There’s little doubt bwin.com’s 9/2 about Rory McIlroy completing golf’s Grand Slam by picking up this year’s Masters Green Jacket will shorten as Augusta’s big weekend approaches, but a best finish of tied-eighth in six visits to Georgia suggests there will be plenty of value elsewhere.
However, there are also some questionably-short contenders for arguably the most prestigious prize in golf, so here at news.bwin.com we’re out to separate the wheat from the chaff, with six of the best and worst Masters 2015 wagers:
Three good
Bubba Watson @ 10/1
Masters defending champion Bubba Watson
If there was no Rory McIlroy then Watson would surely be an unbackably-short priced favourite to take his third Masters title in four seasons, after beating Louis Oosthuizen in a play-off three years ago before winning by three shots 12 months ago, having finished each day placed no worse than second.
As it is, the man from Bagdad (Florida) can be had at double digits, which surely makes him the best bet on offer.
Louis Oosthuizen @ 50/1
South Africans have done incredibly well at the Masters since the turn of the last century, providing two winners and seven runners up over the past 15 renewals.
As aforementioned, Oosthuizen finished second to Watson in 2012 after a play-off, and posted a highly-respectable 25th-place last year.
The 2010 Open champion has made top tens in three of his past four outings as well, so he may well be one to side with.
Padraig Harrington @ 100/1
The three-time Major winner didn’t even qualify for Augusta 12 months ago, such were the depths of his poor form, but Harrington is clearly back in business this year.
Having picked up the uber-valuable Honda Classic earlier this month, he’ll be raring to go in a tournament where the 44-year-old has banked four top-ten finishes and eight top-20s since 2000.
He looks decent value for a place.
Three bad
Dustin Johnson @ 16/1
Dustin Johnson
The big-hitting South Carolina native has been flying high since returning from a golfing hiatus in February, wining once and claiming two more top-five finishes, plus oodles of prize money, from six tournaments so far this term.
However, Johnson has never won a Major in 23 attempts, and the Masters is statistically his worst big-four event, having failed to make the top ten at Augusta. Swerve his short odds.
Rickie Fowler @ 20/1
It’s all well and good finishing tied for fifth or better in four consecutive Majors, but Fowler hasn’t yet shown an ability to get over the line.
He’s hardly in scintillating form either, with finishes outside the top ten in each of his past five outings, so 20/1 holds little appeal.
Tiger Woods @ 28/1
The former phenomenon’s friend and fellow pro Notah Begay believes Woods has a 50-50 shot of taking part in Georgia.
If he does, there’s every chance, on recent form, that the four-time Masters winner will last maybe nine or ten holes before his back starts to prang. You’d be mad to back him at this price.
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