The Masters expert picks, best bets for Augusta National Golf Club
The Masters has finally arrived and we’re breaking down all of our best bets and Masters expert picks for the week at Augusta National Golf Club.
Call it a national golf holiday, The Masters is upon us. The best players in the world are touching down at Augusta National Golf Club for the April 7-10 tournament and the first major championship of 2022. And it figures to be one for the ages.
Not only are we looking at an extraordinarily loaded field with the star-power and the way some guys have emerged over the past year — guys such as Scottie Scheffler, Cameron Smith, Sam Burns and others — but the looming presence is the return of Tiger Woods as he seems to be gearing up to play for the first time since his horrific car accident and injury back in early 2021.
Tiger’s aura is going to make this trip to Augusta National Golf Club absolutely can’t-miss golf this week but that would be the case regardless. More importantly, though, we’re trying to profit from the first major of the year. To help with that, we’re breaking out our comprehensive Masters expert picks and best bets for the tournament that we can tackle and make some money.
Going with our Top 5, 10 and 20 picks before breaking down more best bets and then outright winners we like, let’s take a look at our expert picks for this week at The Masters.
Note: All odds are courtesy of WynnBet. For more betting picks and advice, check out BetSided.
The Masters expert picks: Top 5, Top 10, Top 20, One and Done selections
Top 5 pick for The Masters: Cameron Smith
Whenever Cameron Smith won THE PLAYERS in March, there was a rush on social media to say “go bet him to win at Augusta right now.” I always tend to shy away from that and just wait to handicap The Masters or any major championship as I would any week. But the more I look at it, the more difficult it is to not have some investment on Smith.
Smith ranks sixth in this field in Strokes Gained: Approach over the last 50 rounds and has arguably the best short game in the world right now. Throw in the fact that he’s played Augusta National extremely well in his career with a T10, T2 and T5 in three of the last four years. I don’t mind betting him to win but the Top 5 pick offers a bit more security while still getting consensus odds above +300.
Top 10 pick for The Masters: Viktor Hovland
Anyone who has followed my picks for any amount of time is aware of my affinity for Viktor Hovland and that’s not going away this week. The Norwegian is playing in this tournament for just the third time but has shown well in his two previous starts, finishing T32 as the low amateur in 2019 and then T21 last year. Approach play is of paramount importance this week and he’s tops in the field in that regard over the last 50 rounds.
Moreover, he’s the only player in the field to rank in the top five in proximity on approaches from 175-200 yards and 200-225 yards out, which is crucial here. I love getting around +200 odds on him to finish in the Top 10, especially as he continues to gain experience on this vaunted track.
Top 20 pick for The Masters: Jordan Spieth
Do I love the value of getting Jordan Spieth who, overall, hasn’t been in the best form of late at around -110 to finish Top 20? Not particularly. However, it still feels like an incredible bet to me because of how good Spieth is when he travels to this place.
For his eight starts, he has a win, two second-place and two third-place finishes at Augusta. He’s also only finished outside of the Top 20 twice in that run, one of which was a T21 in 2019. Giving me more confidence is the fact that Spieth showed a little bit of something to hang your hat on in the final round of the Valero Texas Open as he led the field on Sunday in Strokes Gained: Approach. I don’t think he wins, but a Top 20 finish feels like a lock.
One and Done pick for The Masters: Cameron Smith
We’re not going to belabor the point when it comes to Smith as we already have him as our Top 5 pick but he feels like a bang-up One and Done pick this week. He’s proven that he can succeed at this event, is in some of the best form in the world right now, and has the game full of creativity that should suit him well to succeed. There’s win equity but, more importantly, the very high chance that he rakes in a lot of cash this week as well, which is what we’re looking for.
Note: Top 5, Top 10 and Top 20 picks should also be considered best bets, though they’re not included on the next page.