This year’s renewal of The Masters is arguably the most
anticipated in decades with the old guard springing into life before a mouth-watering
summer of golf. All eyes are going to be on Tiger Woods bidding to win a 5th
green jacket, and a first major in over a decade.
Tiger, now 42 years old, is playing in just his 2nd
Masters tournament in 5 years, has an incredible record at Augusta with 12
Top-10 finishes in his last 18 tournaments at the first major of the golfing calendar.
Woods’ odds have tumbled in price since making a sparkling return last month at
the Valspar Championship finishing second behind Englishman Paul Casey, before
following-up with a T5 finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill.
US Masters 2018 prices from BetVictor
Rory McIlroy 10/1
Justin Thomas 10/1
Jordan Spieth 11/1
Dustin Johnson 11/1
Justin Rose 14/1
Tiger Woods 14/1
Bubba Watson 16/1
18/1 Bar
That tournament was won by Rory McIlroy, who is one green
jacket away from the ‘Grand Slam’ and heads the market as BetVictor’s 10/1
joint-favourite for the first major of the season. He heads the market
alongside World Number One in waiting Justin Thomas, with the Kentucky-native
likewise 10/1 to win back-to-back majors after last season’s breakthrough
success in the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow.
‘JT’ has won 4 of his last 14 tournaments worldwide but
looks jaded when beaten 3&2 in the semi-finals of the WGC Dell Matchplay
and has a poor record in the tournament. The same can’t be said about BFF
Jordan Spieth, who has already won once at Augusta and arguably should have had
two more; leading entering the final round in 2014, before throwing away a
five-shot lead to Danny Willett in 2016.
He should be the correct favourite and should be there or
thereabouts come Sunday evening. Spieth was ranked 1st for GIR last
week at the Houston Open and, providing his putter gets hot this week, I can’t
see him out of the frame.
Sergio Garcia beat Justin Rose in a play-off to continue the
excellent recent record of Europeans in the tournament, and I expect both to be
in the mix once again. Rose has been the model of consistency this decade and nobody
has a better score at the course over the last five years.
He is perhaps skinny enough at 14/1 with BetVictor and I’m
willing to chance a couple at bigger prices including Swede Alex Noren at 45/1.
Noren was flawless in the Matchplay and was bitterly unlucky to lose to Kevin
Kisner in sudden death the week before last. His short game should stand him in
good stead and he looks another on a list of ‘major winners in waiting’ for the
strong European contingent.
He will be part of the Ryder Cup team this September in
France and so will Rafa Cabrera-Bello. The big-hitting Spaniard looks
over-priced at 100/1, and will no doubt be buoyed by close friend Sergio Garcia’s
win 12 months ago, and the previous successes of compatriots Jose Maria
Olazabal and the legendary Seve Ballesteros.
He missed the cut 12 months ago but is a much-improved
player in the interim, winning the Scottish Open last summer and finishing T4
in The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. He ranks 9th in GIR,
whilst Brian Harman ranks second on tour and looks set to go close after a
string of impressive performances last year.
The left-hander finished second to Books Koepka in the US
Open at Erin Hills and has been the model of consistency thereafter, with 7 Top
Ten finishes on tour already this season. He disappointed on his previous trip
to Augusta but is a transformed player since 2015’s blip and looks over-priced
at BetVictor’s current price of 80/1.
Selections
Jordan Spieth 11/1
Alex Noren 45/1
Rafa Cabrera-Bello 80/1
Brian Harman 80/1
Without the risk of after-timing, I’ve backed Phil Mickelson
and Tommy Fleetwood at 33/1 and 100/1 ante-post, but both are short enough now
at 16/1 and 40s respectively. Naturally, watch them finish sixth and seventh…
