Masters 2017 Favorites
Odds as of February 28 at Bovada. My 2021 Masters Pick: Collin Morikawa +4000. The 2019-20 PGA Tour season was a great one for Morikawa, as the 23-year-old used the 2020 PGA Championship as his coming-out party.
- Official home of The 2020 Masters at Augusta National. Get scores, player information, patron information, watch live.
- Branden Grace (15,16,18,19), Brooks Koepka (18,19), Daniel Summerhays. Winners of PGA Tour events that award a full-point allocation for the FedEx Cup, between the 2016 Masters Tournament and the 2017 Masters Tournament.
The 2018 Masters is setting up to be one of the best tournaments in recent memory, with some of the world’s best players surging in the weeks leading up to the year’s first major and the return of an elite-level Tiger Woods to Augusta National Golf Club.
Tiger Woods’ career resurgence has made him one of the betting favorites to win The Masters in Vegas, but is the 42-year-old really the best pick to capture the green jacket on Sunday?
With the Masters field essentially locked in and just over a week left until the par-3 contest next Wednesday, here is our ranking of the 13 Masters betting favorites – from most to least likely to win.
All odds via Bovada.lv, as of Tuesday afternoon.
1. Bubba Watson (14/1)
Two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson will come to Augusta National as the hottest player on the PGA Tour, with two wins in his last four starts. He missed the cut a year ago at The Masters, worn down by an illness that caused him to consider retirement, but Watson is fully healthy once again and brimming with confidence. His game has always suited Augusta National, and he was dominant in Austin last week.
2. Justin Thomas (9/1)
Thomas missed out on becoming the new World No. 1 at the Match Play and admitted after his loss that he was distracted by the possibility of being No. 1, but the reigning PGA Champion has been sensational over the last 12 months, with a total of four wins since the 2017 Masters. His only problem may be inexperience. Thomas has played a total of eight competitive rounds at Augusta, and his top finish is T22.
3. Justin Rose (14/1)
Rose’s last seven starts at The Masters: T11, T8, T25, T14, T2, T10, 2.
He’s in great form again in 2018, and is coming off consecutive top-5s at the Valspar Championship and the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Rose will tee it up again for a final tune-up in Houston this weekend. Even if he doesn’t win at Augusta, there’s a very good chance Rose will put himself in contention by Sunday afternoon.
4. Rory McIlroy (9/1)
Rory would have been near the bottom of this list a month ago, but the four-time major champion proved he’s back at the top of his game after a lost year in 2017 with an impressive win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
He’s on a run of four consecutive top-10s at The Masters, and needs a green jacket to become the sixth player in history to complete a career Grand Slam.
5. Phil Mickelson (18/1)
A few weeks ago I argued that Phil Mickelson was the best bet in the tournament – and that was before he became the oldest player to win a WGC event, ending a five-year victory drought at the WGC-Mexico Championship. Mickelson has four top-6 finishes since February, and will be playing this week at the Houston Open before heading to Augusta.
6. Dustin Johnson (9/1)
Dustin Johnson was the favorite to win last year’s Masters – until he injured himself falling down a set of stairs on the eve of the tournament.
Johnson withdrew from the tournament, which came just after he dominated the 2017 Match Play event, where he never trailed for the entire tournament. In his last start before the 2018 Masters, Johnson was bounced out with an 0-3 record. Still, if he plays his best, Johnson can beat anyone.
7. Tiger Woods (9/1)
Tiger Woods, still only five events into his incredible return to golf, appears to be ready to win a PGA Tour event – but is he ready to win The Masters? Woods will certainly be the favorite among the patrons in attendance, but there are a few red flags in his not-yet-refined game. He’s been great around the greens and generally solid with his putter, but Tiger’s been wild off the tee (202nd in driving accuracy) and can’t afford to give away shots with one bad swing.
But, as David Feherty quipped on a broadcast a few weeks ago, “the only mistake I’ve ever made with Tiger Woods is when I underestimated him.“
8. Jordan Spieth (14/1)
Jordan Spieth seemingly always plays his best at Augusta – he’s never finished worse than 11th in four starts – but the 24-year-old hasn’t quite been himself in 2018. The guy who many have regarded as one of the best putters on Tour for years is 172nd in strokes gained putting, and his actually giving away shots relative to the field on the green. As Golf Digest notes, though, you don’t have to be a very good putter to win at Augusta.
9. Sergio Garcia (25/1)
The 2017 Masters champion and new father has played a lighter schedule than most this season, but has looked good in his four starts in 2018. Keep in mind that there have only been three back-to-back winners in Masters history: Jack Nicklaus (’65-’66), Nick Faldo (’89-’90) and Tiger Woods (’01-’02).
10. Paul Casey (22/1)
Casey played spoiler at the Valspar Championship, edging Tiger Woods by a shot to win his first PGA Tour event in nine years. He’s more of a gamble, but has been on a good run at Augusta National, with top-10s in each of the last three years.
11. Jason Day (18/1)
Day’s best finish at The Masters came seven years ago, when he finished two shots behind surprise winner Charl Schwartzel, and while he has a win and a second place finish on the PGA Tour this season, it’s exceedingly difficult to predict Day’s week-to-week form.
12. Rickie Fowler (20/1)
Fowler was on fire in the winter season, but missed the cut at Torrey Pines and PGA National. If Fowler can weather the first round – an issue he’s had at majors in the past – he’s proven he can contend at Augusta, but there’s not much of a reason to expect his breakout to come next weekend.
13. Jon Rahm (20/1)
Jon Rahm is arguably the best player on Tour without a major, a title the 23-year-old stole away from Rickie Fowler with an incredible run in 2017 that included three worldwide wins on the PGA Tour and European Tour. Rahm’s now the No. 3 golfer in the world, but he hasn’t been in contention since his last win in January, and he’ll only be making his second start at Augusta.
2017 Masters Final Standings
14. Hideki Matsuyama (33/1)
2017 Masters Finish
Hideki Matsuyama is going to win a major eventually, but his play hasn’t been especially inspiring since January. It wouldn’t qualify a shock to see the World No. 6 win at Augusta, but I’m not sure why you’d bet on him to realistically beat every other player on this list, either (aside from the fact that a 33/1 payout is great on a top-10 player).