After 8 long months without a Major tournament the US Masters rolls into view once more at Augusta, the home of the world’s best maintained golf course. When you think of the most famous courses in the world it has to be right up there with St Andrews.
Of course, the US Masters is the only mainstay of the Majors calendar, being played as it is on the same course each year. That makes the US Masters a special event in the golfing calendar and one which Augusta always lives up to.
Anticipation for the event is at a high this time around, in no small part due to the ‘return’ of Tiger Woods. Woods has climbed the world rankings an astonishing 551 places this year. A recent back surgery seems to have been the catalyst for this meteoric rise, allowing the world’s greatest ever golfer to climb back on top, where he enjoys himself the most.
He might not be able to swing the way he once used to, but he’s found other ways to reach the hole, such as the character of this truly great man.
For the US Masters, Coral are offering each-way prices of 1/5 the odds for up to 10 places. In comparison, William Hill are offering 1/5 each-way to 7 places and Ladbrokes are offering 1/4 each-way to 5 places.
Coral have Rory McIlroy priced as the favourite with odds of 8/1.
Augusta
The course is long and packed with hazards, leaving almost no room for error. Lightning fast greens become a hazard in their own right, allowing the slightest of putting errors to overrun and quickly become bogeys.
A strong driving game is generally an important factor in determining success as well, with the 7,435-yard course tending to play closer to 7,800 due to the way the lawns are mown. Even with that added difficulty it is still possible for the 2nd, 13th and 15th holes to be reached from the tee for players with the strength, bravery and aggression to go for the shots.
The course is a par 72 and the average, even among such illustrious company as this, could well be fairly close to that figure.
Weather
As always weather will be an important factor in deciding the eventual winner, and this year the Masters should be played in generally dry conditions, especially over the course of the first two days. The chance of precipitation does increase slightly over the weekend however. It will be fairly breezy with wind speeds of between 5-10 miles per hour throughout the four-day event.
If you’re placing your bet on the day, pay particular attention to the weather on the Wednesday as strong rainfall the day before could assist Jordan Spieth as it did in 2015.
Rory McIlroy is priced as the favourite for the Masters at a price of 8/1. As yet the green jacket has eluded McIlroy, but such is his form at the moment he is certainly capable of winning it this time around. Many have marked McIlroy as destined to be a champion at Augusta, but the case of Ernie Els proves that no one is owed anything at the US Masters.
If you’re looking for someone who can get those long drives to important at Augusta then look no further than Dustin Johnson, who hit a 489-yard shot at the WGC match play. Even although the drive was downhill on a fast playing course, it was still a mammoth shot. Johnson has been in good form recently and Coral have him at 9/1.
Jordan Spieth is another player who is priced at 9/1. Spieth hasn’t been that great with a putter of late, which could be a big issue on the fast playing greens.
Justin Thomas just missed out on becoming the world no 1 golfer at the WGC tournament against Bubba Watson, but don’t let that fool you. Thomas is playing at another level at the moment and is going in the Masters with great form. If he can find his mental game to be on a par with his golf, this man could achieve great things this week. Justin Thomas is priced at 10/1.
We’ve already spoken about Tiger Woods, but there’s no harm in mentioning him again. Could the greatest ever golfer truly prove himself great once more? If you think so, you can get a price of 11/1.
Justin Rose reckons this is his time to win the Masters. His loss to last year’s winner Sergio Garcia must surely still be on his mind. Since then Rose has tweaked certain elements of his game, including his posture in the swing. If that can make the difference, Rose is priced at 11/1.
From a crowded pack any assessment must surely include the current champion Sergio Garcia, who is priced at 20/1 to retain the title. The task is no easy one. The last player to successfully defend the title was Tiger Woods way back in 2002. For his part, Garcia is driving well and playing to a high standard. A victory would give him the second Major title of his career. Golfers don’t generally like to think about lightning, but this would be a definite case of it striking twice.
Tournament Prediction: Justin Thomas. There’s a reason why Justin Thomas has risen through the rankings this year, he has simply been fantastic. Missing out on the world number 1 might even have done him some favours. A little bit of disappointment can be a great catalyst.
Each-way value bets: For a bit of each-way value try Jon Rahm at 16/1, Matt Kuchar at 40/1 and Charley Hoffman at 66/1.
