5 Best Bets for the 2020 Masters

For the first time ever, the Masters will be played in November. Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, the PGA Tour decided to postpone the tournament from its standard April timeslot until the weekend of November 12-15. While you won’t see any fans lining the fairways at Augusta National this week, perhaps the nice fall colors of the trees will give this iteration of the tournament a more unique feel than ever.

Golf fans and bettors have been waiting much longer than usual for the Masters, of course. At this point, Tiger Woods’ unexpected victory at the 2019 Masters feels like it happened a century ago.

While a lot has changed between then and now, there are still plenty of reasons to get excited about the 2020 version of the Masters. Masters betting sites have all sorts of options available in anticipation of the year’s biggest major.

Here are our favorite bets ahead of the 2020 Masters.

Bubba Watson to Finish Top-10 (+275)

You won’t find Bubba Watson’s name listed among the heavy favorites to win the Masters this year. The two-time Masters champion is listed at +3000 to win, which puts him behind the likes of Patrick Cantley and Tyrrell Hatton and on par with last year’s champ, Tiger Woods.

Watson will head into the weekend ranked No. 44 in the world. Why does the 44th-ranked player in the world have such favorable odds to win the tournament? Probably because Watson has enjoyed steady success at Augusta over the years.

Bubba has won two majors in his career, and they both happened to be victories at this very event. Watson claimed the Green Jacket in 2012 and 2014, while he quietly finished tied for fifth back in 2018. Watson missed the cut in 2017, which is the only time he has failed to advance to the weekend in his 11 starts at Augusta.

“Yeah, it’s very spooky.”

Former @UGAGolf standouts @K_Kisner & @bubbawatson talk about getting ready for The Masters without any patrons in attendance pic.twitter.com/jmDG0T0rwU

— Justin Felder (@Justin_FOX5) November 10, 2020

Three top-10 finishes in 11 Masters starts is a decent rate just over 27 percent. Watson’s +275 odds to finish in the top-10 this weekend comes out to an implied probability of about 26 percent. Certain players tend to consistently play well at certain courses, and Watson at Augusta fits the bill. Watson is also on the record saying he doesn’t really like playing in front of big crowds, so the lack of an audience this week should help him feel pretty comfortable.

Bubba also comes into the Masters in good form, with ties for seventh and fourth in each of his last two outings. You’re getting good value on Watson to nab another top-10 finish this week at +275.

Brooks Koepka to Finish Top-5 (+350)

Brooks Koepka was the most-talked-about player on the PGA Tour in 2019, but 2020 has been a struggle for him. The 30-year-old has dealt with a number of injuries so far this year, which has resulted in some worse finishes than you may have expected from what has become arguably the most consistent player on tour.

Koepka already has four major titles under his belt, with two wins apiece at the PGA Championship and the US Open. He also has a second-place Masters finish on his resume, with his best showing at the British Open being a fourth-place finish last year. This guy came remarkably close to sweeping all four majors within a very short span of time.

Masters groups and tee times have been announced for Rounds 1 and 2.

🏌️‍♂️ Thomas

🏌️‍♂️ Fitzpatrick

🏌️‍♂️ Koepka

🏌️‍♂️ D. Johnson

🏌️‍♂️ Cantlay

🏌️‍♂️ McIlroy

🏌️‍♂️ Rahm

🏌️‍♂️ DeChambeau

🏌️‍♂️ Oosthuizen

🏌️‍♂️ Woods

🏌️‍♂️ Lowry

🏌️‍♂️ Ogletree

🏌️‍♂️ Spieth

🏌️‍♂️ Woodland

🏌️‍♂️ Poulter

🏌️‍♂️ Watson

🏌️‍♂️ Wolff

🏌️‍♂️ Fleetwood

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 10, 2020

Koepka is reportedly back to full strength heading into this weekend, which obviously bodes well for his chances of getting near the top of the leaderboard. He took a very respectable fifth-place finish at the Houston Open last week, so he should be feeling pretty good heading into Augusta.

You can get Koepka at +1800 to win the tournament outright, which is obviously very appealing. I slightly prefer the +350 odds on a top-five finish, though. If he really is fully healthy, this is arguably the best player in the world right now. Give me Koepka to finish in the top-five this week.

Jordan Spieth to Lead After Round 1 (+5000)

Remember when Jordan Spieth was the next big thing? The 27-year-old has already won three majors, though he hasn’t lifted a major trophy since claiming the Open Championship in 2017. Spieth earned his first and only win at the Masters in 2015 at the age of 21.

While it’s been a while since he won at Augusta, he is almost always in the running. He hasn’t finished any worse than 11th in any of his five starts here in the past. He has finished third place or better four times, including last year’s third-place finish.

As is the case with Watson, Woods, and others, course familiarity matters with Spieth. While his career hasn’t taken off the way many expected it to over the last couple of years, he is just one of those guys that always seems to bring it at Augusta. Spieth has held the lead after the first round of the Masters three times in five starts.

Spieth hasn’t been in particularly impressive form so far this season, but at +5000 you’re getting amazing value on a guy that clearly knows his way up-and-down the course. This obviously isn’t a wager on which you should be going all-in, but a cheap flier on Spieth’s +5000 odds to lead the tournament after the first round is logical enough. You can also get +750 odds on Spieth to finish the first round in the top-five if you’re not sold on his chances of being the standalone leader.

Tiger Woods to Finish Top-10 (+350)

You didn’t think we’d get through a Masters preview without talking about Tiger, did you? Woods managed to end his streak of over a decade without a major win here last April. With so much time having elapsed between then and now, though, the five-time Masters champ seems to be flying under the radar a bit as we get ready to tee off on Thursday.

Because he’s Tiger, he’s always a popular betting option. He even has his own question in BetOnline’s Masters betting contest. Even in his darkest, most injury-riddled days a few years ago Woods was still one of the more popular bets to win every tournament he played in. You can probably buy a private island with the amount of money that was wagered and lost on Tiger to win the Masters between his fourth and fifth wins at this event.

I don’t think Tiger is a serious threat to win it again this year, but the +350 number on a top-10 finish is attackable. While he went quite a bit of time between Green Jackets, he has still consistently put up respectable scores here over the years. In between his wins in 2005 and 2019, Woods managed to post seven top-10 finishes in 10 Masters starts. The only times he failed to get there were in 2012 (40th), 2015 (17th), and 2018 (32nd).

Tiger has made the cut 21 times in 22 Masters starts, with 14 top-10 finishes in that span. While he may no longer be in his prime, Woods still has some Augusta magic left in his bag. Betting on Tiger grabbing another top-10 finish this year at +350 is extremely viable.

Jon Rahm to Win the Masters (+1000)

Bryson DeChambeau, who has been the talk of the tour all year long, enters the 2020 Masters as the betting favorite. Golf betting sites have the tour’s heaviest hitter at +750, which puts him just ahead of Dustin Johnson (+850), and Jon Rahm (+1000).

While DeChambeau’s distance of the tee is impressive, that isn’t necessarily a vital skill when it comes to winning at Augusta. Over the years, we have seen that those that win the Masters are those players that excel in the approach part of the game. If you can hit your second shot where you want to, you will likely be in good shape at this course.

Plus, check this out.

His second in two days, Jon Rahm skips his way to a hole-in-one at No. 16 – on his birthday, no less. #themasters pic.twitter.com/rtefAN5XtH

— The Masters (@TheMasters) November 10, 2020

If he’s doing things like this in the run-up to the tourney, he’s going to win.

In the 2019-20 season, Rahm ranked fourth on the tour in shots gained: approach. The Spaniard has picked up a pair of top-10 finishes in his last two Masters appearances, and he hasn’t finished any worse than 23rd in any of his last seven starts. Rahm is a trendy bet every time a major rolls around, but he’s still waiting to lift his first major trophy.

I think that finally changes this week. Rahm is an excellent value to win the Masters at +1000, especially with the way his game gels with Augusta. DeChambeau looks like a risky pick at +750, so I’d be happy to grab the extra upside in Rahm’s +1000 odds to win the Green Jacket.