The 2022 Masters: PGA Tour Betting Odds
Jon Rahm is the favourite on the golf odds.
How great is this week sports-wise? The college basketball national championship game was Monday night, Major League Baseball’s Opening Day is Thursday – although Toronto doesn’t open until Friday at home vs. Texas – and the Masters tees off Thursday morning with Tiger probably in the field. Oh, and UFC 273 is Saturday.
Woods (+4100 to win) practiced last week at Augusta National last week and said Sunday that he would be a game-time decision on whether he plays. He wouldn’t have gone to Augusta so early if he wasn’t going to play. Tiger has won five green jackets, one shy of Jack Nicklaus’ record, and Tiger’s 2019 win largely out of nowhere was one of the biggest sporting moments of that decade. He hasn’t played on the PGA Tour since the rescheduled November Masters in 2020 when Tiger finished tied for 38th. He was to miss some time recovering from another back procedure but then had a very serious car accident in February 2021 and has been working his way back since. He might only play the majors and a few other events going forward.
Augusta National, probably the most exclusive golf club in the USA if not the world, is a par 72 at about 7,500 yards. As dominant as Tiger has been at the course, he doesn’t hold the 18-hole or 72-hole records. The latter was 20-under 268 by Dustin Johnson in 2020, but Augusta played a lot different with that November date than it does in early April.
Last year, Japan’s’ Hideki Matsuyama became the first Asian-born golfer to win the Masters, finishing at 10-under 278 – although he didn’t play that well on Sunday in shooting 1 over. Xander Schauffele, playing in the final pairing with Matsuyama, birdied 12, 13, 14 and 15 to pull within two strokes of the leader but then his chances ended at 16 when the tee shot ended up in the pond. Will Zalatoris finished second by a shot with a final-round 70. Tiger was the last repeat winner in 2002. Matsuyama (+3500) is no sure thing to play this week as he withdrew from last week’s Texas Open with a neck injury.
The Masters field is limited to around 90 players but there is a cut.
The Masters Golf Odds
Jon Rahm is the +900 favourite. He hasn’t won a green jacket but hasn’t been worse than tied for ninth in the past four years. The Spaniard has finished inside the Top 10 in each of his last five major starts, including a victory at the 2021 U.S. Open.
Justin Thomas is +1100 with new world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler at +1200. Thomas has a best finish of fourth at Augusta. Scheffler would be the PGA Tour Player of the Year if voting happened today and comes off his third win already in 2022 at the WGC-Match Play. He has never won a major and has a best result of T18 here.
Cameron Smith, Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy are all +1400. McIlroy looks to complete the career Grand Slam and has several Top 10s at Augusta. Smith won this year’s Players Championship and was a runner-up at the 2020 Masters. Johnson won the 2020 November version of the tournament in record fashion.
Mike Weir is the lone Canadian to win this tournament, doing so in a 2003 playoff over Len Mattiace. Tiger was going for a threepeat then. George Knudson was one of three runners-up to George Archer in 1969.
Corey Conners was the top Canadian finisher last year at T8. Mackenzie Hughes was T40, and Weir missed the cut. If you win the Masters, you can play basically Augusta every year after if you want. Conners is +3700 this week with Hughes +15800 and Weir +130400.
The Masters Golf Predictions
I don’t think Tiger contends if he does play. Back Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele for Top 10s, but the winner is Rahm. He’s overdue at Augusta.