It seems like only yesterday that the officials at Augusta were awarding the coveted Green Jacket to Dustin Johnson but already, the time has come for another Masters tournament. This weekend is set to be a massive one, with the 2021 Masters kicking off on Thursday night (AEDT) and continuing through until Monday morning.
We’ve had a few weeks break from the PGA Tour as we settled into the AFL season but we are back this week to preview the Masters and give our full betting picks below.
The Masters Betting Tips
There are so many great story lines coming into the 2021 Masters. Of course, the biggest player in the world, Tiger Woods, will miss the tournament as he continues to recover from the car accident he had a few months ago. However, for the second biggest player in the world, Jordan Spieth, his favourite tournament couldn’t have come at a better time.
The Field
Spieth is coming off a brilliant win at the Velaro Texas Open last week, his first win since all the way back in 2017. The 27 year old has already won the Masters and is often in the mix at Augusta but this year will enter the tournament as the headline attraction for the first time in what seems like an eternity.
For the biggest prize in golf, it’s no wonder the field for the Masters is absolutely stacked. Woods is really the only noteable absentee from the top line players in the world, with the likes of Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas and Jon Rahm all set to be teeing it up on Thursday.
Amateurs competing in the Masters this season are Joe Long of England and Americans Charles Osborne and Tyler Strafaci while pro’s debuting at Augusta include Carlos Ortiz, Will Zalatoris and Robert McIntyre.
The Course
What more needs to be said about Augusta National? We saw a different side to the most famous golf course in the world last November when the Masters was hosted in the fall. This year, however, the landscape will be back at it’s spring glory, which should make conditions more comfortable and familiar to the best golfers in the world.
Below is a complete hole by hole guide to Augusta National from 2016 Masters champion Danny Willett.
Power Rankings
1 Justin Thomas
In my opinion, Justin Thomas is the best golfer in the world at the moment. The rankings might have him at No.2 but his form of late suggests otherwise. He won The Players in extrodinary fashion just a few weeks ago and will be hunting his first green jacket as one of the favourites for the tournament. His finishing place at Augusta has improved every trip he has made from T39 in his first attempt in 2016 to T4 last season.
2 Bryson DeChambeau
Bryson was the favourite to win the tournament back in November after a run of strong performances in the lead up tournaments and his absurdly long driving which everyone thought would help him overcome Augusta. He finished just T34 in a disappointing result but he will have no doubt learned a lot from that performance and should be better suited to attack Augusta this time around. He will be desperate to prove his critics wrong this weekend and if his long ball is on song, he has a massive built in advantage over every player in the field.
3 Jordan Spieth
The kid is back! It’s been a long time coming but it seems as though Jordan Spieth is back in form. He took out his first win since 2017 in the Velaro Texas Open on the weekend, capping off a string of performances which included a T4 at the Phoenix Open, T3 at Pebble Beach, T15 at the Genesis Open and a T4 at the Arnold Palmer. Knows Augusta National as good as anyone and is still arguably the best putter in the world.
4 Dustin Johnson
The No.1 ranked player in the world is coming off some disappointing results in his last three tournaments. He finished T54 at the WGC event in Mexico before a T48 finish at The Players and an early exit from the WGC Matchplay event. Is still the No.1 ranked player in the world and is still the defending champion at Augusta. Let’s not forget that he shot a record -20 under par across four rounds at Augusta just a few months ago.
5 Xander Schauffele
You’d be hard pressed to find a golfer that has as good of a record in major championships this early in their career. Schauffele has competed in 14 major championships in his young career and he has already racked up seven top 10 finishes and has only missed the cut just once. Finished T2 and T17 in his last two trips to the Masters. Has finished in the top 20 in 9 of 11 tournaments this season
