The first golf major tournament of the 2023 season is upon us: It’s time for The Masters. The week in Augusta, Georgia, is a magical time in the golf world, and this year will be no different, with plenty of storylines and betting options, especially considering the world’s top three of Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm.
Those three are given short odds to win the tournament, and it’s no surprise: All three have victories this season, and all three have previous success at Augusta National Golf Club, most notably Scheffler’s victory at The Masters last year.
It’s no surprise then, that Scheffler is the favorite, coming in at a low +700 price at FanDuel Sportsbook. He’s followed by McIlroy — who needs a Masters title to complete the career grand slam by winning all four majors — at +750, and then Rahm at +950.
The favorites
Rahm (+950) has had the best track record of any golfer thus far this season, winning three early events this year (Sony Tournament of Champions, American Express and Genesis Invitational) and adding top 10s at the Farmers Insurance Open and the WM Phoenix Open. But the Spaniard has struggled over the past month and also has just one major tournament victory in his career, the 2021 U.S. Open.
Of course, McIlroy (+750) hasn’t won a major since 2014, and his only victory this year came in the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, a European Tour event that had a good field but not as deep of one as some of Rahm’s victories.
That leaves Scheffler (+700), who has victories this year at Phoenix Open and The Players Championship and who won The Masters last year by three shots over McIlroy. A rightful favorite, indeed.
Other past champions
Past champions are always invited back to the limited field at The Masters, and given the unique course design at Augusta, historical success and familiarity with the layout and greens is always a big deal.
That brings us to a couple of other top-30 world golfers in 2015 champion Jordan Spieth and 2021 champ Hideki Matsuyama. Spieth (+1700) is actually given the best chance outside of the top three to win the event at Caesars, followed by Patrick Cantlay at +1900.
Matsuyama has struggled with injuries this season — though he finish in the top 20 at the Valero Texas Open last week — and is a much longer shot at +4600.
Adam Scott (+14000), Danny Willett (+21000) and Bubba Watson (+22000) are other past champions, but only Scott at No. 40 is in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Rankings.
The LIV factor
Besides Scheffler, Spieth and Matsuyama, there will be other recent champions in the field who are now part of the LIV Golf Tour, the Saudi Arabian startup that has threatened the supremacy of the PGA Tour.
Some of the LIV golfers will be competing against the PGA’s best for the first time since they left the tour, but they certainly have the bona fides to compete. Dustin Johnson (+2900) was the 2020 Masters champ, and Patrick Reed (+7000) and Sergio Garcia (+19000) also have won at Augusta. So has Phil Mickelson, but given his age and poor results in LIV events, he’s a +28000 long shot.
Other LIV golfers include Brooks Koepka (+3700), a four-time major winner who tied for second at the 2019 Masters (and also won last week’s LIV event); and Cam Smith (+2400), the winner of last year’s British Open who has twice finished in the top five at Augusta, including a T3 last year.
Some guy named Eldrick
Of course, any mention of past champions must include five-time winner Tiger Woods, who wore the green jacket as recently as 2019. That was, however, before his serious car accident in February 2021 that threatened his golfing career. Woods actually made his return at last year’s Masters and made the cut, but he has played in limited events since without competing for a title.
Still, no one knows Augusta and has won at Augusta like Tiger, so it would be foolish to completely count him out. He can be had at a +8500 price at FanDuel.
Full list of 2023 Masters odds
(From FanDuel Sportsbook as of Monday morning)
Scottie Scheffler +700
Rory McIlroy +750
Jon Rahm +950
Jordan Spieth +1800
Patrick Cantlay +1900
Justin Thomas +2200
Cameron Smith +2400
Tony Finau +2400
Collin Morikawa +2500
Xander Schauffele +2500
Dustin Johnson +2900
Jason Day +2900
Cameron Young +2900
Max Homa +3200
Sungjae Im +3700
Brooks Koepka +3700
Viktor Hovland +3700
Will Zalatoris +3700
Sam Burns +4100
Hideki Matsuyama +4600
Corey Conners +4800
Tommy Fleetwood +5000
Matthew Fitzpatrick +5500
Justin Rose +5500
Min Woo Lee +5500
Shane Lowry +6500
Tyrrell Hatton +6500
Patrick Reed +7000
Tiger Woods +8500
Joaquin Niemann +8500
Tom Kim +10000
Mito Pereira +10000
Si Woo Kim +12000
Keith Mitchell +12000
Bryson DeChambeau +13000
Sahith Theegala +13000
Adam Scott +14000
Louis Oosthuizen +14000
Kurt Kitayama +14000
Tom Hoge +15000
Ryan Fox +16000
Keegan Bradley +16000
Abraham Ancer +17000
Russell Henley +18000
Thomas Pieters +18000
Chris Kirk +18000
Sergio Garcia +18000
Taylor Moore +19000
Talor Gooch +21000
Seamus Power +21000
Danny Willett +21000
Bubba Watson +22000
Gary Woodland +22000
Cameron Champ +22000
Billy Horschel +23000
Brian Harman +24000
Charl Schwartzel +25000
Harold Varner III +26000
Phil Mickelson +28000
Harris English +31000
Jason Kokrak +34000
J.T. Poston +34000
Alex Noren +34000
Adam Svensson +35000
Adrian Meronk +35000
Gordon Sargent +35000
Francesco Molinari +37000
Mackenzie Hughes +39000
Kevin Na +42000
K.H. Lee +43000
Kevin Kisner +45000
Sepp Straka +50000
Scott Stallings +55000
Kazuki Higa +65000
Bernhard Langer +100000
Zach Johnson +100000
Harrison Crowe +100000
Sam Bennett +100000
