A Tradition Unlike Any Other: Complete Masters Preview and Betting Odds

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“A tradition unlike any other…”

A catchphrase credited to legendary Masters announcer Jim Nantz says everything you need to know about golf’s most prestigious tournament. Played at Augusta National in Augusta, Georgia, the Masters Tournament truly is like no other event across all platforms.

In a tour season where players travel across the globe to some of the most pristine and challenging courses, Augusta National stands firmly above the rest. The rural East Georgia country club has its old-school fingerprints on everything from the menu at the concession stand to the required white jumpsuits for the caddies. Talk to anyone who has had the privilege of attending this tournament and they will all start their story the same way—“It’s unbelievable…”. They will continue on with how the grass is perfect, how exquisite the design is, how not even the best 4k TV can do justice to the elevation changes and the undulating greens, and above all, how they’ll never look at another golf course the same way. 

The 7,400-yard, par-72 course has not changed all that much over the years, with the most significant updates coming in 2011 after Tiger brought the course to its knees in the 2000s (first Tiger mention). With reachable par 5’s, the lengthy 7,400 yards leaves a lot of long par 4’s. Meaning, there is no doubt distance is needed off the tee, but the same can be said for every other aspect of your game. Talk to three different golf analysts and one will tell you how it’s most important to be long, one will say that approach is the key, and finally, one will say that you can’t win at Augusta without being an elite putter. Fact is they are all right. The course is challenging from start to finish and takes every bit of concentration and imagination to come out on top.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpRmF__A33U

Coming into this year’s Masters, I, like you, couldn’t be more excited. The field is absolutely wide open, not because of withdrawals or golfers in poor form, but instead because we have essentially all the top players in the game playing well. Even if you haven’t followed the early tournaments in this wrap-around season, I am sure you have heard that Tiger is back. With the fused disc in his back, Tiger is playing undoubtedly the best golf he has in years. Although not playing every tournament, the 42-year old has played enough that we know his back is not an issue — including back to back weeks at the Valspar and Arnold Palmer Invitational in March. His finishes this year? T9, T23, MC, 12, T2, T5. Not bad for someone who couldn’t swing a club a year ago. Needless to say Tiger’s presence at any tournament brings crowds, excitement, and now for the first time in years, he has a legitimate shot to win.

Aside from Tiger, we have a ton of big names playing great golf. In the 2017-18 season, Justin Thomas (2), Bubba Watson (2), Justin Rose, Dustin Johnson, Jason Day Phil Mickelson, and Rory McIlroy have all won tournaments. They’re all major winners, HUGE names, and in great form heading into Augusta National. Throw in Spieth, Fowler, Garcia, and others and I truly think this could be the best Masters in years. The field is always absolutely stacked, but I can’t remember a year where all the top names were in such prime position.

Here are the top 10 favorites, per Sportsbook.

Odds to win 2018 Masters:

-Jordan Spieth 10/1

-Tiger Woods 10/1
-Dustin Johnson 12/1
-Justin Thomas 12/1
-Rory McIlroy 13/1
-Bubba Watson 15/1
-Phil Mickelson 15/1
-Justin Rose 16/1
-Jason Day 22/1
-Rickie Fowler 25/1

There just aren’t any stone-cold locks for this tournament. Unfortunately, similar to the Super Bowl, the biggest betting events don’t present the biggest betting opportunities. Instead, I’ll implore a bit less sexy, but prudent value analysis. The first thing that jumps out at me is Tiger at 10/1 (in fact I saw him as low as 4/1!). I would not be surprised if he won this tournament, but let’s be honest he does not deserve, at this point, to be the co-favorite. This is clearly driven by public interest, and the public is very often wrong. This inherently provides value in all the other options.

Of those options, I love Justin Rose at 16/1 (I got him early at 20/1) and Thomas at 12/1. Rose is a very trendy pick, and for good reason. The Englishman has five Top 10 finishes in seven starts on the PGA Tour this year, including a win at the WGC-HSBC. Plus, he has an unbelievable track record at Augusta where he’s done everything but win. Along with his calm, focused demeanor, I think he is the best pick on the board. Thomas, No. 2 in the World Golf Rankings behind DJ, has proven he can win on the big stage, has all the shots, and is beyond consistent. I thought he would be closer to a 6/1 (like Spieth in 2016) but I’m happy to have him at 12.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the two lefties sitting at 15/1. It has been an absolute resurgence for both players early in 2018 with Phil winning in Mexico and Bubba winning the Genesis Open and again two weeks ago at the Dell Matchplay. Prior to this year, Bubba hadn’t won in two years and Phil in more than four! Even without their recent success, we would be talking about these guys around this time of year. The course sets up beautifully for lefties and these two guys, with five green jackets between them, prove as much. None of my money is on these guys at relatively short odds, but it will certainly be something to watch for.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-q4Qhcaulyc

Lastly, let’s throw in a few long(er) shots. Of course, there are outliers like Mike Weir and Danny Willet, but for the most part, Masters’ winners are household names. For that reason, I am not going to go too far down the board. Having said that, Noren (40/1), Oosthuizen (60/1), and Patrick Cantlay (80/1) are all worth a look if you’re looking to get crazy. Again, these may not be my favorite golfers, but they’re getting a lot of love from people smarter than me as far as value goes.

For the serious golfer to the most casual fan, the Masters invokes a spirit and liveliness in all of us. Before I was a golf junkie and PGA Tour Live subscriber, I still never missed the Masters. Even my mom, who has never swung a club in her life knows the Masters and will watch with me. So whether you are going to a party, sitting at home on the couch, or are one of the lucky ones down in East Georgia, enjoy the tradition, enjoy the golf, enjoy the Masters.

A complete list of first-round tee times and groupings can be found here.