The Masters Tournament is one of the most anticipated golfing events of the year, and this year’s event begins on Thursday, April 6th. With the 2023 edition fast approaching, many bettors are eager to place their bets. This article will provide expert insights and predictions on the top picks to win, as well as other betting options available.
Introduction to the Masters Tournament: The Masters is the first of four majors in professional golf. It is held at the prestigious Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, and the winner of the event gets a green jacket. This is the most historic tournament in golf, and it’s one of the biggest sporting events on the planet. Jack Nicklaus holds the record for most times winning the Masters, as he has won this tournament six times. Tiger Woods is right behind him with five wins at Augusta National.
Overview of popular betting options: The most popular way to bet on the Masters is by betting on who will win the tournament outright. You can also bet on who will finish in the Top 5, Top 10 and Top 20. On top of that, there’s also individual matchup betting, where you simply bet on one player to beat another. And then there are also some prop betting options.
How to read odds and place bets: Make sure you understand what certain odds mean. For example, a +200 bet means $100 wins $200, while a -200 bet means $200 wins $100. Also, try and be careful when putting in your bets. You always want to make sure you’re reading everything. We mentioned earlier that you can bet on individual matchups, but sportsbooks offer the option of betting those on rounds and tournaments. You don’t want to bet the wrong one and end up not being okay with the results. Also, if you’re new to betting, just make sure you brush up on all the basics of betting. We have a lot of educational resources on our “How To Bet” page.
Key factors to consider before placing a bet: Always make sure you are getting the best line. Different sportsbooks will offer different prices on the same players, so you want to make sure you’re not costing yourself any money by simply not shopping around. Also, make sure you brush up on your course history. This is a tournament that favors guys that can really drive the ball. A little extra distance goes a long way at Augusta. However, you also want players that can be trusted to make some putts.
Analysis of top contenders: When talking about contenders, you should probably start with Scottie Scheffler, The 26-year-old is the defending champion at The Masters, and he has been playing very well on the PGA TOUR this year. Scheffler has already won two of the bigger events of the season, with victories at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and THE PLAYERS Championship. We know for a fact that he’s capable of shredding this course, too.
Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy are two other players that will enter this event with the upmost confidence. Rahm has had a fantastic 2023 season thus far, as he has already won three tournaments. He’s a threat to win any tournament he plays. The same goes for McIlroy. The Irish superstar has never won The Masters, but he has won every other major and is desperate to win at Augusta.
We should also note that the LIV Golf players are allowed to play here. That means that stars like Cameron Smith and Dustin Johnson will be able to compete. Smith is arguably a top-five golfer on the planet, while Johnson won this event in 2020.
Historical trends and statistics: Six of the last 10 players to win the Masters finished the tournament at -10 or worse. With that said, it’s very hard to tear this golf course up. But some players have been able to do it, with Jordan Spieth being one of them. In 2015, Spieth shot a -18 and was the wire-to-wire leader. That -18 was tied for the best score ever, with Tiger also shooting a -18 in 1997. Also, we mentioned that this course favors players that can hit the driver at a high level. Well, Scheffler is currently first on the PGA TOUR in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green. He’s also 20th in Birdie or Better Conversion Percentage. So, you might want to dig through some driving and putting stats to spot out some good value for this year’s tournament.
Current form and recent performances: As we mentioned earlier, Scheffler is one of the hottest golfers on the planet heading into the Masters. Rahm is another one that has been great in 2023. But if you’re looking outside the players we’ve already touched on, there’s also Max Homa. Homa is up to sixth in the Official World Golf Rankings. He finished 2022 in 17th but has won two tournaments this year.
Expert predictions and recommendations: It’s incredibly difficult to win the Masters, and it’s even harder to win twice in a row. But Rahm and McIlroy are both listed above Scheffler, which seems a little nuts. Scheffler just showed that he is the guy to beat at Augusta, and he is in tremendous form entering this year’s tournament. If choosing out of those three, you should probably back the defending champion. Also, Smith going off at +2000 is a little wild. If we had more eyes on him this year, he’d be lumped in with the top guys on the PGA TOUR.
Players to watch out for: Two players that we need to be keeping an eye on here are Jason Day and Chris Kirk. Day was one of the best golfers on the planet a few years ago, but he has had some issues with his back. But Day appears to be feeling a lot better now, and he is already back up to 37th in the OWGR after finishing 112th last year. Kirk is another riser in those rankings, as he is up at 33rd after being 89th to end last season. Both players have had some solid results to start 2023, with Kirk having won at The Honda Classic.
Betting strategies for underdogs: If you’re high on a guy with great odds, you could always put a little more on them to finish Top 20 than you will on them to win outright. That will protect you if a golfer has a great tournament but doesn’t end up being the one player to win, which is very difficult to do. You could also look to their individual matchups and back them to potentially play better than high-profile players.
Expert insights on potential sleepers: With Day, you’re betting on a guy you know can play well at Augusta. He finished tied for second at the Masters in 2011, so it isn’t outrageous to think he can win here. As for Kirk, his best finish at Augusta was a T20 in 2014. But this is the best he has played in quite some time, so you’re pretty much banking on form.
Explanation of prop bets and special betting options: Some sportsbooks will offer you all sorts of prop bets for the Masters, ranging from which player will have the best score in their group pairing to whether there will be a hole-in-one at any point in the weekend. Just make sure you check out all your options, as you never know when you’ll find something you’ll want to pounce on.
Popular prop bets for the Masters Tournament: Nationality props are very popular at The Masters. You can bet on which country the winner will come from, or which country will perform the best, in general. You can also bet on whether a certain player will make the cut or not — which is one you might want to take advantage of before the 2024 PGA TOUR season, which will feature less tournaments with a cut line.
Expert insights and recommendations for prop bets: If you have some players you’re high on heading into the Masters, you might as well check out their prices to make the cut. This is a great way to bet on some long shots without throwing your money away by hoping they win outright.
Live betting opportunities during the tournament: Live betting can be a great option in golf. Players like McIlroy, Rahm and Scheffler can be priced in a way that gives them no value before a tournament. However, a poor start can give them some pretty great odds, and these players are all good enough to quickly shoot themselves back into tournaments.
Recap of top picks and predictions: Just to put all our picks in one place, we’d suggest playing Scheffler, Smith, Homa, Day and Kirk to win this tournament. There are good reasons to support all of them, but we’ll also have a more in-depth betting preview for this event closer to the actual tournament.
Final thoughts on betting on the Masters: While it might be tempting to bet on Tiger, it’s probably not a good idea — unless you’re interested in fading him. Tiger is the best player in the history of the sport, but that leads to a lot of people losing money on him. We haven’t seen enough of him playing at a high level recently to warrant putting your hard-earned money on him.
Expert insights on responsible gambling and bankroll management: Just because this is a bigger golf tournament, there’s no reason to go much bigger than usual with your bets. All these tournaments represent great opportunities for you to hit outright winners for big payouts, but there is actually more variance at courses like Augusta. It can get the best of anyone, so you might even have a better chance in other tournaments.
