12 Jun 2019
There is nothing quite like it. The Masters at Augusta, Georgia, is the most iconic event in the golfing calendar.
Whether it is the picturesque shrubs – the course was formerly a plant nursery and each hole is named after a tree or shrub – the TV coverage or simply the signal that spring has finally arrived, it is the one tournament that once-a-year golf bettors take notice of.
There is plenty at stake, not least the extraordinary prize money – last year $1.98 million went to campion Patrick Reed, while runner-up Rickie Fowler received $1.188m. Even those who miss the cut get $100,000.
Plus a Masters win gives you a five-year exemption on the PGA Tour, and a five-year exemption into the U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship. You also receive a lifetime exemption into The Masters tournament, and an honorary membership into the most storied and prestigious club in the country. There is also the Green Jacket to be won.
The 2019 Masters starts on Thursday, April 12, and the Genting Casino Golf odds have Rory McIlroy as the 15/2 favourite to win his first Augusta title. A Green Jacket for the Northern Irishman, who won the Players’ Championship last month, would complete a career grand slam just weeks before his 30th birthday.
There is no doubt McIlroy has all the tools to become a Masters champion. His putting has improved, his mental game has got better – with a lot of help from self-help books and the guidance of former player Brad Faxon – and his approach play (he ranks ninth in the field in 2019) is now almost as solid as his long-driving, fairway-splitting mastery.
This season’s win at The Players was part of a great run of top-six finishes in all six of his stroke-play events.
He is clearly a worthy favourite on current form – and he is also good in the rain, which will be important, looking at the forecast for the Georgia area heading to the weekend.
Yet bettors must decide whether he is value at his current odds and with Genting Casino’s each-way terms on the first six places at one-fifth of the odds, there is every reason to think McIlroy should be on their shortlist. He was T5 last year, along with Cameron Smith, Bubba Watson and Henrik Stenson.
However, we have come up with five alternatives whom we believe will go well at this iconic event.
JUSTIN ROSE – Odds 12/1
Rose has the form to finally win the Green Jacket. The Englishman owns an impressive track record at the Masters, but lacks a victory. In the last five appearances at Augusta, he has finished T12, 2nd, T10, T2nd and T14. He has had seven top-15 finishes in his last eight Masters tournaments.
Rose, the current World No.1, is in danger of becoming the nearly-man, but the same was said of the likes of Phil Mickelson whose record was T7, 3rd, 3rd, and 3rd again, before finally winning one in 2004. He went on to win twice more in 2006 and 2010.
Yet 38-year-old Rose, a runner-up in 2015 and 2017, boasts the best average for fairways hit and ranks second in average greens in regulation across 11 top-25 finishes since 2000. He has also shot four rounds of 67 at Augusta, and he will interest some at 16/1 to be the first-round leader.
Yet since the Official World Golf Rankings’ inception in 1986, only three players – Tiger Woods, Fred Couples and Ian Woosnam – have won the Green Jacket while holding the honour of being the World No.1.
One of the most consistent players in wet conditions, Rose will also have the calming influence of caddie Mark Fulcher, who returns after being sidelined for the last three months following heart surgery. There is plenty to like about his chance.
DUSTIN JOHNSON – Odds 17/2
Four of the last five Masters winners – Sergio Garcia, Danny Willett, Jordan Spieth and Bubba Watson – won at least one event in the preceding two months to the tournament.
That trend makes Dustin Johnson one for our shortlist. This season he has wins in Saudi Arabia and Mexico City, plus five top 10s in eight PGA Tour starts.
It is also worth noting that eight of the past nine champions, and 13 of the past 16, had multiple top-15 finishes prior to the Masters. In the past seven years, six winners have recorded three or more top-15s.
What backers must hope is that he gets off to a better start, as opening round 73s gave him plenty of work to do in 2016 and last year. Still, he has been T10, T4 and T6 in his last three Masters appearances, and his consistency coming into this puts him right in the mix.
JORDAN SPIETH – Odds 22/1
On current form, Spieth’s odds should be nearer treble figures. He has finished inside the top 40 just once in nine events and missed the cut four times. His approach play ranks 130th, he is 213th in driving accuracy and 166th in strokes gained.
So why support the 25-year-old? Simple. He is the horse for this course.
In five starts at Augusta National, he has a win, two runner-up efforts, a third-place finish and a 70.05 scoring average.
Yes, he is struggling. Yes, he should be a much bigger price, but his inventiveness around the greens and solid putting means that the former World No.1 and 2015 Masters champion cannot be overlooked.
He shot an opening round eight-under-par 64 in 2015 and is 22/1 to take a first-round lead. If ever he needed a tonic, it is this course. He should feel right at home.
JASON DAY – Odds 25/1
If Spieth is in poor form, then the opposite can be said of Australia’s Jason Day. He has four top-10 finishes in nine tournaments this year and has been in the top 25 six times, including a fine 12-under total when T8 at The Players.
He has had a hot putter in recent months, ranking 4th overall on the PGA Tour. He is also fifth off the tee, fourth in birdie average (126 birdies in 26 total rounds) and has plenty of form at Augusta National, with three top-10 finishes in the last eight years, including a runner-up effort in 2011 and third place in 2013.
The biggest question mark for the World No.14 is whether he has had sufficient time to heal a troublesome back injury. He suffered a minor tear in a disc which forced him to withdraw from the Arnold Palmer invitational in early March.
The 31-year-old had multiple cortisone injections around his spine, which helped, but he was still a little stiff and sore during his excellent showing in The Players.
However, he is reportedly feeling good ahead of the tournament and if his rest and rehab over the past couple of weeks proves effective, Day could be worth more than a passing glance.
BUBBA WATSON - Odds 33/1
A win would give Watson a third Masters title and he would become only the tenth player to attain three Green Jackets. Creative shot-making is Bubba’s forte, along with length off the tee, and that’s what makes Augusta National one of his favourite tracks.
A three-time winner on the PGA Tour in 2018, Bubba can be emotional and demonstrative, but at the age of 40, he’s seen it all and still has the skill-set and – when not distracted – the mental game to win.
A winner here in 2012 and 2014, he was a nine-under T5 last year after shooting 69-68-69 on the last three days, following a round of 73 which put him behind the eight ball.
Gerry Lester Watson, to give him his proper name, was T4 in both the Valspar Championship and the Phoenix Open in recent weeks, so could certainly interest each-way bettors at a decent price.
You can bet in-running over all four days with Genting Bet.
