OT: Masters Odds and Picks

A Tradition Unlike Any Other is upon us and it's time for a look at the current odds for some in the field.

A big congratulations to Matt Jones who earned his first Masters invitation on Sunday by beating Matt Kuchar in a playoff at the Shell Houston Open:

For those who don't know, the Masters is the smallest major tournament field each year and a golfer earns an invitation by:

  • Having previously won the Masters (lifetime invitation)
  • The previous 5 winners of each of the other Major tournaments
  • The previous 3 winners of the Players Championship
  • Various amateur champions in the US, Britain and Asia
  • The first 4 players in each of the previous years Major tournaments (12 for previous Masters)
  • Winning a Fed Ex Cup event between last years Masters and this years
  • Being in the top 50 in the World Golf Rankings

The weather in Augusta all week is going to be sunny and temperatures are expected to get as high as 81 on Sunday. I expect the greens to be fast and the course to be in perfect shape.

The current odds according to Vegas Insider are:
Rory McIlroy 10/1
Adam Scott 10/1
The Field 15/1
Phil Mickelson 15/1
Jason Day 15/1
Dustin Johnson 15/1

My short list for potential champions:
Rory McIlroy
Last Week:T-7, Shell Houston Open
Best Finish:T-2, Honda Classic
Why Rory will win:Yes, Rory absolutely choked his lead away at the Honda Classic, and yes he hasn't won since 2012, but it just feels about time for him. He's played fairly well this year and I think he's finally gotten past the cringe-worthy back-9 in the 2011 Masters. Look for Rory to be in contention during the weekend.

Matt Kuchar
Last Week:2, Shell Houston Open
Best Finish:See above
Why Matt will win:Looking past his blown 4-shot lead going into the final round over the weekend, Kuchar looks in peak form. Through 3 rounds last week he looked absolutely stellar, which is so important in the week before the biggest tournament of the year. Kuchar hit 88.9% greens in regulation and had a putting average of 1.6 on those GIRs. The person who can avoid 2-putting at Augusta has a huge chance at winning.

Jason Day
Last Week:DNP
Best Finish:1, WGC Match Play
Why Jason will win:While Day hasn't played much this year, he has won a tournament which has to give him some confidence going into Masters week. Last year, Day finished 3rd at the Masters but also put up quite an impressive year. In the Majors, Day made all 4 cuts while having 3 top-10 finishes. Even more impressive, he wasn't cut at any tournament he entered. The only reason I'd be wary about Jason Day is that we're not really sure that he's completely recovered from a thumb injury.

Honorable Mention
Adam Scott (last year's champion), Phil Mickelson (3-time champion), Angel Cabrera (Why not? The man's only 2 wins on tour are major tournaments and came within inches of a third)

On a lighter note, since my roommates and I are taking a difficult 6 credits this semester, we're setting up monitors to be able to watch all of the Masters streams all week. Yes, life is good.

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#12, part of Amen Corner
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#13 green

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VT CEE Class of 2016/2017

5 years, 2 degrees, 33 football games as a student, and 2 Cassell court stormings later, I bleed Maroon and Orange