The first major of the season gets underway Thursday at Augusta National with the 89th Masters Tournament.
To no one’s surprise, two-time champion Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, a two-time winner in 2025, are the betting favorites.
Here’s a look at the odds-on favorites in Augusta, Georgia, as well as some betting options from expert Brad Thomas.
Jon Rahm, top LIV finisher: +350
Jon Rahm is a player I’m very interested in this week. His number swiftly fell from the +2000 range to a consensus of +1300. I agree with the market movement. He is the most intriguing player in the field. At +1300, his price might be too short to bet confidently. The market that makes the most sense when betting on Rahm is being the top LIV golfer.
Over the last 36 rounds, Rahm has gained the most strokes on average among all LIV players.
Rahm has been good in his last five starts. He’s finished inside the top 10 in every event. He also has two top-five finishes. His driver and putter have been working, and it seems his confidence is in a perfect spot heading into Masters week.
Max Homa, to miss the cut: +120
With a field size of 95, and the top 50 and ties making the cut, players are more likely to make the cut here over a regular PGA Tour event. However, at +120, there’s still value in fading Homa and betting on him to miss the cut.
Homa has struggled this season, missing his last five cuts. That’s primarily due to his poor performance on Thursdays. During that time, he has lost on average -4.78 strokes to the field on Day 1.
During this span of lousy play from Homa, the biggest issue has been on his second shot. He’s lost on average -4 strokes on approach. This could probably be attributed to the wholesale changes he’s made this season. He switched from Titleist to Cobra equipment; parted ways with his swing coach, Mark Blackburn, and replaced him with John Scott Rattan; and the newest change was splitting from his long-time caddie, Joe Grenier.
With the poor play and so many changes, it’s hard to have any confidence in Homa this week.
Collin Morikawa, top 10: +130
The Masters is all about excellence and experience. In five trips to Augusta, Morikawa has demonstrated both. He’s finished inside the top 10 three times — all in his last three trips here. Twice, he’s finished inside the top five.
Playing at Augusta requires accuracy off the tee. With minimal second cut here, if your drives are wayward, you’re either in a hazard or under a tree. Morikawa is one of the most accurate drivers on the PGA Tour. He’s hitting fairways at a 72% clip. With his accuracy off the tee, he’s a big gainer on approach.
He’s entering this week with a lot of confidence, having finished inside the top 20 in five consecutive events and within the top 10 in three of those.
This could be the season Morikawa wins his first green jacket. Should it not, he will likely be in contention come Sunday and cash the top-10 ticket.
Masters Tournament odds to win (as of Tuesday, courtesy DraftKings):
- Scottie Scheffler: +400
- Rory McIlroy: +650
- Jon Rahm: +1300
- Collin Morikawa: +1800
- Xander Schauffele: +1800
- Bryson DeChambeau: +2000
- Ludvig Åberg: +2200
- Justin Thomas: +2500
- Brooks Koepka: +3000
- Hideki Matsuyama: +3000
- Jordan Spieth: +3500
- Viktor Hovland: +4000
- Tommy Fleetwood: +4000
- Patrick Cantlay: +4000
- Joaquin Niemann: +4000
