“Between Bets” is an article series revealing our staff’s best wagers across the NFL, NASCAR and PGA Tour. This edition’s bets feature our favorite wagers for The Masters 2024.
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
The Masters Betting Picks
Rory McIlroy (+1000)
Chasing the career grand slam, is this the time he gets it done? I think so! Rory McIlroy is one of the greatest players of all time. I’ve said it before: McIlroy is scrutinized more than any other player in the sport. He has had some gaps in his game so far this season, but prior to his PGA season starting, he won and finished runner-up on the DP World Tour. He has repeatedly said that the only person standing in his way this week is him. McIlroy has had some sort of a mental block with Augusta since his runner-up finish back in 2022.
He is coming off of a solo third place last week at the Valero Texas Open, and he looked like he was rounding into form at the right time. The iron game looked better, gaining 7.4 strokes on approach. The short game was there when he needed it, gaining two strokes putting, and the off-the-tee game appeared to be back to a more normal state, gaining two strokes off the tee. Overall, the 34-year-old gained 10.2 strokes tee-to-green last week. McIlroy is doing things differently this year with the mental side of his game at The Masters and that may just prove to be the missing link to him dawning the green jacket come Sunday!
Jon Rahm (+1100)
I like a lot of LIV Golf players this week, but most of all, Jon Rahm. The Masters defending champion returns for his first Major event since joining the LIV Tour and will be looking to make a statement. Rahm’s game is anyone’s guess right now, given that he hasn’t won on LIV, and we really don’t have any analytics to go off of. He does have three T5s in five starts, but I’m not sure how much that means, given the level of competition week.
It is Rahm, though, and he is one of the fiercest competitors in the entire world of golf. The Spaniard had been in good form towards the tail end of last season, and all aspects of his game were firing in unison. If the eye test is worth anything, he has continued to be an elite ball-striker during his inaugural season with LIV. Everyone will be lining up to bet Brooks Koepka at a Major, but I will be going with Rahm this time around. No one has the fire inside them the way he does!
Bryson DeChambeau (+3500)
Bryson DeChambeau comes to Augusta with four T10s in five starts on the LIV Tour this season and his team-leading in the overall standings. DeChambeau is a bit of a wild card for me. It seems like this would be a course that he would be able to strategize his way around, yet he hasn’t. He has two missed cuts in his last two starts at Augusta.
The things I like about DeChambeau aren’t going to show up in any stats or modeling. He has toned down the chase for distance and the muscle building to support that quest. He has moved back to what made him an excellent player on the PGA Tour, and that’s using his brain. The driver has become a controlled bomb-launching weapon. The approach game has returned to the calculated methodical tool that it was long before the distance chase started. His putter has also remained deliberate and steadfast.
We all know that DeChambeau approaches golf as a scientist would, plotting and planning every movement before he ever tees off. When he’s on, he can shape and control the ball with the best of these players, and the winner will need that skill. DeChambeau is weird, but he’s smart. I like his chances this year. He seems to have gotten back to the basics of what made his game so dangerous, which gives him an edge at The Masters.
Jake Knapp (+25000)
As far as longshots go, I love Jake Knapp at The Masters. He has the mental game to step up to the tee with the big boys and not feel the pressure. Watching him over the course of the season, he has the intangibles. The effortless and repeatable power that Knapp swings with will be an asset at any course. Yet, with some of the distance being increased around the course at Augusta, it may be more of an asset this year than ever before. There are several approaches that will need to be played from longer iron distance, and someone like Knapp has an advantage with a shorter iron in hand.
Distance off of the tee hasn’t been the weapon for him; it’s been his well-rounded approach game and his ability to shape those approach shots. He didn’t do it off the tee in his win at The Mexico Open, gaining only 2.2 strokes that week. He did it with his approach game, gaining 8.7 strokes.
His putter can also catch fire, and he gained 3.2 strokes that week. Though he struggled in every category two weeks later at The Players Championship, his putter kept him in it, gaining four strokes that week. Knapp will be a massive contender on the PGA Tour, and if he has the complete package at The Masters, he will be putting some fear into the field all week!
Other Outright Bets on My Card for The Masters 2024:
- Scottie Scheffler (+450) – He’s probably going to win unless his wife gives birth.
- Hideki Matsuyama (+2200)
- Ludvig Aberg (+2800)
- Wyndham Clark (+3500)
- Si Woo Kim (+6000)
- Tiger Woods (+15000) – Because you have to.
Check out all of our content for The Masters 2024:
Thanks for reading my best bets for The Masters 2024, and be sure to catch us live every Tuesday night at 8:30 p.m. EST on the 19th Hole! Good luck this week!
*Photo Credit: Tyrone Siu/Reuters – USA TODAY Sports*