The Masters golf tournament goes off at Augusta on Thursday for the first time in Fall and it is reassuring the U.S. major remains on the schedule. The scenery at Augusta will look a little different in Autumn but the magnitude of this event is unchanged, with a strong field heading down to Georgia.
Tiger Woods comes in as defending champion after his ‘fairy tale’ return to the Major winners’ enclosure in April 2019 but the competition is going to be even tougher for this rescheduled renewal.
Having picked up his first major title a few weeks ago, Bryson DeChambeau starts as clear favorite with the most popular of the USA sportsbooks for an immediate repeat. The Scientist is available at a general 8/1 but his lofty position isn’t backed up by the Power Rankings which have him down in sixth place. The distance required to tame a remodeled Augusta is there but Bryson will need a better touch around the greens to succeed.
Behind the market leader, a clutch of four players can all be claimed at 11/1 in places. Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas form the quartet but it’s Johnson who’s attracting the most interest. DJ tied for second here behind Tiger in 2019 and, as the reigning FedEx Cup champion, he is in the best form of all contenders.
Rahm, McIlroy and Thomas will all make a case this week but all four second favorites are aiming for their first Masters win.
Xander Schauffele and Brooks Koepka were the remaining golfers to tie for second behind Tiger Woods in 2019 and the two men head up the next set of players in the bookies’ Masters betting lines. Schauffele is much shorter at a current industry best of 14/1 while Koepka is listed at an average of around 16/1.
Koepka is definitely of interest and his tie for fifth at the Houston Open on Sunday suggests he is peaking nicely for another major quest. Schauffele has six top 10 finishes in 13 major attempts and has two runners up finishes in his last four outings.
Patrick Cantlay, Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson and Tyrrell Hatton can all be claimed at 25/1 in places. Reed and Watson are, of course, former Masters champions and while their form isn’t the best right now, that could be a telling factor if they are in contention on Sunday.
Slightly further back is Webb Simpson at a current betting industry best of 30/1. Simpson led the FedEx race for some time following two wins in 2020 and it’s worth noting that he tied for fifth here back in April last year.
A host of players can be picked up at 33/1 and they include Jason Day, Tony Finau, Matthew Wolff, Hideki Matsuyama and reigning PGA Champion Collin Morikawa. Slightly further back, we finally come to defending champion Tiger Woods at 35/1.
There will be plenty of interest in Tiger and, while the form may be absent, he is a five-time champion and the Augusta National is forgiving enough for him to claim a sixth green jacket.
Four major winners are among those who head up the outsiders with Adam Scott, Justin Rose, Louis Oosthuizen and Jordan Spieth in at around the 45/1 mark. Scott and Spieth are former Masters champions but we suspect they should only be considered for the top 10 finish betting markets at best.
A host of other golfers can also be considered for what will be a busy set of top 10 options this week. Among those who we think should be considered, Gary Woodland, Scottie Scheffler, Paul Casey, Rickie Fowler, Francesco Molinari and Ian Poulter are among those who might make a persuasive case.
Remember that 2017 champion Sergio Garcia and Joaquin Niemann have both withdrawn so ignore any prices that remain attached to those two and keep checking the field for any further potential withdrawals.
With that in mind, we come to our Masters predictions and it’s time to consider our betting picks’ verdict.
The 2020 Masters Picks & Predictions For Our Preview with Course & Betting Trends
No one is absolutely certain as to how a Masters played in Fall is going to develop. We do know that the course was extended ahead of the 2019 renewal and it played even longer than before as a result. With fairways all cut back towards the tee box, there is little roll in the driest of conditions so length off the tee should be even more crucial at this time of year.
Augusta can be forgiving even if those fairways can be narrow and tree-lined. Once inside, the timber isn’t too dense and there is generally a path to the green.
In general, Greens in Regulation and Par 5 scoring have been key in recent Masters and we expect that this trend will continue irrespective of the weather.
As always, this is a tough call but USAbetting is going to get behind Brooks Koepka. He has relevant stats and, while there have been concerns over injury, form is good following that run in the Houston Open last week. Koepka’s tendency to lift his game for the majors needs to hold but we feel he’s a value pick out at +1600.
Add in the top 10 finish picks and we’ll aim for a profitable end to the delayed Major schedule for 2020. So these are our Masters golf predictions against the oddsmakers:
- Take Brooks Koepka to win @ +1800 (18/1) with BetOnline. He is 16/1 with Bovada and Intertops.
- For Top 10 Finishes: Koepka (best at +150 BetOnline, Intertops), Webb Simpson (+270 Bovada), Matthew Wolff (+350 Betonline) and Gary Woodland (+900 Bovada).
Matt Harris is a golf and soccer expert for USA Betting. His other area of specialist knowledge is cricket. He is well known in sports journalism and contributes articles to a plethora of big-name websites and media outlets. Titles that he writes or has written for include: Betfair, BetVictor, Unibet & Just Bookies.