You, the putting stats reader, may be worried. But he, the owner of a somewhat ghastly putting stat, is not.
“I’m kind of getting tired of answering the same question every single week,” Jon Rahm said recently. “When you’re No. 1 off the tee and top 10 in strokes gained approach, my putting stats are not going to be top 20. It’s absolutely impossible unless I’m winning every single week by eight. Kind of how it goes.
“Is it as good as it could be? No, but I think it shows in the stats worse than it actually feels just because I’m hitting so many greens and hitting it so good.”
Why Jon Rahm refused to wager this Masters perk on a golf bet
Heading into this week’s Masters, Rahm is the favorite, and you, the reader of nearly every other stat, know why. Strokes Gained: Tee to Green? Rahm was fourth heading into last week’s Texas Open. SG: Off the Tee? Rahm was first. SG: Approach? Rahm was 15th. SG: Total? Rahm was fifth.
Rahm checks other ‘favorite’ boxes, too. Course form? He’s finished no lower than 27th in five appearances at Augusta — and 27th came in his first visit. Since then, he’s gone fourth, ninth, fifth and seventh. Recent form? In eight events this year, Rahm has finished no worse than a tie for 55th — and that was under the funny conditions at the Players Championship. Major championship form? Last year, he finished fifth at the Masters, tied for eighth at the PGA Championship, tied for third at the Open Championship — and won the U.S. Open.
So yeah, he’s not too concerned about being ranked 138th in SG: Putting.
“Again, I feel like I’ve said it a few times. It’s not as bad as it looks. It feels a lot better than it looks. Maybe I haven’t gotten the results yet, but I’m not worried about it.”
Below is a look at the top 20 players favored to win the Masters, according to BetMGM odds.
Top 20 players favored to win the Masters
Jon Rahm, +1100
Justin Thomas, +1200
Cameron Smith, +1400
Dustin Johnson, +1600
Scottie Scheffler, +1600
Jordan Spieth, +1800
Rory McIlroy, +1800
Viktor Hovland, +1800
Brooks Koepka, +2000
Collin Morikawa, +2000
Patrick Cantlay, +2000
Xander Schauffele, +2000
Will Zalatoris, +3300
Bryson DeChambeau, +4000
Daniel Berger, +4000
Hideki Matsuyama, +4000
Sam Burns, +4000
Louis Oosthuizen, +4000
Shane Lowry, +4000
Adam Scott, +5000
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