The Masters never fails to disappoint, and this week at Augusta National has been no different. Tiger Woods once again made history over the first 36 holes, and Scottie Scheffler continues to make golf look like the easiest sport on the planet – when we all know it's not!
With plenty of great value on offer in the head-to-head matchups, including a X/1 treble, there is still plenty of fun to be had before we find out the recipient of the Green Jacket.
Golf Monthly's Barry Plummer shares everything you need to know for a final round flutter on The Masters...
The Masters Betting Picks: The Course
Being able to watch The Masters at this iconic venue every year is one of the greatest privileges of being a golf fan, with the unrivalled beauty of the legendary host venue Augusta National providing the perfect backdrop for the first Major Championship of the season.
This par-72 paradise spans 7,545 yards and is one of the ultimate strategic tests. Generous, immaculate fairways meander through the tree-lined parkland, requiring players to shape their shots as they jostle for position. Fast Bentgrass greens await, guarded by perilous bunkers and a fair few iconic water hazards.
To win around Augusta National you need to display premium ball-striking and a strong mental resolve that can help you navigate the inevitable challenges that are bound to arise.
Anything can happen as players head into the back-nine on Sunday, manoeuvring their way through the famous Amen Corner and holding on tight as the drama and theatre of The Masters unfolds around them.
The Previous Winners
2023: John Rahm (-12)
2022: Scottie Scheffler (-10)
2021: Hideki Matsuyama (-10)
2020 (Nov): Dustin Johnson (-20)
2019: Tiger Woods (-13)
The Best 3rd Round 'Matchup' 2-Ball Bets At The Masters
Shane Lowry (3/4) has been playing some sneakily good golf over the past couple of days, and faces Phil Mickelson who hasn't ranked better than 40th for Strokes Gained: Tee To Green in any round this week. Lowry has been in the top-12 for the same category in both of the last two rounds, and if he can get the putter to co-operate then this could be a great way to start the treble.
I am sticking with Patrick Cantlay (4/5) for a third successive day, mainly because his stats tell a promising story. He currently ranks 4th for Strokes Gained: Tee To Green at Augusta this week, and with a hot putter could easily have been in contention. The fact is the flatstick was stone cold for the first two rounds, but picked up yesterday as he ranked 9th for Strokes Gained: Putting in the field. He faces Lucas Glover today, who's putter went in the opposite direction in round three and I can see this being a good bet at a decent price.
Rounding out the treble is the man who had the best statistical round in the field yesterday, Chris Kirk (1/1). He takes on Adam Schenk, who is also having a great tournament, but if Kirk can find anything remotely similar to yesterday he should waltz home.
Kirk ranked 1st for Strokes Gained: Tee To Green and 1st for Strokes Gained: Total, as he shot a commanding four-under-par 68. He has a good record at Augusta, and I fancy him to continue that with another surge up the board today.
The treble pays just under 5/1, which would provide some excellent late value as we round out The Masters for another year.
Who Will Win The Masters? Barry's Outright Betting Picks
A lot of people have already started slipping the Green Jacket onto Scottie Scheffler's shoulders, and I can't really blame them, but at 10/11 that narrative provides very little appeal in the betting markets. I put these two players up yesterday morning, and I am sticking with them as we head into the final round.
Available at 9/1, Swedish sensation Ludvig Aberg could be the man to side with. A couple of solid round in tricky conditions caught my eye, and he looked completely unfazed about being a debutant with a real chance of winning at Augusta National.
While I am aware that no debutant has won at Augusta since Fuzzy Zoeller, Aberg strikes me as a man who is going to break lots of records in his career and this would be a great place to start.
The next player in this market that I like the look of is Xander Schauffele (33/1). Xander has a great record at Augusta National, and after a slow start he has started to show his usual signs of improvement as the tournament goes on.
He is five shots back currently, but if anyone can get hot and challenge Scottie Scheffler it's a man who has five top-10 finishes in his last seven starts and two top-3 finishes at The Masters. You can still get two each-way places, paying out around 11/1 for Xander, which I believe would be a good move in case Scottie runs away with it.
I wouldn't be surprised to see a strong Sunday charge move him up the leaderboard – stranger things have happened!
My Pre-Tournament Picks: Outrights
With plenty of players arriving in-form this week, it's tough to pick from the top of the board. Despite an interesting AI prediction for who will win The Masters, I can't help but be drawn to one of the most in-form golfers on the planet – and he is a fantastic price.
Joaquin Niemann (28/1) has been dominant on the LIV Golf Series this season, winning twice in the space of a month, in Mexico and Jeddah respectively.
The Chilean also won on the DP World Tour in December 2023, at the ISPS Handa Australian Open, and his form was rewarded with an invite to play in The Masters this season.
In the last three months, Niemann ranks 3rd in the field for Strokes Gained: Tee To Green, and is also one of the longest hitters (3rd for driving distance). He secured his best finish in the event in 2023, finishing in tied-16th, and has improved year-on-year in his four starts to date.
Five top-4 finishes in his last six starts make him, in my opinion, one of the top two most in-form players in this field and I think he could win the Green Jacket this year.
The Next Best Bet
It was really hard to move past a stalwart of this category for me over the past few years, but I find it harder and harder to go back to Tony Finau each time. He always represents great value at Augusta, and with a strong recent performance this could well bite me as I fade the big man.
Instead, I am opting for a very exciting prospect in Sahith Theegala (45/1). The 26-year-old is making his second professional start at The Masters, after an impressive 9th place finish in 2023, and arrives off the back of three top-10 finishes in his last five starts.
In the last three months, Theegala ranks 7th for Strokes Gained: Total in this field and has been firing with the flatstick – which is an encouraging stat for this course. A closing 67 last year, including a chip-in on the par-3 16th hole, is very encouraging and he holds plenty of each-way value at this price.
The Best Outside 100/1
Long shot winners of The Masters are rare, with 50/1 being the biggest winning price in the last ten years. With that being said, there is still plenty of each-way value around for a player that has a winning upside. Enter, Si Woo Kim!
Kim (125/1) has made six consecutive cuts at The Masters, with three top-25 finishes and a best result of 12th. The South Korean has been striking the ball really well in the past 3 months, ranking 6th for Strokes Gained: Tee To Green.
The putter has been the issue, but he ranked 21st for Putting Average at Augusta last year and a strong week on the greens could put him right in the mix. At a three-figure price, the four-time PGA Tour winner is more than capable of contending and could provide plenty of interest come Sunday.
The 'Best Of The Rest' Masters Bets
While a winning debutant is rare at Augusta, it isn't unheard of. The last man to do it was Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979, and I am not sure that record is going to be broken this year.
Saying that, I do believe there is value in the 'Top Debutant' market, with rising superstar Ludvig Aberg (3/1) looking more than capable of seeing off a raft of other contenders. His closest contender appears to be US Open Champion Wyndham Clark, but with form lines including a T19 at the Genesis Invitational boosting his interest, I believe the Swedish sensation will cope better with this test.
Following an impressive display at LIV Golf Miami, on a course that has proven to correlate well with Masters success, it was interesting to see Tyrrell Hatton (10/3) perform so well and he could be a great pick from the 'Top Englishman' market.
With just five runners in this particular race, Hatton has a great chance to continue that good form and arrives with a red-hot putter after ranking 1st for Putting Average last week.
Max Homa (11/2) is a player I can see winning a Green Jacket one day, and while it might not be this year, I do believe he is more than capable of securing some profit in the 'Top-10 Finish' market.
With a win at Riviera Country Club in 2021, the third most correlated course to Augusta National on the PGA Tour, he certainly has the pedigree to play well here. It hasn't really happened for him yet, but he is becoming a much better player as time goes on and with nine top-10 finishes in the last 12 months he looks to hold plenty of value.
