Who will lead the Masters after the first round?
We’ve looked at the likely winners and the big priced outsiders who can make a challenge. Now it’s time to focus on some of the speciality markets in the Masters betting…
Masters betting: First round leader
Top tip: Jordan Spieth
Odds: 22/1
Spieth has shot 64, 66 and 66 straight off the bat in three of the last four years and led on each occasion after 18 holes.
He’s come off a pair of 68s in Texas last week and, oh, he’s shot 66 or lower four times in the first round so far this season.
Not bad for a player whose game is struggling. At a quarter of the odds for the first five in this market, it really feels like a no-brainer bet.
Charley Hoffman is the only other player to lead after 18 in that time and he’s another who tends to get off to a fast start at Augusta.
Masters betting: Top debutant
Top tip: Lucas Bjerregaard
Odds: 6/1
Matt Wallace and Eddie Pepperell lead the way in this field and I do like the latter as a potential outsider to challenge.
But bet365 are paying a quarter of the odds for the first three places and so Bjerregaard is a very interesting bet at the price.
The Dane missed the cut at the Texas Open but that only gave him the opportunity to get himself to Augusta earlier and get used to the unique surroundings.
Fourth at the WGC-Match Play and just outside the top 10 at the Honda Classic, the 27-year-old also finished in the top 30 at The Players.
There are only about half a dozen players in this market that can truly compete and if Lucas doesn’t catch your eye, then Justin Harding, who won the Qatar Masters only a month ago, is also worth a look at 12/1.
Masters betting: Top senior
Top tip: Bernhard Langer
Odds: 11/8
At some point, time is going to catch up with the 61-year-old Langer but, while he still continues to defy his age, the price looks outstanding in what is another relatively weak market.
If the German isn’t winning every week on the Champions Tour then he is certainly challenging and he finished 8th at Augusta as recently as 2014.
Just inside the top 40 last year, his only serious challengers are Fred Couples and Vijay Singh.
Boom Boom certainly has the game to still compete on this long track and was tied with Langer 12 months ago and 18th the year before.
He’s made the cut on more occasions than his rival in recent years. But, given his propensity to suffer back issues at any moment, I’m inclined to leave him alone.
Vijay Singh rolled back the years at the Honda Classic but then missed the cut at the Arnold Palmer and The Players.
His best finish in the last 10 years is 27th. That was seven years ago.
They’re both threats but I believe Langer should be odds-on in this market and his price represents value.
Masters betting: Will there be a hole-in-one?
Top tip: Yes
Odds: 4/6
There have been 29 hole-in-ones at the Masters through the years and five of those have come in the last three tournaments.
The 16th is the best chance for a one-shot wonder with 13 of the last 15 aces coming on the famous par 3.
In fact, 20 of the total have come on the last short hole at Augusta with Charley Hoffman the most recent. It would be no surprise if there was another this week.
ACE!
Add Charley Hoffman to the list of players who’ve hit a hole-in-one at the Masters. pic.twitter.com/zDO18n9nJY— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) April 8, 2018
For all the latest Masters prices, visit bet365.
Who will win the Masters?
Who are the best outside bets at the Masters?
Masters Fantasy Golf picks
Steve Carroll
A journalist for 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long. A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A's prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar.
Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men's Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls.
A part of NCG's Top 100s panel, Steve has a particular love of links golf and is frantically trying to restore his single-figure handicap. He currently floats at around 11.
Steve plays at Close House, in Newcastle, and York GC, where he is a member of the club's matches and competitions committee and referees the annual 36-hole scratch York Rose Bowl.
Having studied history at Newcastle University, he became a journalist having passed his NTCJ exams at Darlington College of Technology.
What's in Steve's bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; TaylorMade Stealth 2 irons; TaylorMade Hi-Toe, Ping ChipR, Sik Putter.
