The first major of the year, the 2023 Masters, is set to begin, and we have our money on a long shot who has never won on the PGA Tour. Here’s our pick, the betting favorites and everything else you need to know for the week.
Masters odds: Long-shot bet
Of all the tournaments on the pro golf schedule, the Masters might be the hardest for a long shot to pull off an unlikely victory. Course knowledge and experience are essential at Augusta National, as is a knack for winning against the game’s best under the sport’s most intense pressure.
But every once in a while a player comes out of nowhere to win the green jacket (see: Danny Willett, 2016; Trevor Immelman, 2008). Other times, a veteran pro elevates and cements his legacy with a career-defining victory (see: Sergio Garcia, 2017; Adam Scott 2013). This year, we think the player with the best chance for underdog glory is Tommy Fleetwood.
The veteran English pro’s odds-to-win the Masters stand at +6600. Incredibly, Fleetwood has never won a PGA Tour event. But there are a few reasons that shouldn’t worry you. First, he has six DP World Tour victories in his career, including most recently at the 2022 Nedbank Golf Challenge, and he has a heroic record in the Ryder Cup.
Fleetwood has also shown an ability to contend at the game’s biggest tournaments. He finished T14 at the last year’s Masters, T5 at the PGA Championship and T4 at the Open Championship. In six-career Masters starts, he’s only missed the cut once and has recorded three top-25s.
If you bet just $10 on Fleetwood to win the green jacket this week and if he succeeds, you’ll earn a cool $660. For less risk or an insurance bet, it’s worth placing modest bets on Fleetwood to finish top 10 or top 20.
How last week’s long shot fared
In the final event before the Masters, we picked Adam Schenk to beat the odds and win. Schenk held long odds of +5000 to start the tournament, and unfortunately, he was unable to build on his impressive runner-up finish at the Valspar Championship.
Schenk opened with a 73 on Thursday, then followed it up with a 72 on Friday to finish at one over and miss the cut by a single shot.
PAST RESULTS
2023 Valero Texas Open: Adam Schenk (Odds: +5000; Finish: MC)
2023 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play: Kevin Kisner (Odds: +12500; Finish: T31)
2023 Valspar Championship: David Lingmerth (Odds: +12500; Finish: T27)
2023 Players Championship: Corey Conners (Odds: +6600; Finish: MC)
2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational: Billy Horschel (Odds: +10000; Finish: MC)
2023 Honda Classic: Sepp Straka (Odds: +5000; Finish: T5)
2023 Genesis Invitational: Adam Scott (Odds: +5500; Finish: 65)
2023 WM Phoenix Open: Rickie Fowler (Odds: +8000; Finish: T10)
2023 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am: Beau Hossler (Odds +8000; Finish: T11)
2023 Farmers Insurance Open: Rickie Fowler (Odds: +10000; Finish: T11)
2023 Sony Open in Hawaii: Kurt Kitayama (Odds: +5000; Finish: T73)
2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions: Ryan Brehm (Odds: +75000; Finish: T35)
Masters odds: The favorites
For golf fans who’ve paid attention to betting odds at this year’s designated events, the top three betting favorites to win the Masters shouldn’t surprise you. Defending champion Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy lead the way at +700, with Jon Rahm coming in third with +900 odds-to-win.
Even though he’s No. 16 in the world, Jordan Spieth is next best in the odds-to-win ranking, thanks to his past win at Augusta and his stellar play almost every time he tees it up there. Spieth’s odds come in at +1800.
You can see the top 15 and ties in the Masters betting odds as of Monday afternoon below, or head over to BetMGM to see the full list of odds and bets for this week.
2023 Masters betting odds (Top 15 and ties)
Rory McIlroy (+700)
Scottie Scheffler (+700)
Jon Rahm (+900)
Jordan Spieth (+1800)
Cameron Smith (+2000)
Justin Thomas (+2000)
Patrick Cantlay (+2000)
Collin Morikawa (+2200)
Xander Schauffele (+2200)
Dustin Johnson (+2500)
Jason Day (+2500)
Max Homa (+2500)
Tony Finau (+2500)
Cameron Young (+3000)
Brooks Koepka (+3300)
Sam Burns (+3300)
Sungjae Im (+3300)
Viktor Hovland (+3300)
Will Zalatoris (+3300)
Who Chirp users are picking to win the Masters
