Masters Picks

The first major of the year, the Masters, takes place this week with Jon Rahm listed as a slight favorite in golf betting odds. Rahm is listed at odds of +1300, while Cameron Smith and Justin Thomas are co-second choices at odds of +1400. This year’s Masters looks very wide open, as there are 10 golfers listed with odds of +2000 or less. There are plenty of storylines surrounding this year’s Masters, from whether or not Tiger Woods will play to Rory McIlroy looking to complete the career Grand Slam. Let’s look at Masters picks.

Venue: This event takes place at Augusta National Golf Club which is a par 72 that measures 7,510 yards. You will notice a couple of slight changes from last year, as the 11^th hole was lengthened by 15 yards, while the 15^th hole was lengthened by 20 yards.

Last Year: Hideki Matsuyama became the first Japanese player to win the Masters. Matsuyama had to hold off a number of players including Will Zalatoris who shot a 2-under 70 on Sunday. Zalatoris finished alone in second place, while Jordan Spieth and Xander Schauffele tied for third. Schauffele was very much in the mix for the win until he triple-bogeyed the par-3 16^th hole. Jon Rahm shot a 6-under 66 to finish in a tie for 5^th with Marc Leishman.

TV Coverage: CBS and ESPN

Masters Odds

Jon Rahm +1300

Cameron Smith +1400

Justin Thomas +1400

Dustin Johnson +1600

Scottie Scheffler +1600

Jordan Spieth +1700

Collin Morikawa +2000

Brooks Koepka +2000

Rory McIlroy +2000

Viktor Hovland +2000

Patrick Cantlay +2300

Xander Schauffele +2400

Will Zalatoris +3300

Bryson DeChambeau +3800

Sam Burns +3900

Hideki Matsuyama +4200

Joaquin Niemann +4400

Corey Conners +4500

Matthew Fitzpatrick +4600

Shane Lowry +4700

Russell Henley +4800

Louis Oosthuizen +5500

Daniel Berger +5500

Tiger Woods +5500

Tony Finau +6000

Adam Scott +6000

Billy Horschel +6000

Marc Leishman +6500

Patrick Reed +7000

Si Woo Kim +7500

Paul Casey +7500

Sung-Jae Im +7500

Tyrrell Hatton +7500

Abraham Ancer +8000

Gary Woodland +8000

Max Homa +8000

Bubba Watson +8000

Sergio Garcia +8500

Justin Rose +8500

Tommy Fleetwood +8500

All other players are listed with odds of 100-1 or more

Favorite

Jon Rahm +1300

I shouldn’t have to say it, as it goes without saying by now, and that is that I don’t bet golf favorites except on rare occasions. Golf favorites simply don’t win enough to be profitable and that means not taking Rahm this week. Rahm has played pretty well at Augusta in the past and if he gets his short game in order, he could be in the mix this week, but I am not taking him at odds this low.

Value Picks

Justin Thomas +1400

You can make a case that Thomas should be the favorite this week. He has finished 6^th or better in five of his ten starts this year. He ranks second on the PGA Tour in strokes gained: tee-to-green and he is third in total strokes gained. Of the top contenders, I like Thomas and Scheffler the best.

Scottie Scheffler +1600

How can you not like Scheffler this week? He is ranked No. 1 in the world and is playing better than anyone. He has won three of his last five starts overall and he beat top competition every time. He finished in the top 20 in each of his previous two Masters starts and now he is playing at an elite level.

Will Zalatoris +3300

Zalatoris finished second a year ago in the Masters and there is no question he is a better player now than he was a year ago. He has finished eighth or better in six of his major starts. He finally seemed to figure out his only weakness, putting, at the WGC-Match Play and if his good putting continues, he just might win this week. Keep in mind that eight of the last 10 Masters winners have ranked inside the top 10 in strokes gained: tee-to-green heading into this event and Zalatoris ranks first in that category this season.

Matthew Fitzpatrick +4600

Fitzpatrick leads the PGA Tour in total strokes gained and he has finished 12^th or better in five of his last six stroke-play events. He tied for 7^th in the Masters in 2016 and he ranked highly in just about every important golf statistic. Perhaps this is the week he finally gets his first PGA Tour win.

Tyrrell Hatton +7500

I’ll throw one big longshot in here and go with Hatton. He has been all over leaderboards this season and he is definitely not afraid of the pressure. His short game is very underrated and he is capable of getting on a roll and shooting some low scores.

Check out the latest Masters Open odds at SugarHouse Sportsbook.