2018 PGA Masters Betting Preview

The 82nd Masters gets underway this Thursday from Augusta National. The PGA’s most storied major always grabs the attention of the sports betting world, but the re-emergence of Tiger Woods as a contender has the golf world abuzz. Rory McIlroy will take part as well, looking to complete his career grand slam. Tiger’s return from spinal fusion surgery and McIlroy’s recovery from rib issues definitely make the Masters even more exciting this year. Add that to the fact that top-ranked Dustin Johnson won his first tournament in 2018, and Bubba Watson and Phil Mickelson (who have won the Masters a combined five times) are playing well right now, and you have an exciting tournament. Check out our Golf betting preview before you lock in your tournament wagers.

2018 PGA Masters Betting Preview

What about the favorite, Jordan Spieth? He looked lost until he made it to Houston last weekend, and he came away with a share of third place. That return to elite golf could have come just at the right time, and so the oddsmakers have him sitting at 16/1, just ahead of McIlroy on the odds sheets. Then, let’s consider Justin Thomas. He has won seven tournaments in his last 34, going back to the start of 2017. That’s better than one in five, which leads the entire PGA. Very few golfers have ever taken home hardware at that clip. He has already won two tournaments in 2018, and if a few more shots had gone in his way, he might well have won four. This is the same player who took home the $10 million prize at the FedExCup. That sort of bank has led other players to lose their edge a bit, but not so with Thomas. After the TOUR Championship, Thomas appeared before the press and said that it was time to reset his goals and start conquering them again, and he appears to be on track. Thomas has a big driver and isn’t afraid to take aggressive shots. This makes him a powerful player on the par-five holes, as he can get to the green in two or three shots in many cases. At Augusta, the par-five holes are where you can often make your hay, and he is in an ideal position to do that. He currently leads the PGA Tour in birdie percentage on par-four holes — and if he wins that for the year, it will be the second year in a row he has done that. Thomas has also learned how to win on the big stage. He went into the last round of the U.S. Open in 2017 fully expected to win, only to see things fall apart on Sunday. When he entered Sunday at the PGA Championship in similar fashion, though, he was able to finish the job and take home the trophy. His shots on Sunday at the PGA showed the same aggressiveness and confidence that he had showed in the first three days. There’s also the factor of major motivation. When Jordan Spieth took his first major at the Masters, he took the U.S. Open in his next major. Brooks Koepka did the same thing when he won the U.S. Open in 2017, going on to capture the British Open. Thomas would accomplish the same feat if he follows up last year’s PGA win with a trophy in the first major of the 2018 campaign.

The Masters 2018 Betting Preview

There is the fact, though, that Thomas has never done all that well at Augusta. You have to get under 70 to contend, and he has never had a sub-70 round at Augusta National. The experts of the game say that you have to know the ins and outs of the course if you plan to compete here, and Thomas hasn’t done that yet. However, he has shown that he is one of the quickest learners in the sport — so while he’s not at the top of the favorites charts, he is where I would put my money.