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With Tiger Woods on the bench for the first major of the year, Las Vegas has instilled defending champion Adam Scott and Rory McIlroy as co-favorites to win the 2014 Masters.

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Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia showed some promising form ahead of the Masters Tournament as Matt Jones chipped in from 42 yards in a play-off to earn a ticket to Augusta National with a play-off victory over Matt Kuchar at the Shell Houston Open on Sunday.

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HUMBLE, Texas – Apparently, no lead is safe on the PGA Tour – even for the world’s best players.

Matt Kuchar blew a four-shot lead Sunday when he shot 72 and lost in a playoff at the Shell Houston Open.

Matt Jones closed with 66 at the Golf Club of Houston, then holed a chip shot on the first playoff hole.

Shell Houston Open: Articles, videos and photos

The 54-hole leaders are now just 9-for-20 this season, and only 26 of 58 (44.8 percent) since the start of 2013.

And these aren’t just unproven players who are faltering down the stretch.

In the past three months, Adam Scott, Rory McIlroy, Bubba Watson and Matt Kuchar – all of whom are ranked inside the top 15 in the world – have blown leads of at least two shots on the final day.

Kuchar, in particular, has struggled to close out his past four tournaments, failing to break par in each final round. Last Sunday, he shot 75 to squander a chance to win the Valero Texas Open.

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Matt Jones won his first PGA Tour title Sunday in a playoff over Matt Kuchar to punch a last-minute ticket to Augusta. Here’s the lowdown on the shocking conclusion to the Shell Houston Open.

Leaderboard: Matt Jones (-15), Matt Kuchar (-15), Sergio Garcia (-13), Cameron Tringale (-12), Shawn Stefani (-10), Rickie Fowler (-9)

What It Means: A week after a disappointing final-round 75 in tough conditions at the Texas Open, Kuchar looked to be cruising to victory Sunday in Houston.

Walking to the 18th tee, Kuchar had a two-shot lead over Jones, who was up ahead on the green looking over a 46-foot birdie putt. Before Kuchar teed off, Jones drained the long birdie putt to post 15 under. Kuchar found the middle of the 18th fairway, but then he did the unthinkable.

From 214 yards, Kuchar pulled his second shot left into the water. He made a great up-and-down to save bogey and force a playoff.

They went back to 18 for the playoff, and Jones pitched in from the right side of the green to win his first PGA Tour title in dramatic fashion.

Round of the day: Like a lot of players in Houston, Rory McIlroy was looking to build some confidence heading into the first major of the season. Here sure found it on Sunday. McIlroy fired a bogey-free 65 to finish tied for seventh. After a lackluster 2013 season, McIlroy has four top 10s in six worldwide starts in 2014, and he hasn’t finished outside the top 25. No doubt there will be a little extra bounce in his step as the gets ready to try to win a green jacket.

Best of the rest: Jones shot a 6-under 66 and put the heat on Kuchar with birdie on 18 to cut his lead down to one. After Kuchar found the water on 18, Jones was in position to win in regulation. Instead, Kuchar made his bogey to force the playoff, but Jones hit a miraculous pitch to win.

Biggest disappointment: Kuchar held the lead for most of the day, but then he hit the worst possible shot at the worst possible time. He’s won six times in his career, but for the second straight week, Kuchar failed to close the deal. He’s still one of the favorites at Augusta, but no doubt he’s missed two great opportunities to add to his trophy case.

Shot of the day: Jones had two of them. First he holed the 46-footer for birdie on 18 to put the pressure on Kuchar. Then Jones holed a 42-yard pitch shot in the playoff to win.

Quote of the day: “Golly, Matty!” – A frustrated Kuchar after he hit his second shot into the water on 18.

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Rory McIlroy said he needed a spark prior to the Masters and he found it on Sunday, firing a 7-under 65 to vault into the top 10 at the Shell Houston Open.

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HUMBLE, Texas – Rory McIlroy ended the Shell Houston Open with his first sub-70 score in his last nine rounds.

Even better? He could be in Augusta, Ga., by the time a soggy champion is crowned here.

Playing in the first group off Sunday, McIlroy shot a 7-under 65 to move into the top 10 at the Golf Club of Houston Open.

“I couldn’t ask for much more heading into next week,” he said.

Indeed, McIlroy ramped up already soaring expectations with his best round since an opening 63 at the Honda Classic. True, the world No. 7 had little pressure in the final round, beginning his day 14 shots off the lead, but he now will head into the Masters brimming with confidence.

When he finished his round, he was ranked inside the top 10 in both driving distance and proximity to the hole.

“It’s nice to see some of the game I have coming through today,” he said. 

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HUMBLE, Texas – Historically, meteorologists have been as accurate with their forecasts as Phil Mickelson has been off the tee, and PGA Tour officials are hoping the weather for Sunday’s final round of the Shell Houston Open is better than anticipated.

The forecast calls for an 80 percent chance of heavy showers and thunderstorms. The Tour has already moved up final-round tee times, with the final group going off at 10:30 a.m. ET.

Still, it appears increasingly likely that there will be a Monday finish for the Masters tune-up. That’s a major headache.

Just how much of an inconvenience it poses, however, depends on the players’ Augusta preparation.

Several players – including Houston Open leader Matt Kuchar and Masters favorites Rory McIlroy and Mickelson – said it wouldn’t be an end-of-the-world scenario. In many cases, they’ve already done their Masters scouting. McIlroy, for instance, spent two days this week at Augusta, playing 18 holes each day.

“I don’t mind if I stick around,” McIlroy said. “It’d probably be preferable to get out of here (Sunday) night, but otherwise it won’t affect me that much.”

Said Mickelson: “I usually take Mondays off, so I have nothing scheduled. I’ve already done my preparations. I know how I’m going to play it.”

Shell Houston Open: Articles, videos and photos

Kuchar, who leads here by four, wasn’t even planning on being at Augusta until late-afternoon Tuesday. A Monday finish in Houston would simply mean one fewer night at home.

Hunter Mahan hasn’t made a pre-tournament trip to Augusta, but he didn’t seem that concerned, either. Normally, Mahan spends his Masters Monday on the range with swing coach Sean Foley, going over their game plan for the week from a technical standpoint.

“It’d be a headache, for sure,” he said, “but it’s just another challenge you’ve got to deal with. You can’t harp on any kind of circumstances you can’t control. You’ve just got to get there and go to work. You signed up for this week, so you have to play this week.”

The threat of a Monday finish could prompt those toward the bottom of the leaderboard to reevaluate whether they want to stick around for the conclusion of play or bail early for Augusta.

Sergio Garcia doesn’t have that luxury, seeing as how he is tied for second heading into the final round. But he’s still worried about what impact a Monday finish could have.

“I don’t think it’d be the best thing, for sure,” he said. “It wouldn’t be very good. You’d have to squeeze everything together, get no rest.”

Well, rest assured, the Tour is hoping it doesn’t come to this worst-case scenario. 

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HUMBLE, Texas – Rory McIlroy’s regular caddie will have the afternoon off Wednesday at Augusta National – assuming it doesn’t rain, of course.

McIlroy confirmed Saturday that he will have tennis-star fiancé Caroline Wozniacki carry the bag for him again this year at the Masters Par-3 Contest.

“Yeah, I will, for sure,” he said after his third round at the Shell Houston Open, before adding, with a laugh, “She’s just worried that it might rain. If it’s raining, she’s not going to caddie.”

Wozniacki donned the caddie’s white jumpsuit at last year’s competition, even hitting – OK, flubbing – a tee shot on the ninth hole.

“I would say (regular caddie) J.P. (Fitzgerald) should be nervous,” Wozniacki joked with reporters last year, “but the thing is, Rory can’t afford me.”

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HUMBLE, Texas – Saturday was another “uneventful” day for Rory McIlroy.

He made two birdies and four bogeys in the third round of the Shell Houston Open, and now the oddsmakers’ Masters favorite will be looking for something, anything, encouraging heading into the final day.  

“Nothing is really happening out there,” said McIlroy, who at 2-under 215 is more than a dozen shots off the lead. “I need a little spark out there to get me going.”

McIlroy’s long game appears in shape – he is in the top 10 in both driving distance and proximity to the hole – but he’s been let down by a cold putter. When he finished his round, he was outside the top 50 in strokes gained-putting.

That doesn’t much bother McIlroy, who is already looking forward to the speedier greens at Augusta, where he won’t feel as though he needs to “hit” the putts as much. At the Masters, McIlroy also will rely more on visualization – dying the ball into certain parts of the hole, because the greens are so fast that it’s difficult to be precise.

“It’s good to get it all out of the system this week,” he said, smiling. “I’m glad it’s not next week. I’m glad I’m not 40th going into the last day.”

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A look at 20 players expected to contend in the Masters on April 10-13 at Augusta National Golf Club, including Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy and defending champion Adam Scott.

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