This is one of those weeks in the golf world with major storylines everywhere you look.
First we have the obvious: It’s the Masters and the PGA Tour’s first major of 2024.
If that’s not enough, we’ve got plenty more.
We’ll start with the fact that Tiger Woods is in the field and looking for a record-breaking 24th made cut at Augusta National.
Now, while that would be an impressive feat, it’s not one that is high on Woods’ list.
What is No. 1 on that list is winning major No. 16 as he’s still trying to hunt down Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18.
Many patrons’ eyes (we know, the folks on the grounds are not called fans for this one week), as well as bettors’ money, will be focused on Woods this week.
Unfortunately, we’re going to have bad news for a lot of people in a minute or so as we dive into Masters odds and predictions.
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Top of Masters odds full of intriguing storylines
But first, we’ve got more storylines.
Another big one this week is the past two winners, Scottie Scheffler in 2022 and Jon Rahm last year, are front-and-center when it comes to odds.
Scheffler is favored at and is playing great while Rahm comes in at and is playing, well, pretty good.
The third big story that will get more than its share of attention is the fact Rory McIlroy, the second favorite at , is back to try and complete his career grand slam.
This will be the 10th time he’s teed it up at the Masters with a chance to accomplish that feat. (Unfortunately, we’re not going to have him in our picks this week as we vowed to never pick him to win the Masters after giving him a good shot the last two times he’s teed it up here. Fool us once, shame on us. Fool us twice and you’re off our picks).
He won his third leg of the grand slam way back in 2014 when he won the Open Championship adding to his resume after winning the U.S. Open in 2011 and the PGA Championship a year later.
He’s been chasing the Masters ever since.
This week will see 89 golfers tee it up. A total of 109 golfers are qualified to play but that includes past champions who have bowed out either this year or in previous years.
Let’s take a look at a few players we think might slip on that green jacket on Sunday and at least one who we don’t think will add another jacket to his closet.
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Masters favorite Scottie Scheffler a good bet this weekend
We’ve said this more than once: Don’t bet against Scottie Scheffler.
It’s that simple.
When you check out Scheffler’s results, especially starting out 2024, his odds of seem like a pretty decent return possibility.
In his last three events he’s finished first, first and T-2. And that T-2 could have easily been his third straight victory as he missed a short putt on the 72nd hole that would have forced a playoff.
He won at Augusta National in 2022 by three strokes and wound up T-10 last year.
He’s eight-for-eight in cuts made in 2024 with seven top 10s. His T-2 at the Texas Children’s Houston Open was also his fifth top-five of this season.
Like we said prior to the Texas Children’s Houston Open, the best bet may to wait until later in the tournament and grab Scheffler with in-tournament wagering if he’s a few shots off the pace.
Xander Schauffele odds to win Masters at good value
At we feel like we’re getting a good price with Xander Schauffele even with Scheffler, McIlroy and Rahm ahead of him in the odds.
He’s been in the top-10 in three of his last five outings at Augusta National and has shot par or better in 13 of his previous 17 rounds.
He doesn’t have a victory in 2024 but he’s been close. He has a runner-up finish, is eight-for-eight in cuts made and has six top 10s.
He always seems to be in the picture come Sunday. He was T-10 here last year where a second-round 74 left him too far behind to make a move over the weekend.
Masters odds: Stay away from Jon Rahm in PGA return
Jon Rahm will make his return to the PGA Tour this week as the defending champion.
Rahm is the third favorite at but he’s not coming into this week in top form.
Good form, yes. Top form, no.
He’s played in all five LIV Tour events with four top 10s, but no wins which probably surprises him more than anyone else.
He will be coming in off a fifth-place finish in Miami so he’s playing well but not well enough for us to back him.
Should You Bet On Tiger Woods? Nope
And finally, we’re going to stay completely away from Tiger Woods this week.
We just haven’t seen anything in his golf game that gives us any confidence that he’s going to be anywhere near the first page of the leaderboard…and that’s if he manages to make the cut.
At , it’s a great number for the many fringe betting fans (those who just bet on just the PGA Tour majors or on Woods) will feel are just too good to pass up.
But, look at his resume over the last couple of years and you’ll see a different story.
In 2024, he’s got one start: a WD at his event, the Genesis Invitational.
Move back to 2023 and he had three starts with a T-45, a WD and an 18th place finish. But that 18th place finish comes with an asterisk as it came at the Hero World Challenge which was a 20-player field.
In 2022, he also played in three events with an 18th place finish at the Masters his best result. Add in a WD at the PGA Championship and a missed cut at the Open Championship and you can see our dilemma with even thinking about betting him.
That’s two-plus years with one top-20 finish that didn’t come in a made-for-TV event.
We love to back players coming into an event playing well for the year or coming back to an event where they were solid a year earlier.
Neither of those factors fit in here for Woods.
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