The 2020 Masters Tournament was postponed from its traditional April date due to COVID-19 concerns. It will take place this week at Augusta National Golf Club with the same field that was announced for the original date.
Tiger Woods is the defending champion as he captured his fifth Masters title and 15th major championship in 2019. The victory put him one behind Jack Nicklaus in Masters wins and three back in total major championships.
Betting Favorites
There are seven players with betting odds of less than +2000:
- U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau leads the field at +800
- World No. 1 Dustin Johnson at +900
- Second-ranked Jon Rahm at +1000
- Rory McIlroy, who needs a Masters title to complete his career grand slam, stands at +1300
- Third-ranked Justin Thomas carries odds of +1400
- Eighth-ranked Xander Schauffele is at +1500
- Four-time major winner Brooks Koepka recently returned from knee injury and rounds out the group with odds of +1800
Behind the players at the top of the betting odds list are a number of possible winners of the Masters. With the different date, it’s uncertain what impact the different playing conditions will have on the outcome. Here are six other players to look to be in the hunt come the back nine on Sunday.
Dark Horses in the Field
Patrick Cantlay isn’t necessarily a dark horse, but his lack of Masters experience lands him on this list. He’s playing in his third Masters and finished in a tie for ninth in 2019. Cantlay is coming off a win at the Zozo Championship @ Sherwood. The 28-year-old is currently ranked 10th in the world golf rankings and has odds of +2200.
A fan favorite, Hideki Matsuyama is looking to become the first player from Japan to win a major championship. He’s ranked 18th in the world and is coming off a tie for second with Johnson at the Vivint Houston Open last week. He recorded back-to-back top 10 Masters finishes in 2015 and 2016 and has odds of +3200.
It seems odd to have Tiger Woods on this list, but he hasn’t played much in 2020. When he has played, it hasn’t been pretty. However, if there is a place for him to be able to put it together, it’s Augusta National. He has odds of +3400, and if healthy, he might be able to work himself into contention.
Twenty-one-year-old Matthew Wolff won his third tournament as a pro in 2019 and hasn’t looked back. He’s currently 14th in the world rankings and recorded top five finishes at both the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open. With odds of +3500, Wolff is making his first appearance at the Masters, where only Fuzzy Zoeller was able to win in his Augusta National debut.
If not the best, then at least the most popular player still searching for a major title, Rickie Fowler is down the betting odds list at +7000. He’s fallen to 46th in the world rankings, and his last victory came in Phoenix in February of 2019. However, he’s coming off consecutive top 10 finishes at Augusta, including runner-up to Patrick Reed in 2018.
Francesco Molinari always seems to be at the top of the leaderboard in big tournaments. The 2018 Open Championship winner finished tied for fifth at the 2019 Masters Tournament after entering the final round with a two-shot lead. He ended a long layoff in October with a missed cut at the Shriners but finished tied for 15th at Houston last week and is at +9000 in the betting odds.
Featured Image: “Augusta National Leaderboard” by fabfiver5 is licensed under CC BY 2.0
