Masters Tournament Predictions
The 87th Masters Tournament will take place at August National Golf Club this weekend, as 88 players – 81 professionals and seven amateurs – will battle to take home golf’s green jacket. Here are three options we like from a betting standpoint, that you can play either straight up or in head-to-head props.
Masters Tournament Details
What: 87th Masters Tournament
When: Thursday April 6 – Sunday April 9, 2023
Where: Augusta National Golf Course
Watch: ESPN, CBS
Purse: $15,000,000
Masters Tournament Betting Odds
The defending champ Scottie Scheffler is a co-favorite with Rory McIlroy at +700 to win this year’s Masters Tournament, followed by Jon Rahm at +950. From there, the odds drop quite a bit down to Jordan Spieth at +1700 and Patrick Cantlay at +1800. Justin Thomas, meanwhile, is +2100, followed by Tony Finau at +2400 and Dustin Johnson and Xander Schauffele at +2500, respectively. Cam Smith, Collin Morikawa and Jason Day, meanwhile, are all +2800 to win, respectively.
Masters Tournament Betting Prediction
OPTION 1: Cam Smith (+2800)
Smith is one of only two players to finish in the Top 10 in each of the last three Masters Tournaments, along with Corey Conners. Overall, Smith’s cumulative score to par of 29-under since 2018 is the third-best of any player. As golf’s most recent major champion, Smith will look to be the first player to win consecutive majors since Jordan Speith won the 2015 Masters and U.S. Open. Overall, there have been six instance of a player winning at least two straight majors since 2000 and before turning to LIV, Smith’s last two wins on the PGA Tour came at THE PLAYERS Championship and The Open Championship. Dude is a gamer and I love his odds this weekend.
OPTION 2: Justin Thomas (+2100)
From 2016 to 2020, Thomas improved his finish at the Masters every year. That trend hasn’t continued of late, but we’ve seen only quality performances from Thomas at Augusta National through last year, where he finished T-8th at -1. He also secured his second major last May, winning the PGA Championship after trailing by seven shots entering the final round. Known as one of the best approach players on the PGA Tour, Thomas has posted the third-best GIR percentage out of the 79 players to play at least 10 rounds at the Masters since 2016 according to ESPN Stats & Information.
OPTION 3: Jon Rahm (+950)
This will be Rahm’s seventh Masters appearance, with his best finish coming in 2018 when he finished fourth. He’s currently ranked as the No. 3 golfer in the world and while he only has one major victory (2021 U.S. Open), he’s made the cut in each of his last 13 major starts, which is the longest active streak of any player. He’s also been the best player on the PGA Tour in several key metrics this season, including victories, as he is the only three-time winner on Tour this season. Rahm has held the lead or co-lead after eight rounds this season, which is the most of any player on Tour. With his being his 12th major start inside the Top 3 of the Official World Golf Ranking since 2020, Rahm has the most of any player and nearly twice the number of the next-most (Justin Thomas, 7).
BONUS: Tiger Woods to Make the Cut (-192)
Woods owns the best made cut percentage in Masters history and has reached the weekend in 22 straight appearances at Augusta. With another made cut this week, Woods would tie the all-time Masters record for consecutive made cuts (by appearances), which is a distinction currently held by Fred Couples and Gary Player (23 straight). Tiger, of course, is also a five-time champion (1997, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2019) and even with his +13 at the Masters a year ago, he still owns the lowest career score to par at Augusta by a comfortable margin. One more factoid: Tiger holds the lowest career scoring average at Augusta among the 114 players who have at least 50 Masters rounds under their belt. I’m going to have him in some head-to-head props at the very least.
