The Masters 2021: Picks, predictions, sleepers and best bets for Augusta

The Masters 2021 picks, predictions and more as we eye the best bets from every angle at Augusta National Golf Club and peg who will win the Green Jacket.

A strong argument could be made that The Masters is the best annual event in all of sports, but most certainly when it comes to golf and the PGA Tour. After playing a pandemic-adjusted tournament in November, the best players in the world have now congregated at Augusta National Golf Club once again in April among the azaleas for the first major championship of 2021.

There are storylines abound at The Masters for 2021 as Dustin Johnson tries to defend his Green Jacket after dominating in the fall, Jordan Spieth comes in red-hot and looking to recapture some major championship magic, with Bryson DeChambeau trying to bludgeon the course to death with his power, and as guys like Rory McIlroy try to get over the hump at Augusta.

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While we’ve already looked at several dark horses and sleepers who could win at Augusta despite some long odds. But we’re going to look at even more at that as we make some predictions for The Masters, including a pick to win and much more. (Note: All odds are from DraftKings Sportsbook via GolfBet on The Action Network.)

Picks, predictions best bets and more for The Masters 2021

Betting favorite who won’t win The Masters: Jon Rahm (+1200)

Full disclosure, I 100 percent believe that Jon Rahm is going to win The Masters at some point in his career. He’s too talented for that not to happen and his game, at its best, should suit the course quite well. Moreover, it would be a fantastic narrative for him to head to Augusta less than a week after the birth of his first child and then to win his first major championship. That’s storybook stuff.

But having been dealing with the culmination of his wife’s pregnancy while also having an equipment change ongoing this season, Rahm may not be all the way at his top form. Furthermore, he didn’t look as if he was in the best overall form at the Match Play and other recent appearances, even if the finishes were good.

The goal of picking a favorite who isn’t going to win is to fly as close to the sun as possible without getting burned (shouts to the guys at No Laying Up). This is as good as I can do with that.

Best sleeper to target at The Masters: Corey Conners (+9000)

Not only did Conners tie for 10th in his debut at the November edition of this tournament but it shouldn’t be a surprise that he did. The Canadian is one of the best overall ball-strikers on the PGA Tour, ranking 10th in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and 13th in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green.

That strong tee-to-green game puts him a great position to pop up and make a splash at The Masters. The one bugaboo for Conners is the putter, which can’t go unnoticed. However, as he’s reeled off two top-10 finishes and three top-15 showings in his last three stroke play starts, his second time out at Augusta should be quite fruitful and, given the right circumstances, he has the game to win.

Top-10 lock at The Masters: Jordan Spieth (+125)

With his recent form and the win at the Valero Texas Open, there is a fever pitch for what Jordan Spieth, who is +1100 to put on the green jacket, could possibly do at Augusta. There is no course in the world where he’s had more consistent success throughout his career and now he’s finally heading back to the place where he’s won previously while in good form. More importantly, he’s in form in the manner he needs to be to succeed this week.

Because of his win last week and the strength of the field, I’m not convinced that Spieth is going to have enough juice to win The Masters in 2021. At the same time, I would be absolutely stunned if he wasn’t on the first page of the leaderboard and easily coming in the top 10. Since you can get plus odds on that, jump at that opportunity.

Best bet at The Masters: Will Zalatoris as Top Debutant (+110)

Though the odds may not be great on this, you’re getting plus odds on DraftKings Sportsbook for Will Zalatoris to be the top finisher among the first-time players as Augusta and that’s a steal.

For starters, Zalatoris’ game is tailormade to play well at this course and tournament throughout his career. Even at his age, he’s already one of the premier ball-strikers on the PGA Tour and his ability to utilize his irons as a weapon should serve him well at this place, even if he’s feeling his way out around the track.

On top of that, the competition isn’t particularly stacked against Zalatoris as Carlos Ortiz, Robert MacIntyre, Tyler Strafaci, Joe Long and Ollie Osborne aren’t on the level of the Wake Forest product.

Pick to win The Masters: Patrick Cantlay (+2200)

It’s hard to imagine any golfer playing better than Patrick Cantlay has over the past six months and have him still fly relatively under the radar. He won the ZOZO right before the November Masters and has only finished outside of the top 20 once in seven apperances since then, including finishing inside the top three twice as well.

He’s an absolute killer on the golf course and has the overall well-rounded game, including ranking eighth in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, to pop up at Augusta. While I was tempted by Justin Thomas, his erratic nature and lack of consistent form here does worry me enough that I’m going with the silent assassin in Cantlay to make major noise and win the Green Jacket.