The Masters Betting Odds Preview
The Masters returns to Augusta National with some new intrigue as PGA players and LIV Golf players meet up in a major for the first time this year.
There will be 18 LIV Golf players in the field this weekend, but you won’t find any of them at the top of the Masters odds at Bovada Sportsbook. The co-favorites at Bovada are Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, both at +700.
Defending champ Scheffler shares top odds with McIlroy
Scheffler is the defending champion after winning his first green jacket last year. In 2022, he shot 10 under par to finish three strokes ahead of the runner-up, McIlroy. Scheffler is currently ranked No. 1 in the world with two wins and four top-five finishes this year. He’ll try to become the first repeat Masters champion since Tiger Woods in 2001-02.
McIlroy still needs a Masters win to complete the career grand slam. His second-place finish at Augusta last year was his best-ever Masters result and his fourth top-five finish in the tournament. McIlroy has had a bit of an uneven season so far, which includes tying for second in the Arnold Palmer Invitational and missing the cut in the Players Championship.
Following Scheffler and McIlroy on the Bovada odds list are Jon Rahm at +1000, Jordan Spieth at +1400, and the first LIV golfer on the odds, Cameron Smith at +2000.
Rahm had been top-10 staple before 2022 tournament
Prior to finishing tied for 27th in last year’s Masters, Rahm has posted four straight top-10 finishes at Augusta, including his career-best fourth-place finish in 2018. Rahm will be looking for a better start to the major season in 2023 after he failed to crack the top 10 in a major tournament last year.
Spieth is a former Masters champion, having won in 2015. Since that win, he’s finished in the top three at Augusta three times, but he wasn’t in contention last year and missed the cut.
The odds on other notables include Justin Thomas at +2200, and Collin Morikawa, Jason Day and Max Homa, all at +2500.
The top LIV golfer on the odds is Smith at +2000. Smith, the 2022 British Open champion, fled the PGA Tour for LIV Golf last year. He recorded one win in the LIV series last season but has played very little golf this year, and since he’s on the LIV Tour, he hasn’t played any competitive four-round tournaments this year.
LIV competitors have combined for nine green jackets
The odds on a few other LIV Tour members who already have green jackets in their closets include former Masters winners Dustin Johnson at +2500, Patrick Reed at +8000, Sergio Garcia at +17500, two-timer winner Bubba Watson at +25000, Charl Schwartzel at +30000, and three-time winner Phil Mickelson at +30000.
One other former Masters champion everyone will be watching this weekend is Tiger Woods. The five-time Masters champion is a big underdog this week at +8000. Woods’ playing time is limited due to ongoing leg and back issues and last year at Augusta he finished well back in 47th place.