The 2022 Masters is inching closer.
Hideki Matsuyama became the first player from Asia to put on the green jacket at week’s end last year, but oddsmakers are looking elsewhere for their projected champion this week at Augusta National.
Here’s a dive into the betting odds for The 2022 Masters:
All odds provided by FanDuel as of Sunday, April 3.
The Masters betting favorites
Spaniard Jon Rahm continues to be the betting favorite heading into the week at +1000 as of Sunday. Rahm notched his first major championship at the 2021 U.S. Open and has finished in the top 25 in 13 of his 21 major appearances. The Arizona State product has been a stalwart atop the leaderboard at Augusta in his five starts — finishing T9 or better over his last four appearances.
While Rahm is the odds on pick, recently-minted world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler enters the week as the hottest golfer on the planet. The 25-year-old former Texas Longhorn has wins in three of his last five starts, and he hasn’t missed a cut since October.
Other names expected to be in contention this week at Augusta include Jordan Spieth (+1300), Justin Thomas (+1400), Cameron Smith (+1400), Collin Morikawa (+1600), Dustin Johnson (+1600), Rory McIlroy (+1800), Brooks Koepka (+1800), Viktor Hovland (+1800) and Xander Schauffele (+2200).
A handful of value picks at Augusta
Will Zalatoris (+3000) isn’t exactly a wild choice after finishing T2 in his Masters debut a year ago, but he is a bit below the usual suspects atop the oddsmakers’ charts. Zalatoris has notched top 10s in three of his first six major starts following a standout career at Wake Forest. He also hasn’t finished worse than T38 in his last seven tournaments and has four top 10s in that span.
The Masters hasn’t had a repeat champion since Tiger Woods in 2001 and 2002. Matsuyama is +3500 to win his second green jacket after claiming last year’s title. The Japanese champ already has a win this year at the Sony Open in Hawaii in January and fired four rounds under 70 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open for a T8 finish in February.
Matsuyama did exit the Valero Texas Open this week due to a neck injury and it’s not altogether clear how healthy he may be. If he’s good to go, he’s worth a swing, especially if his odds dip more than they have.
South African Louis Oosthuizen (+5000) most always finds himself in the mix at Augusta National. He’s finished T29 or better in seven of his last eight Masters appearances. He also narrowly missed out on a green jacket with second-place finish in 2012, losing to Bubba Watson in a playoff. That’s a massive potential payout for a player with his track record at the first major of the year.
Oh yeah, there’s also that Tiger Woods fellow. Woods (+5000) has been non-committal about whether he’ll play this week, but a planned Sunday practice round has most feeling he’ll give it a go.
The five-time Masters champ is almost exactly a year removed from a scary car crash that caused severe injuries to his lower leg. Could we be in for another Tiger stunner after his win in 2019?
Looking for a Masters darkhorse?
These players more than likely won’t win a green jacket this year — such is why their odds are what they are — but why not look for a longshot to throw a few bucks on?
Abraham Ancer (+7000) has been a steady climber on the PGA Tour over the last few years. He recorded nine top 10s during the 2020-2021 season and earned his first career win. Ancer led The Masters after two rounds in 2020 before a four-over final round netted him for a T13 finish. He pulled out of the Valero Texas Open for undisclosed reasons. It’s not clear if that’ll affect whether he plays this week.
Sepp Straka (+25000) and Matthew Wolff (+15000) make for interesting options down the list. Straka, in particular, has been hot of late, winning his first career PGA event at the Honda Classic on Feb. 27 and finishing T9 at The Players Championship two weeks later.
Danny Willett (+15000) already has one Masters title to his name — granted, watching Spieth lose his five-shot advantage over the back nine in 2016 certainly helped. Perhaps Willett can rediscover his form for one more week.
Speaking of past winners, Charl Schwartzel (+30000) has the 19th-worst odds of any player in the field to win. He’s missed the cut in seven of his last nine starts dating back to December and hasn’t won a tournament on tour since 2016. (Look, he’s in this section for a reason.) How about a resurgence at a familiar spot? OK, it probably won’t happen, but crazier things have happened.
South Carolina players in the field
South Carolina natives Dustin Johnson (+1600) and Kevin Kisner (+8000) will both appear in the field.
Johnson already has one Masters title to his name, winning sans spectators in 2020, but has been hit or miss this year. He notched top 10s at The Players Championship and the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play over the last month. He also finished T25, T39 and missed a cut in his other three events since January.
Kisner has played as much golf as anyone over the last four months and is seemingly rounding into form at the right time. He’s finished in the top 10 in five of his last nine tournaments — including three-straight between December and January.
The Aiken native has only landed in the top 10 at a major twice, the last time coming at the 2018 Open Championship. Kisner’s best performance at The Masters was a T21 finish in 2019. He’s missed the cut each of the last two years.
Who’s going to win the Masters?
To be clear, I’m simply offering a semi-educated guess here. That said, I’m rolling with one of the favorites.
I’m really high on Scheffler and I’d expect he finishes in the top 10 barring something unforeseen. I also think Zalatoris can make some noise again this year as a value pick.
The winner? I’m going with Schauffele.
The California native finished in the top three in two of his last three Masters starts. He has nine top 10 finishes in majors since 2017. Schauffele has also shot under 70 in all four rounds of a tournament three times since October. That’s the kind of work it takes to win at Augusta.
It’s only a matter of time before Schauffele adds a major crown to his resume. He’s been close at the Masters before. I think he finds a way to get it done this week.
Masters TV coverage
▪ Thursday: 3-7:30 pm, ESPN
▪ Friday: 3-7:30 pm, ESPN
▪ Saturday: 3-7 pm, CBS
▪ Sunday: 2-7 pm, CBS