The best golfing week of the year is upon us as 87 protagonists head up Magnolia Lane to compete in The Masters, the first major of 2019 and the start of a busy run of fantastic golf tournaments over the next few months.
This event is as iconic as anything in the world of sport with the champion here being remembered forever. Patrick Reed was that man 12 months ago and he will defend the Green Jacket against a top level field this week.
Recent Winners
2018 – Patrick Reed
2017 – Sergio Garcia
2016 – Danny Willett
2015 – Jordan Spieth
2014 – Bubba Watson
2013 – Adam Scott
2012 – Bubba Watson
2011 – Charl Schwartzel
2010 – Phil Mickelson
2009 – Angel Cabrera
The Course
The first beauty of this major is that everybody knows the golf course. Augusta National is a par 72, which with a lengthened fifth hole this week now plays to a yardage of 7,475 yards and from tee to green it is probably going to play quite long after a few heavy storms that have been in the area in the lead up to the tournament.
That will make the course play wider which is likely to help the longer hitters although the greens will be firm and fast so whoever wins this week is likely to have putted well along the way. GIRs and bogey avoidance tend to be good stats around here as this is very much a second shot golf course these days. Good scrambling is needed too with some of the greens very tough to find in the right parts.
Bet on the US Masters outright at Betway and get paid as a winner in full if your player leads at the end of ANY round! All customers! Click the image above to bet. 18+ T&Cs apply
The Field
As you would expect the leading lights in the game are all here. The top 50 in the world rankings of just a couple of weeks ago have made it here by right along with the past champions, tournament winners, amateurs and every other category that goes into making this fine event. Patrick Reed looks to defend the title.
We have a huge European charge this week. Rory McIlroy heads the way while Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood, Jon Rahm, Paul Casey, Henrik Stenson and Francesco Molinari will all be eyeing up the dubya. Adam Scott, Jason Day, Hideki Matsuyama and Louis Oosthuizen head up the international charge. Dustin Johnson, Tiger Woods, Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler are the leading American chances.
Market Leaders
Bookmakers are taking no chances on The Players champion Rory McIlroy who begins the week as the 8/1 favourite to win the tournament. It has never really happened for him here since he blew his golden chance all those years ago and with it being the missing piece in his career grand slam he will never play here with no pressure on him until he wins it. Of course he’s good enough to win here but given the meaning of it I can’t be on at 8/1.
Dustin Johnson has surprisingly never won around here and he is 12/1 to put that right this week. He is another who is definitely good enough to win here although whether he is in the sort of form needed with the putter I would have my doubts. If he putts well he wins but on these greens that is more of a question mark than it usually is.
Justin Rose is 14/1 to go one better than he has done on two occasions here having twice been the runner up in the tournament. He has already won at Torrey Pines this year and has regular bag carrier Fooch back in action alongside him. I suspect Rose is a big player this week but he’s only about the right price at this figure, if perhaps a little short given the number of leading lights playing well going into this.
Jon Rahm is 18/1 to win the tournament. I’m certain he wins this a number of times with his power and short game skills but whether it is this year remains to be seen. He has nine top 12s in his last 10 stroke play starts so he is certainly a man in form. His temperament under pressure is the only real question mark about him. He doesn’t feel right to me here though. It is 20/1 bar those named.
[the_ad_group id=”3624″]
Main Bets
I’m so tempted to take Jordan Spieth this week but at 20/1 I’ll let him win. I’ll go with three other main bets though. The first of those is Brooks Koepka, the major man who should really fit this course nicely. His previous results here haven’t been great but since he last teed it up in this tournament he has won three of the five American majors on show and never played in one of them. He belts it a miles off the tee and dials in a lot of irons so if he putts well he shouldn’t be far away. Koepka has won the CJ Cup this season and was second in The Honda Classic recently. He gets himself up for the big tournaments and handles the pressure of them well. At 28/1 he looks overpriced on this potentially soft set up.
I’m playing the statistics for my final two main bets with Hideki Matsuyama the first of them. He has top 10s in the three big events of the season so far – Farmers Insurance Open, Genesis Open and The Players Championship and I’m not surprised as he sits second in strokes gained on approach and he’s second in scrambling too. He sits just outside the top 20 in bogey avoidance and with this course not being that demanding off the tee I expect him to be a leading player this week. Matsuyama has four top 20s around here so he knows how to play the course and at 28/1 he looks overpriced.
Generally this course favours the longer hitters but Jordan Spieth and Danny Willett have both shown in recent times that good iron players who putt well can get the job done around here so Matt Kuchar has to be my third main pick. I’m a little concerned that he’s played an insane amount of golf in recent times but adrenalin could get him through this week. Kuchar has three top five finishes here since 2012 so we know that he can play the course and having won in Mexico and Hawaii and finished second in the Match Play and having every chance to win in Phoenix he is hotter now than ever. He leads the tour in GIRs and is sixth in strokes gained tee to green and third in bogey avoidance. Those numbers should see him go close here.
Outsiders
I’ll take a couple at big prices this week too. The first of those is JB Holmes who in truth there isn’t a lot to like about him as a golfer in terms of the fact he takes forever and a day to hit a shot and is about as charismatic as dried seaweed but generally if you go well at Riviera you go well here. He won at Riviera earlier in the season and that has to count for something. Holmes was tied for fourth here in 2016 so he has previous on the course. He’s gone quiet since his win at Riviera but Sawgrass and Bay Hill were never really going to suit him. He is long and usually decent with the irons so if he putts well here he can have a good week.
There is a myth that debutants never go well around here but more and more that is becoming nonsense and I wonder if Eddie Pepperell can blow it out of the water here. This course should suit him very nicely. He is one of the best iron players on the European Tour, finishing fourth in strokes gained on approach on that Tour last year. We all remember him firing the lights out of Walton Heath in the British Masters and he did similar at Sawgrass last month. This course is not very demanding off the tee so he should be able to keep it in play and then his strengths really come to the fore. If he handles the occasion then the likeable Englishman, who has two top 20 finishes in his last three majors, could shock many at a huge price.
Tips
PLACED – Back B.Koepka to win The Masters (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 26.00 with Sky Bet (1/5 1-10)
Back H.Matsuyama to win The Masters (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 29.00 with Sky Bet (1/5 1-10)
Back M.Kuchar to win The Masters (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 46.00 with William Hill (1/5 1-6)
Back him here:
Back JB.Holmes to win The Masters (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 151.00 with Boylesports (1/5 1-7)
Back him here:
Back E.Pepperell to win The Masters (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 176.00 with Ladbrokes (1/5 1-7)
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2019
