Golf

Who’s Taking Home The Masters Green Jacket This Year? Scheffler? McIlroy? LIV?!

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Hello Friends.

If the current 40 degree temperatures in Boston have you doubting it, hearing those two words and seeing the Azaleas in full bloom are here to let you know that spring has arrived and with it comes The Masters. If that wasn’t enough to get you ready to call out of work on Thursday, may I remind you that sports gambling is now officially legal in Massachusetts making this truly the single greatest four day span on the sports television calendar.

So who’s going to take home the Green Jacket this year? Let’s dig in.

All odds shown below are courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook as of April 5th.

Favorites to Win The Masters:

  • Scottie Scheffler +650
  • Rory McIlroy +750
  • Jon Rahm +850
  • Tony Finau: +1800
  • Jordan Spieth +1800
  • Patrick Cantlay +2000
  • Justin Thomas +2200
  • Jason Day: +2200
  • Dustin Johnson +2200
  • Xander Schauffele +2500

Longshots to Win The Masters:

  • Tiger Woods +9000
  • Sahith Theegala +12000
  • Phil Mickelson +35000

Dark Horse Bets to Win the Masters:

  • Collin Morikawa +2800
  • Brooks Koepka +4000
  • Matthew Fitzpatrick +5000

Scottie Scheffler

Simply put, Scheffler went off last year with four wins, including The Masters, four runner up finishes, 11 Top 10 finishes, $14M in earnings, plus two more wins already this season. However, nobody has won back to back Masters since Tiger Woods did it back in 2002. In fact, over the last 16 years no defending champion has finished better than 12th at The Masters. So despite his blistering run last season, history is not on Scottie’s side here. With all that being said, Scheffler is the No. 1 golfer in the world for a reason and is still the favorite to don the Green Jacket yet again on Sunday. If you think the pressure is going to get to the resident Zen Master on tour, think again.

Rory McIlroy

Rory finished second to Scheffler at The Masters last year as the Green Jacket is the final major accolade that continues to elude him as he seeks to complete the career Grand Slam. I laughed out loud during an episode of the Netflix series Full Swing when after one of his kids points out a photo of Rory, he self depricatingly jokes “that’s back when Daddy used to be good.” So while he seemingly takes it in stride, make no mistake Rory is not taking it easy in Augusta this week.

Jon Rahm

Rahmbo is a threat to win any time he laces em up. Despite an uncharacteristic tank job last year when he finished tied for 27th, Rahm had finished in the Top 10 at Augusta four years in a row, with his best effort coming in 2018 when he finished fourth. With three wins already in the books for Rham this season, there are worse guys to put your money on.

Tiger Woods

Tiger may be going into Augusta at 90/1 odds, but don’t tell the patrons that because the five time Augusta champ is still THE fan favorite.

I’ll be honest, I always have a separate screen setup strictly dedicated to Tiger Watch even if he’s struggling and out of it on Day 1. Tiger himself even suggested he’s on borrowed time as he said in his Augusta presser, “I don’t know how many more I have in me.” Don’t ever rule out Sunday Red doing the unthinkable and taking over if Tiger is in contention come the weekend, but if nothing else make sure you truly enjoy watching Tiger Woods at Augusta while you still can.

Brooks Koepka

Koepka seems to be rounding into form with two recent wins on the LIV tour, which has my gambling spidey senses tingling. Before a rash of injuries and an unceremonious jump to the LIV tour, Koepka was like a majors whisperer. The guy was absolutely money in major tournaments, even if he seemed to lack that same focus in regular tournaments throughout the season. I guess it makes sense you’re more focused and geared up for The Masters than say the Honda Classic, but it’s wild when you look at Koepka’s career stats. Of his eight career victories, half of those are majors. While Full Swing showed a Koepka at his lowest and seriously lacking in confidence, maybe the recent run of success on the Saudi tour has given BK the juice he needs to finally slip on a green jacket this weekend.

LIV Golf at The Masters

What comes as a surprise to absolutely no one is things have been a little awkward in Augusta between the LIV rebels and the PGA Tour rank and file. You’ve got stories of a famously gregarious Phil Mickelson not saying a word at the Champions Dinner and mainly keeping to himself, which if we’re being honest bums me out.

Of course there was more venom being spit back and forth between Greg Norman and Fred Ridley after Norman publicly complained about not being invited to Augusta this year despite having spent the last 12 months trashing the PGA.

There’s even controversy over the attire of the LIV guys as most of them are sporting their LIV team gear at Augusta, which they are apparently contractually obligated to do according to Dan Wetzel.

Now if you are the type of sports fan who doesn’t have a horse in the race and is just rooting for chaos, then you’ll want to keep a close eye on the 18 LIV golfers this weekend. Norman has already gone on record to say the LIV golfers will storm the 18th green in celebration if one of their guys wins. What are the chances of that chaos coming to fruition this weekend? Not super likely, but there are obviously some big names who have had success here with six former Masters champions on the LIV roster including Dustin Johnson (+2200), Phil Mickelson (+35000), Patrick Reed (+8000), Sergio Garcia (+15000), Charl Schwartzel (+35000), and Bubba Watson (+25000).

Of course Cameron Smith is a solid bet at (+3500) and we already talked about Koepka. Maybe Joaquin Niemann (+5500), Mito Peirera (+8000) or even Bryson DeChambeau (+11000) breaks through, but I’m not putting my money on it. Hell even Phil might be worth throwing $5 on at 350/1 odds! The biggest roadblock to any of the LIV players though is going to be the relative lack of competition they’ve been playing against since defecting.

Whoever you do decide to place your wagers on, do yourself a favor and spread it around on a few different golfers and maybe some Top finish bets because if you haven’t realized yet the final round falls on Easter Sunday this year. Just make sure you give yourself something to hang onto so you’re not shouting at the TV in front of grandma when your only guy is shooting over par before brunch is even finished.

Enjoy the weekend folks.

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