As always, the first major of the year sees us heading up Magnolia Lane in Augusta, Georgia. This will be the 87th Masters where the World Number 1, Scottie Scheffler will try and defend having won his first major here twelve months ago.He arrives in solid form too, just like he did in '22,having won The Players Championship last month. This years edition though does feel a little open and should any of the World's Top-20 players go on to win, we wouldn't be surprised. Augusta & The Masters does tend to throw up the same trends each year though where course experience has been crucial although of late Sungjae Im & Will Zalatoris have shown they can go well on debuts. Not since 1979 though have we seen a debutant win and its highly unlikely we will see that change here this week.
I do think this could be Rory's week (career) ! He is playing quite well the past few months and win inclement weather forecast this week it may be to his advantage and as always at a Major and especially here, a solid opening round is key to setting up the weekend. Twelve years since he blew up on the back-9 here would suggest those memories are well banished and the focus will be to seize an opportunity come Sunday should it present himself. The journos though will go overboard on the Rory v LIV stuff though, but it somehow may be an on-course achievement that may unite the tours. It's been refreshing to see players meet & greet each other at Augusta already this week rather than reading the snide remarks about the tours, so here's hoping its a great week of golf as always at The Masters. From a betting perspective, backing Rory @8/1 isn't appealing and I don't need to back Rory this week: if he completes the Grand Slam I'll be cheering him on and that will bring a lot of happiness itself regardless of the P&L.
Instead, I'll be swearing at the screen when JT misses a chip or a putt. He hasn't won this season yet which is a slight concern and more so that he hasn't challenged for a win but he has shown at Augusta previously that the course suits and all those practice rounds with Tiger is paying off. Add in the experience of Bones Mackay who caddies for him now and the knowledge is immeasurable- now is the week for the execution. We have a much mature JT these days and with two Majors under his belt, he can approach each one now with a little more confidence as he tries to reign in his buddy Jordan Spieth's tally of 3 Majors. There's a been a lot of top golf played this year already on the PGA Tour and I do wonder if some players come in a bit overplayed whereas JT arrives having played no more than 3 tournaments in a row. I could make the same and better argument for Rory who has played a lot less than his PGA Tour peers too. Then I could say the same re: LIV Tour players who I do think are way undercooked and may not have a competitive edge this week, barring Smith, Koepka & DJ (noted all Major winners too). Justin Thomas will tee it up at The Masters for the eighth time this week having posted recent returns of 8-21-4-12-17-22-39. Finishing 4th to Matsuyama about the closest he's challenged when rain interrupted the Saturday and Hideki seized his moment. His price draws me in here though @ 20/1 - 8 places
I was keen on Tony Finau this week, as I'm sure a lot of others are but I made him 28/1 and can't now take him at 25s, especially pre-Tee Times. With the weather forecast in place, it may be prudent to revisit the market when those tee-times are announced and see if there is any reaction but I highly doubt as money is already pouring into Betfair (€2.6M+ already traded).
I do find this a right conundrum this week and therefore won't be going in with a full stable as I normally do at the Majors and instead I'll take a punt on a couple of players that I think could play well and grab some enhanced place money in the shapes of Russell Henley & Chris Kirk @ 150s & 100s respectively with 10 places on offer. The latter hasn't been here since 2016 but was raised in Georgia and played college golf for the University of Georgia. Kirk is revitalised this season and returns to Augusta bringing a vital "trend" in that he has won on tour this season (Honda Classic). He may have missed the cut here in '16 but in his other two appearances he finished 33rd and 20th on debut in 2014. Four T-10s from his 13 starts this season sees Kirk in fine form and he should relish his Masters this week. Henley too is a native of Georgia hailing from just two hours away but what has drawn me to his chances this week is that he has the putting skills to master the Augusta greens. This will be his 7th Masters having posted 30-15-11-21-31 & mc on debut.He too has a win this season but form hasn't held up from a solid 2022 although he finished T-20 at Sawgrass last month.
I'll sit back and enjoy the Masters this year, whether I'm glued to the TV or its brilliant app on my phone I'm not sure yet and I'll be looking out for Gordon Sargent the NCAA Champion who apparently could be the next best thing....but we are saying this alot nearly every year now such is the quality these days but it's all very exciting nonetheless ! Sargent added to my shortlist below just so I can mark him a favourite on the app
