Here are my European picks for Augusta dominance in 2010:   Padraig Harrington While Harrington has had an unspectacular start to the season we all know that his focus is always on the four biggest tournaments of the year. With his stunning short game you would have thought that the Irishman would relish Augusta's treacherous green designs. With four top tens in his last five starts, an each-way bet looks appealing.   Ian Poulter Poulter's brilliant victory in the Accenture Match Play showed that when he finds form the Englishman has the confidence and guts to finish the job off. His consistent striking and impressive close range putting could mean that he is not far away come Sunday evening.   Martin Kaymer Kaymer looks to be developing into the complete golfer and undoubtedly has the game to seriously compete at Augusta. He is one of the most consistent players on the European Tour and his superb win in Abu Dhabi highlighted his ability to defeat world-class fields.   Rory McIlroy Arguably the most talented of the impressive young crop of players out on tour. It is surely only a matter of time before McIlroy finds himself in genuine contention on Major Sundays. His supreme ball striking gives a big advantage over much of the field and after playing last year he will know exactly what to expect.