AUGUSTA, GA. – The Masters, for all its pomp and circumstance, is the most talked about golf tournament of the year.
Given its heightened profile in the larger sports world – not just in golf – the Masters is also the tournament that garners the most interest from gamblers, office pool-organizers, and casual sports fans looking to put a little action on the world’s most famous golf tournament.
Here, then, is everything you need to know to win your pool, or a couple bucks, on the 2017 Masters.
Who’s Hot Entering This Week (all odds via OddsShark.com)
Dustin Johnson: What more can be said about the No.1 player in the world? Johnson is coming into Augusta National having won his past three starts (including two World Golf Championships events) and finishing T6 and T4 in his past two Masters starts. He is the betting favourite at +500.
Jordan Spieth: Standing on the 12th hole on Sunday a year ago, Spieth was primed to win his second-straight Green Jacket. He had led for seven straight rounds at Augusta National before putting up a quadruple-bogey seven on the par-3. Having said that, his record in his three Masters appearances are T2-1-T2. And because he putts better than anyone on Tour, don’t be surprised to see Spieth climbing the Masters leaderboard once again.
Rickie Fowler: Fowler nearly won last week at the Shell Houston Open before a late collapse quashed his chances. Fowler captured The Honda Classic earlier this year against a stout field. His best finish at the Masters is a T5.
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Who’s Not
Bubba Watson: The two-time Masters winner has had a horrible start to the 2017 PGA Tour season (perhaps some blame can be placed on his odd switch to an unproven golf ball manufacturer). He only has one Top-10 finish this year, and that wasn’t even at a stroke-play event. He’s currently 123rd in the FedEx Cup standings.
Danny Willet: Another Masters champion to avoid this week. The defending champion has had a rough 2017, showing little form in the few tournaments he’s played around the world. Only three golfers have ever won the Masters in back-to-back years (Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods), so he has long odds to begin with. With Willet trying to find something with his game, well, Augusta isn’t the ideal place for that.
Louis Oosthuizen: The 2012 Masters runner-up won the 2010 Open Championship in dominating fashion, but despite the fact that the South African has one of the prettiest swings in golf, his record at Augusta National other than his runner-up finish a few years ago is fairly pedestrian, having missed the cut in four out of his eight appearances.
Dark horses
Jon Rahm: “If I didn’t think I could win it, I wouldn’t be here,” Rahm said Tuesday afternoon. Bold words from the 22-year-old Spaniard making his Masters debut, but he’s on the kind of heater that can back up his boasting. Rahm hasn’t finished outside the top-16 in his last six events, including a win at the Farmers Insurance Open in January.
Thomas Pieters: You’re probably wondering… who? Pieters, a 25-year-old Belgian, went 4-1 at last year’s Ryder Cup and just finished T5 at the World Golf Championships event in Mexico. The three-time European Tour winner hits the ball a long way and, is, in a word, a stud.
Daniel Berger: The 23-year-old has a PGA Tour win under his belt and is playing in his second Masters after finishing T10 a year ago. The past two Masters champions – Danny Willett and Jordan Spieth – both won in their second appearance at Augusta National.
Justin Thomas: Thomas, the long-time sidekick to Jordan Spieth (he’s known in golf circles as “Jordan Spieth’s good buddy”) has turned the table this year on Spieth, becoming the Batman to his Robin having won three times on the PGA Tour 2017 schedule. He has all the tools to compete at Augusta.
What about the Canadians?
Adam Hadwin: Hadwin’s recent run (in January, he shot a 59 at the CareerBuilder Challenge and last month he won the Valspar Championship and then placed T6 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational) has been getting some dark horse love from worldwide media outlets making their picks this week.
The recently married Hadwin has put his honeymoon on hold to be here this week. On the PGA Tour in 2017 he’s seventh in strokes gained putting, and sixth in approaches from 50-125 yards, the two most important elements to playing well at Augusta National. One problem for Hadwin: he saw the course for the first time on Sunday, meaning he’s had the least amount of pre-tournament practice out of almost anyone in the field.
Mackenzie Hughes: Hughes won the final PGA Tour event of the 2016 calendar year to earn a spot in the field. He’s also a wizard with the flat stick, sitting 24th in strokes gained: Putting. Since his victory came in November, he’s been able to get a few extra rounds at Augusta National under his belt that will should serve him well come Thursday. Hughes has had a fairly steady rookie campaign on the PGA Tour, having made 11 of 15 cuts. His calm demeanour is also a plus.
Mike Weir: Unfortunately there’s not much positive to say about the 2003 Masters champion’s chances this week. He’ll be playing in just his second PGA Tour event of the year and he hasn’t made a cut on Tour in nearly two years. This week Weir will serve as the elder Canadian statesman for Hadwin and Hughes, trying to pass along as much knowledge as he can. Given his infrequent play, it’s hard to see him making the cut. But hey, this is golf and anything can happen.
Who to stay away from
Jason Day: As inspirational as it would be to see Jason Day slip on the Green Jacket Sunday – the Australian withdrew from the WGC-Dell Match Play a couple weeks ago after he revealed his mother was undergoing surgery to treat cancer – but given the family distraction, and the fact that he’s a high-ball hitter (and the wind is expected to wreak havoc on the players for Rounds 1 and 2), this likely won’t be the year for Day.
Who’s going to win
Rory McIlroy: As long as McIlroy can avoid a big number (he’s shot a round of 76 or higher in five of the past six Masters), the course will play right into his hands come Thursday. He can certainly play in the wind, and with buckets of rain expected Wednesday afternoon and evening, he’ll be champing at the bit as his other major victories also came on water-logged courses.
In addition to the field, the 27-year-old Northern Irishman will also be competing against history, as a win would give him the career Grand Slam. Rory’s got the game, he’s got the attitude and it’s his time.