Masters Betting News and Notes

Tiger Woods Props
By Sportsbook.ag

No matter the situation with Tiger Woods, he continues to be the most heavily bet player in the field.

At the start of the week his Masters odds were 50/1 (his largest ever odds for a Major) as this factored in the possibility that he could miss the tournament altogether.

We then took some wise guy bets late Monday evening and moved to 40/1 before news broke on Tuesday that Tiger had flown early to Augusta and played an 18-hole practice round - a solid enough indication to us that he would play the Masters. We cut his odds further to 25/1, and this was a position we were happy to take going in to the tournament knowing Tiger always attracts action. However, the volume of bets since his announcement has even surprised us as we cut his odds further to 22/1 on Friday and again 20/1 on Saturday morning.

He is now the clear top bet player in the tournament and we are running with huge liabilities at those odds. It would be a minor disaster if he were to pick up his 15th Major here.

However, he is clearly not 100% fit with big question marks in his game and its been 7 years since his last major win…it’s a position we are comfortable being in, but even further heavy action between now and Thursday could change our stance.

We also have a couple of special bets on Tiger:

Will Tiger Woods make the cut?
YES -110
NO -110

Tiger Woods - 1st Round Score of the 2015 Masters - Must Tee off for Action
70 or Less: 3/1
71 to 72: 4/1
73 to 74: 3/1
75 to 77: 4/1
78 or More: 3/1

In addition to these markets we currently offer many more (Top 10, Top American, Winning Nationality etc..) plus we’ll be opening up dozens more props and specials during the course of the week:

Check out more Masters Odds and Props at Sportsbook.ag!

The Masters Preview and Picks
By Matt Fargo
Playbook.com

A huge Sunday and some good breaks in the playoff led J.B. Holmes to a victory at the Shell Houston Open and another winner in our pockets as we head into the first major of the season, the 2015 Masters. This is considered by many as the unofficial start of spring and while avid golf fans live for this weekend, even non-golf enthusiasts know about this epic tournament and what it means. Its beautiful simplicity is what makes it the greatest golf tournament in the world.

Famed Augusta National plays host to its 79th Masters. Back in the day, hitting the ball a mile would be the greatest asset a player could have. And even though the yardage has increased from 6,985 yards in 2001 to 7,435 yards today, bombing it is no longer the edge. Ball striking is now a big factor as hitting greens in the right spots can lead to easier putts. Only three times in the last 13 years has the winner finished outside the top 22 in driving accuracy, and only twice have they finished out of the top 10 in greens in regulation.

Unless you have seen Augusta National in person, you cannot appreciate the enormous elevation changes which means getting a flat lie is a rarity. Basically, it is a 'second shot' course which means the approaches are important just to get into position. Hitting an approach shot to the wrong place in some cases means not even being able to go after the pin, whether it be a chip shot or putt. That brings big scores into play so the thought process of shots is just as important as the physical part of the game.

Even though the course is much longer, it does not take the small hitters out of play as we have seen many contend recently. Because the course has been tightened, it actually brings every player to an almost even playing field and that is what the goal has been since redesigns started taking place. The setup has made the goal pretty simple actually - hit fairways and then hit the correct side of the green and there is a good chance of being on the first page of the leaderboard on Sunday.

Past history plays a big part as you will see names near the top that you rarely see in other events as successful players here are usually successful close to every year. Americans dominated here early on with Gary Player being the only non-American to win through the first 43 years and he actually did it three times. Since then, it has been up for grabs as over the last 35 years, Americans have won the green jacket 18 times (half of those by just three players) with the rest of the world not far behind with 17 wins.

The most shocking fact is that despite dominating the United States in the Ryder Cup, the European contingent has struggled at Augusta. Granted, it is a totally different experience but with the huge amount of world class players, a European hasn't won since Jose Maria Olazabal in 1999. Could this be the year that changes? In total, the green jacket has been given to only six European players (Nick Faldo 3 times, Jose Maria Olazabal 2 times, Seve Ballesteros 2 times, Bernhard Langer 2 times, Ian Woosnam, Sandy Lyle)

How do first time participants fare at Augusta? Not very well as a Masters rookie has not won here since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979. But there have been some close call, especially last year with Jonas Blixt and Jordan Spieth both tying for second in their debuts and Jimmy Walker and Kevin Stadler finishing T8. This year, there are 20 players making their Masters debut. Last week's winner J.B. Holmes has not started here since 2008 where he finished T25.

The first Masters took place in 1934, won by Horton Smith by two strokes over Craig Wood for his first of two wins here. He earned $1,500 for the victory and eight decades later, the winner gets over $1.6 million. To put it in even greater perspective of how far it has come, Thorbjorn Olesen finished T6 last year and collected $278,000. Arnold Palmer played here 50 times which included four wins and took home a grand total of $279,013.

The "best player to have never won a Major" is pretty subjective but Jason Day (+1,360) is part of the argument. He only has three PGA Tour wins but he has seven runner-ups and four thirds so he seems to be always up near the top of the leaderboard. He has missed only one cut the last three years over 42 starts and in four career Augusta starts, he has a T2 and a solo third.

It may be a surprise to see Rickie Fowler (+3,285) on this list as he is having a pretty average year. Still, he is ranked 19th in the world and he was actually playing well going into last week before a bad weekend sent him down to 71st. He was the most consistent of any player in the Majors last year as his lowest finish was a T5. Last year was his best Masters finish and he has made the cut in all four starts.

Sergio Garcia (+3,785) is another non-Major winner that should definitely have one by now. Since 2001, he has finished in the top ten in a Major in 12 of 14 years including fourth or better seven times. His Masters career is spotty but it does include three top tens including a T8 in 2013. He has only one missed cut in his last 29 PGA starts over three years and while it was here last year, expect a big rebound in 2015.

We used Matt Kuchar (+3,785) last week at the Shell Houston Open and after a strong start, he faded quickly. There was some hesitance in putting him here this week but his track record at the Masters is too good to pass up. Only two players have finished in the top eight each of the last three years and Kuchar is one of those with a T5, T8 and T3. I expect him to be around once again come Sunday.

Brandt Snedeker (+5,000) is having a solid comeback season as he picked up a win at Pebble Beach to go along with three other top 20's so far in 2015. To win at Augusta, you have to be able to putt well and he is one of the best so it comes as no surprise that he has had success here. His best finish is a T6 in 2013 and he has not missed the cut the last four years. He is a big darkhorse pick this week.

Lee Westwood (+5,500) has been on that aforementioned "best player to have never won a Major" list for a long time and deservedly so. While he is arguably past his prime, he continues to flourish here as of the six players that have made the cut the last five years, Westwood has the best average finish at just over 6th place. He ha not missed the cut since 2006 and has been recently playing solid despite missing the cut last week.

Recommended Tournament Win Six Pack at The Masters - All for 1 Unit

Jason Day (+1,360)
Rickie Fowler (+3,285)
Sergio Garcia (+3,785)
Matt Kuchar (+3,785)
Brandt Snedeker (+5,000)
Lee Westwood (+5,500)

2015 Record to date after 12 events: +78.5 Units

Golfers to Bet - The Masters
By portsbook.ag

Tournament: The Masters
Date: Apr. 9 - Apr. 12
Venue: Augusta National Golf Club
Location: Augusta, GA

The first major of the year is finally here as the top players from around the world hit the hallowed grounds of Augusta for the Masters this week. They will be chasing the green jacket for the 81st year and the par-72, 7,435-yard course has given up a decent amount of scoring in recent years with the winning score being in double-digits under par at four of the past six installments.

There will be plenty of multiple time victors playing here this year with the most recent being Bubba Watson, who won his second Masters last year with a score of eight-under par. He defeated his next closest opponent by three strokes despite a Saturday 75 and added to his 2012 playoff win over Louis Oosthuizen. Tiger Woods is another multiple-time winner here, taking the green jacket four times in his career, but he hasn’t played since withdrawing from the Farmers Insurance Open in early February and has not won this event since 2005.

There will be 20 players in this year’s field that have never played in this famous tourney before and will be joined by 78 returning pros. Let’s look through everybody to find a few who could win this week, getting their names forever etched in the lore of the event.

Golfers to Bet:

Rory McIlroy (8/1): McIlroy has yet to win the Masters in his impressive career, but has won each of the past two majors while showing up for his best finish in Augusta last year when he carded an even-par over the four days and placed eighth. The world’s top golfer hasn’t exactly torn up the PGA in his three events this season, but has an 11th and a ninth in his past two tourneys and has the length off the tee (305.0 yards per) to put himself in a great position at these tough holes. This is the one big event that has eluded him in the past, but he also hasn’t been all that bad, making the cut in five of his six visits as he added four top-25 finishes. He should have all the drive in the world to get a green jacket and complete the majors grand slam.

Jason Day (12/1): Day is one of the best players in the world who has not earned a major in his career despite having seven career top-10s in them. Twice he was right at the top of the leaderboard in this event, finishing third in 2013 with a score of seven-under and second in 2011 after going 12-under par. Last year he also put up a solid performance with a 20th in Augusta but had just one round better than par. His season so far has also been quite impressive with a win and two other top-10 finishes in his six outings. Day has a massive driver (305.1 yards per, 9th on tour) and should be able to navigate this tough course with his tremendous scrambling skills (66.7%, 7th on tour). He has come close to wearing the green jacket in the past and has the skills to win here, so don’t be surprised to see him as the victor come Sunday.

Patrick Reed (25/1): Reed is an emerging superstar and has the makeup of a multiple time winner of majors in the future. He’s shown up with a solid putter this year (0.515 strokes gained putting, 24th on tour) and is amazing around the greens with a sand save percentage of 66% (8th on tour) and scrambling percentage of 69.4% (3rd on tour). These numbers have led to seven top-25s, including a win and the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, in 10 events this year and he has yet to miss a cut. Reed didn’t perform well here last season, posting a 79 on Friday and missing the cut, but will surely be more comfortable in his second go around and be a factor at week’s end.

Keegan Bradley (60/1): Bradley knows what it takes to win in big events after being the victor at the PGA Championship back in 2011 and since then he has four top-20s in majors. Unfortunately, the Masters has been his worst of the four tournaments, but he has still made the cut in 2-of-3 attempts and is coming off a fifth-place showing at the Shell Houston Open last week. Being long off the tee is often needed to compete here and he is averaging 302.8 yards per drive (12th on tour) as he ranks third in total driving. If he can string together some better putting this week there is no reason why he can’t take aim at winning his second career major.

Jamie Donaldson (125/1): Donaldson seems to dot the top of the leaderboard in tons of major events and that was no different last year in Augusta with a 14th at his second visit to the course. If he does make a run this week it will be because of his short game as he ranks in the top-30 at strokes-gained putting (0.315, 30th on tour), scrambling (66.9%, 6th on tour) and sand save percentage (63.5%, 18th on tour). Donaldson has yet to grab a win on the PGA tour and he could break out for his first in his third Masters appearance.

The Masters Betting Odds - Provided by Sportsbook.ag

Jordan Spieth 8/1
Rory McIlroy 8/1
Bubba Watson 10/1
Dustin Johnson 12/1
Jason Day 12/1
Jimmy Walker 18/1
Adam Scott 20/1
Henrik Stenson 20/1
Phil Mickelson 20/1
Tiger Woods 20/1
Patrick Reed 25/1
Matt Kuchar 30/1
Rickie Fowler 30/1
JB Holmes 35/1
Brandt Snedeker 40/1
Justin Rose 40/1
Sergio Garcia 40/1
Lee Westwood 45/1
Louis Oosthuizen 50/1
Hideki Matsuyama 60/1
Keegan Bradley 60/1
Ryan Moore 60/1
Zach Johnson 60/1
Martin Kaymer 65/1
Billy Horschel 70/1
Jim Furyk 70/1
Paul Casey 70/1
Angel Cabrera 80/1
Bill Haas 80/1
Brooks Koepka 80/1
Charl Schwartzel 80/1
Ian Poulter 80/1
Ryan Palmer 80/1
Hunter Mahan 100/1
Kevin Na 100/1
Luke Donald 100/1
Victor Dubuisson 100/1
Gary Woodland 125/1
Jamie Donaldson 125/1
Jason Dufner 125/1
Russell Henley 125/1
Vijay Singh 125/1
Chris Kirk 150/1
Danny Willet 150/1
Ernie Els 150/1
Fred Couples 150/1
Graeme McDowell 150/1
Jonas Blixt 150/1
Kevin Streelman 150/1
Miguel Angel Jimenez 150/1
Padraig Harrington 150/1
Shane Lowry 150/1
Webb Simpson 150/1
Branden Grace 200/1
James Hahn 200/1
Marc Leishman 200/1
Steve Stricker 200/1
Bernd Wiesberger 250/1
Brendon Todd 250/1
Camilo Villegas 250/1
Charley Hoffman 250/1
John Senden 250/1
Joost Luiten 250/1
Matt Every 250/1
Morgan Hoffman 250/1
Sang-Moon Bae 250/1
Anirban Lahiri 300/1
Ben Martin 300/1
Bernhard Langer 300/1
Cameron Tringale 300/1
Geoff Ogilvy 300/1
Robert Streb 300/1
Seung-Yul Noh 300/1
Stephen Gallacher 300/1
Thomas Bjorn 300/1
Ben Crane 500/1
Brian Harman 500/1
Erik Compton 500/1
Kevin Stadler 500/1
Mikko Ilonen 500/1
Thongchai Jaidee 500/1
Trevor Immelman 500/1
Scott Harvey 750/1
Antonio Murdaca 1000/1
Bradley Neil 1000/1
Corey Conners 1000/1
Darren Clarke 1000/1
Gunn Yang 1000/1
Jose Maria Olazabal 1000/1
Matias Dominguez 1000/1
Mike Weir 1000/1
Tom Watson 1000/1
Byron Meth 2000/1
Ben Crenshaw 2500/1
Ian Woosnam 2500/1
Larry Mize 2500/1
Mark O Meara 2500/1
Sandy Lyle 2500/1

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