Posted at 10:00 AM EST. Odds subject to change.

Pinnacle    BET365   Sportsinteraction    888Sport 

2024 Masters 

Putting aside PGA-LIV differences, The Masters field is a select bunch of most of the finest golfers on the planet – as well as a sprinkling of top amateurs and former purveyors of the Green Jacket. It’s a heavyweight battle for the ages – defending champion Jon Rahm looking to become the first player since Tiger Woods in 2002 to retain their title, ahead of Scottie Scheffler, Brooks Koepka, and Rory McIlroy, who of course still has that career Grand Slam monkey on his back.

Hideki Matsuyama, Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson, and Sergio Garcia – who lost in a playoff at LIV Miami on Sunday – are amongst the more prominent former champions in the field, while the likes of Wyndham Clark and Ludvig Aberg will look to become the first Augusta debutant since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979 to win The Masters.

Bhatia will be amongst the youngest in the field, while at the other end of the age spectrum we have Tiger Woods, who, it's been rumored, was raining birdies down in a practice round at Augusta on the weekend. He’s joined by fellow veterans Phil Mickelson, Fred Couples, Vijay Singh, and Jose Maria Olazabal.

This Week's Course Preview

In each of the last three editions of The Masters, the champion has been the only player to reach double-digits under par – so in amongst the pomp, pageantry, and perfect planting along Magnolia Lane, Augusta National remains a tough golf course to beat.

It’s a beauty and a beast. In amongst the colorful flowers and the lush landscapes lies a layout that tests the skill, mental fortitude, and physical capabilities of the players – already a lengthy 7,545 yard Par 72, Augusta is unique in that its grass grows in the direction of its tee boxes, reducing ball-run and lengthening the course. That, and its severe undulations, make Augusta a tough assignment to simply walk around, let alone beat the best golfers in the world at.

Designed by Bobby Jones and Alister MacKenzie back in 1933, Augusta National has been tweaked by numerous others since – the likes of Tom Fazio and Rees Jones synonymous with modern era makeovers, butwith Augusta, the changes are usually superficial; this is a golf course that still tests the best in the business nearly a century later. 

Many of the holes are doglegging – the right-to-left shot shape is key here, with thick tree lines showing the way, although remember Augusta is generally shy of traditional rough and instead has pine straw protecting the fairways; a surface that is somewhat easier to play from than long grass.

The main defense of Augusta is its funky green complexes, which vary in size but almost always bring a unique challenge – be it via devilish runoffs, plateaus, contours or shelves. Making Greens in Regulation (GIR) here is only part of the puzzle; hitting your approach shot to the right section of the green is key.

Club selection and course management, in the face of the sheer elevation changes, is key – one of the reasons why those with prior history at Augusta tend to fare better than debutants. Water is in play on only five holes, although the beauty of the design of Augusta is that it’s very much in play on each – dreams have been shattered on the 12th and 16th before.

Weather Forecast for Augusta, GA

The unsettled weather forecast for Augusta poses more questions than answers. It looks as though there could be rain around on Tuesday and Wednesday, while the forecast for the first day of the tournament on Thursday has the dreaded ‘thunderstorms’ in its predictions – plus a ferocious breeze upwards of 20mph. Friday should be somewhat drier although as windy as Thursday, before things settle down in time for the weekend.

Saturday is expected to be warm and sunny, with the wind dropping to around 12mph, while Sunday could be better still – the wind drops to 8 mph, leaving behind a warm day with temperatures expected to reach 82 degrees. 

What We’re Looking For

It takes tangibles and intangibles to win The Masters. You need the mental toughness, and the physical fitness, to win an event as demanding and as storied as this – the possibility of achieving golfing dreams has brought out the imposter syndrome in some down the back nine at Augusta come Sunday.

As for the tangibles, the secret to defeating Augusta isn’t that secret at all – you need to be able to religiously drive the ball 300+ yards, adding cuts and fades where necessary. You’ll need to be classy in the mid-iron range, but you’ll also need a reliable rescue game when greens are missed. Oh, and putting on Bentgrass greens that can reach 13 on the stimp? Yeah, that too.

It’s also vital to make hay on the Par 5s, which are the only four holes at Augusta in which birdie is very much on the table. Length is an advantage in that regard, but also wedge play in the 100-125 yard range given that many will lay up rather than attack the greens in two.

There’s two obvious course correlations that spring to mind: Riviera, home of the Genesis Invitational, and Torrey Pines, host of the Farmers Insurance Open. They have favored quality drivers over the years, and those with class throughout their bag on approach – check out the winners of those events, and cross-examine that with those that have performed well in The Masters for further proof of the correlation. 

To Win outright:

Tommy Fleetwood 49-1 Pinnacle 

At this price, taking a guy that is rock-solid from tee to green makes sense. Tommy Fleetwood ranked fourth forShot Gained (SG): Tee-to-Green at the Texas Open, drawing a line under the horrorshow performance he put in at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. A respectable T35 at the PLAYERS followed T10 at the correlating Genesis in February, while at the start of the year he was winning the Dubai Invitational amongst classy company, so there’s a lot to like about Fleetwood’s trajectory. The Englishman has made six consecutive cuts at Augusta National, posting three top-20 finishes in that span. Fleetwood ranks 19th  ON TOUR in Total Driving, 20th in SG: Around-the-Green and 25th in Bogey Avoidance. (Risking 0.2 units to win 9 units). 

Stephan Jaeger 150-1

If you’re going to make your debut at The Masters, you want to be heading there full of confidence. That’s a situation that Stephan Jaeger finds himself in, having won the Houston Open in his last outing. That was the German’s maiden PGA TOUR title, and it’s one that came about after he dedicated himself to adding length to his game – check out his upward curve on DataGolf for more evidence of that. Jaeger has long been a decent ball-striker, and classy around the greens, but now he has the length to compete anywhere – always a useful skill to have around Augusta. Jaeger ranks 4th ON TOUR in Total Driving, 5th in Approaches from 150-175 yards and 35th in SG: Around-the-Green – 35th (Risking 0.1 units to win and 0.1 units on a TOP-10 finish). 

Taylor Moore 250-1

Trending in the right direction heading into The Masters is Taylor Moore, who followed T12 at the Valspar Championship with T2 at the Houston Open last time out. The former was built on excellence on approach, whereas the latter was based upon Moore’s short game smarts, so it would appear that all areas of his game are in a good place – he bettered the field average off the tee in Houston, too. T39 on his debut at Augusta last year, Moore has that reliable all-round game that fares well in such testing conditions – an idea franked by a T11 turn at Torrey Pines, too. Moore ranks 12th ON TOUR in Greens in Regulation, 31st in SG: Around-the-Green and a rock solid 30th in Bogey Avoidance. As far as big overlays go, this is as good as it gets (Risking 0.1 units to win and 0.1 units for a TOP-10 Finish). 

Sahith Theegala 53-1

Debutants can, as a rule, struggle at Augusta National, which explains why Sahith Theegala’s T9 effort here 12 months ago was so eye-catching. It sparked his quickfire ascendance into the upper echelons of the sport, which has been powered by excellence in all departments of his game. Hence why Theegala is so appealing in the majors, because he’s long, is solid with his mid-range approaches, putts well, and is capable of making birdies or keeping bogey’s off the card, as the conditions require. An incoming formline of 28-9-6-37-5 wets the appetite, as does the fact that he’s finished second at Kapalua, T4 at Torrey Pines, and T6 at Riviera. Theegala ranks 11th ON TOURb in Greens in Regulation, 13th in SG: Putting and 14th in SG: Off-the-Tee. This might be the best value to win on the board. He could do it. (Risking 0.2 units to win outright and 0.5 units for a top-5 finish. 

Sam Burns 77-1

Sam Burns is 55-1 at BET365 but over at Pinnacle, we find a sweet price of 77-1. A five-time PGA TOUR winner, Sam Burns has plenty of pedigree already at the age of 27, and a solo third finish at the correlating Genesis Invitational is evidence of what he might achieve at Augusta down the line. Burns was T29 at the 2023 Masters, but his is a game with the potential for much better here – long off the tee, his approach play can spike, he’s reliable around the greens, and his putting is as reliable as anybody’s. After four straight top-10 finishes, Burns’ game has cooled lately, but he’s still gaining strokes on the field on approach – if he can match that with a hot hand on the greens, he becomes a very dangerous proposition (Risking 0.1 units to win outright and 0.1 units for a top-10 finish). 

Si-Woo Kim 73-1

Si-Woo Kim’s game is so good that it’s actually sick how good he is. The Korean can hang with anyone at anytime. Fairways and greens are the name of Si-Woo’s game, but he also has an incredibly solid and inventive chipping game around the greens – never a bad thing at Augusta, and particularly so if it gets windy, as it’s forecast to do, to some extent, this week. Six consecutive cuts made at Augusta have yielded a best finish of T12, but there’s no doubt that Si-Woo’s best game can take him all the way at The Masters (Risking 0.1 units to Win outright and 0.2 units to finish Top-10). 

Notable:

Cameron Young 50-1

 

It would be unusual, but not impossible, for a player’s first senior title to come at The Masters. With seven second-place finishes to his name in PGA TOUR events, Cameron Young is certainly knocking on the door of victory – if he can rid his game of the silly mistakes that dog him when in contention, he will become a multiple-time champion, of that there’s no doubt. His game, on paper, is perfect for Augusta National. His ball-striking is long and precise, and his short game is just about good enough to get by here – evidenced by a T7 finish here in 2023.  There will be those that question his fortitude when closing out victory, but we’re always happy to side with world-class ball-strikers nonetheless.

 

Sherwood

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------