Use these tips for betting The Masters
For new golf bettors starting off at The Masters, it can be….intimidating.
You know — kind of like standing on the first tee at Augusta National Thursday morning and all you’re hoping is that you don’t shank it into the woods.
But, worry not, we’re here to give you our best advice on how to approach betting the 2022 Masters Tournament. Whether you’re betting outrights, props, matchups or throwing darts at a first-round leader, we can promise you’ll leave this article more informed.
So without further delay, here are our best strategies for betting the Masters.
How to Bet on the Masters — Statistics to Know
You’re going to hear it all weekend — Augusta National is a second-shot golf course.
That’s why when you’re deciding who to bet on at The Masters, try to find players with good numbers in the strokes-gained:approach metric. Those numbers for the current and past seasons can all be found here, in addition to a plethora of other free statistics.
Per my colleague Matt Vincenzi at The Action Network, the player that led the field in SG: approach at each Masters has finished first, first, second, third, first and first.
While there, be sure to check out how players perform on Par 5’s — winners tend to dominate those four holes at Augusta and try to survive on the remaining 14 — so that stat is also of great importance.
One more stat that can inform success at the Masters is strokes-gained: around-the-green. Given how accurate players need to be with approaches, they’re bound to miss a few greens. The creative players who can recover from this misses and escape with good scores will give themselves a chance to slip on the green jacket.
Also, keep in mind there are a few correlated courses to Augusta National, so researching how a player has performed at those courses — Riviera Country Club, Torrey Pines South, Quail Hollow — can potentially give you an extra leg up. For a full list of courses that correlate, head here.
How to Bet on the Masters — Trends to Know
The following trends mostly concern the eventual winner, so don’t count out any of these players having a good showing.
That said, here are some notable Masters trends per my colleague Jason Sobel of The Action Network:
- No pre-tournament favorite has won the Masters since Tiger Woods in 2005. That’s bad news for Jon Rahm.
- No player outside of the top 30 in the Official World Golf Ranking has won since Angel Cabrera in 2009.
- No first-timer has won since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979. (Sorry, Sam Burns.)
- Every winner since Scott in 2013 posted at least three top-25s on major tours that year beforehand. Scott only had two. (Down goes Bryson DeChambeau and Louis Oosthuizen.)
- The only winners aged 43 or older are named Jack and Tiger. (See ya, Paul Casey and Sergio Garcia.)
Could any of these trends fail you this week? Sure. These are more just good things to know, not a rule of thumb when making your bets.
Do’s and Dont’s for Making Your Bets
Do: Have fun! While a favorite will likely win the event, don’t be afraid to bet some longshots. Take it from someone with experience — those are much more enjoyable sweats than, say, sweating Justin Thomas at only 14/1.
Don’t: Make too many outright bets. Three-five is what I usually target for the weekend. There’s a reason why the payouts are so high — you only get one finishing position.
Do: Diversify your wagers. As mentioned, sportsbooks will be offering all kinds of markets – top-10, matchups, props, the list goes on and on. One bet I personally make every year is the “yes” side of “will there be a hole-in-one”? Ultimately, though, bet what interests you the most.
Don‘t: Blow your monthly rent payment/mortgage on bets. Set a budget and stick to it, even if it’s Friday at 4 p.m. and all your players are heading toward a missed cut.
Do: Use your resources to make informed plays. I’m biased, but the Action Network golf page will provide extensive coverage across the entire weekend as well as sharing some pre-tournament plays. If all this is too intimidating, seek out resources like this to help you cash some tickets.