2022 Masters First Round Leader Picks and Odds (Morikawa, Smith, Henley, Woods Provide Value)

The 2022 edition of The Masters is finally here!

We've got you covered with all the crucial information you need to know over here at BetSided - who the best values are, how each major player has performed, how Tiger Woods will look, and more.

Now, it's time to turn our attention to the first round. WynnBET Sportsbook has odds up for not only the full tournament, but also on who will be the leader after Thursday's round has concluded.

Let's check out the top golfers on the first round leaderboard and try to find some value to open up our weekend:

2022 Masters First Round Leader Odds

Here's the top 10, with all odds courtesy of WynnBET:

• Jon Rahm: +2000

• Justin Thomas: +2200

• Brooks Koepka: +2500

• Cameron Smith: +2500

• Collin Morikawa: +2500

• Dustin Johnson: +2500

• Rory McIlroy: +2500

• Scottie Scheffler: +2500

• Viktor Hovland: +2500

• Jordan Spieth: +2500

2022 Masters First Round Leader Picks

Collin Morikawa (+2500)

Full disclosure: Morikawa is my favorite athlete in the world. I've had an outright bet on him in every tournament he's ever played on tour and I plan to continue that for the rest of his career. So, take everything I say about him with a grain of salt.

But, Augusta National is a second-shot golf course and Morikawa has been the best iron player in the world for quite a while now. He's been open about his disappointments at the Masters and has a new approach this year to simply trust his game. I think he's well-positioned for a huge week and is my favorite outright bet. Shocking, I know.

If he's going to contend, it all starts on Thursday. Morikawa ranks second on tour in eagle average this season and ninth in Strokes Gained: Off-The-Tee. He seems to have cured his putting problems of the past and is 31st in Strokes Gained: Putting.

He'll put himself in position to go low with his stellar accuracy, and I think he has a great chance to sit at the top of the leaderboard at the end of the first round.

Cameron Smith (+2500)

Coming off a dominant win at The Players Championship, Cameron Smith leads the tour in Round 1 Scoring Average this season and has three top-10 finishes at The Masters already in his career.

Pick any stat you want, and Smith is among the very best in the world. He's eighth on tour in Strokes Gained: Approach-The-Green, third in Strokes Gained: Putting, and second in Strokes Gained: Total, while leading the tour in birdie percentage and scoring average.

There's perhaps no hotter player in golf (besides Scottie Scheffler) and this is the perfect time for Smith to formally announce to the world that yes, he is indeed a household name.

I'm almost certain that the Aussie will be in the mix, so getting +2500 odds for him to be the first round leader is a lovely proposition, indeed.

Russell Henley (+4500)

I'll go a bit farther down the board for my third pick and take a player that profiles perfectly for Augusta National.

Henley has been fantastic in opening rounds this season, ranking third on tour in Round 1 Scoring Average. He's fifth in Strokes Gained: Total but first in Strokes Gained: Approach-The-Green, perhaps the most important statistic at The Masters.

Henley is ninth on tour in birdie percentage and third in scoring average, so he's fully capable of rattling off a low round to get things going.

Tiger Woods (+5500)

I don't have any stats to back this up, but come on. It's Tiger.

If our concern about him is his body holding up, then the first round is the perfect time to fire away on the five-time Masters Champion finding some magic.

You don't have to try very hard to imagine Tiger strutting down the fairway on the 18th hole with the crowd going wild as he drills a close approach shot to take the first round lead. We're all trying to have fun here, and nothing would be more fun than cashing a Tiger Woods first round leader bet at the 2022 Masters.

Follow all of Joe Summers' betting picks here.