As noted in a prior post, the beauty of betting on golf is that you can get pretty long odds even when betting a favorite. Of course, this is due to the actual number of competitors in a typical golf tournament where there are usually well more than 100 starters. But here we discuss, the Masters, Scottie Scheffler and how to tabb the Majors’ tote.
In 2023 alone there have been five first-time winners, which indicates this not a game for chalks as well as the overall health of the PGA tour.
Still, I was able to get 16-1 odds on Scottie Scheffler winning the Masters last year after his impressive win at the WGC match play event.
Many more casual fans would only likely look at placing a bet of golf’s four major tournaments. The good thing about that is that all the major betting apps allow you to wager on the four majors year round. Why is this important? Because the odds are constantly shifting, and in golf, players often need to pass various thresholds before being able to legitimately compete in the Majors.
While there are sometimes one offs where a no-name comes out of the blue, in most cases you can point to tournament for the previous year where a player took a major step forward and you think, ‘this guy will win a major.’ Let me share some of my current bets on the Masters.
Tony Finau has been an emerging elite golfer for several years, although he hadn’t broke into the winning circle often. This changed at the end of last year when he won or contended in multiple tournaments down the stretch. I was able to put a bet on Finau winning the 2023 Masters last fall with odd of 40-1. By the time this season began those odds where 25-1. That is a good bet any way you cut it.
Same thing held true for Jordan Spieth. Last fall after it looked like Spieth’s game was rounding into shape, you could still bet him to win the Masters at 25-1. I locked in a small bet there. Currently Spieth is listed at 16-1 but it was lower (10-1) a couple of weeks ago. Either way, 25-1 is much better than 16-1.
Currently, Scheffler is the odds on favorite to win the Masters at 6.5-1. While Scheffler has been near the top since his impressive 2022 campaign, those odds have fluctuated. Scheffler didn’t get off to a great start this year until he successfully defended his WM Phoenix Open championship. Prior to this he slipped back down to 14-1! I locked it in.
Since then, Scheffler won the Players and nearly successfully defended his WGC Match Play title, going to extra holes with his good friend Sam Burns in the semi-final. This performance pushed to the top on all betting apps and his odds has only grown shorter.
I am not saying that Scheffler is a lock to win this week’s Masters, but getting 14-1 is a lot better than getting 6.5-1. A week or two ago Scheffler was sitting as an 8-1 co-favorite with John Rahm and Rory Mcilroy. Think about how much money it took to push him down to 6.5-1. How many of those folks are kicking themselves for not taking him at 8-1, or 10-1, let along the 14-1 that was available about two months ago.
It is just a matter of shopping around and staying ahead of the odds. Of course there are risks to this particularly when making a bet on nine months prior to the event, when you are talking very long odds you are likely
Variety of Golf Bets for The Masters
As noted above, often a player will show form that makes you think he is on the precipice of a breakthrough. Many apps allow you to know only bet all the majors well in advance, but also a blended bet on a player to win a major—any major—this year. There are opportunities with strong odds for this type of bet.
There are players who typically do well at Augusta but who just don’t have the game to prevail. Well many apps allow you to parlay multiple players to finish in the Top 5, Top 10, Top 20 and even Top 40. You can string multiple players you feel will compete and get a pretty nifty payout. Check your betting apps for the variety of bets you can make. Like someone you jump out and the after day one? You can bet it. You can bet the leader after day two.
Anyone who regularly watches golf—even just the majors, or especially the majors—can find value in these bets that allow you to earn money of a front runner and not be disappointed when they collapse because you already collected.
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