Masters Odds 2013: Best Bets for Golf's Most Exciting Major

Tiger Woods is the heavy betting favorite heading into the 2013 Masters, and with the way he's been playing of late, it's not hard to see why. 

Augusta National Golf Club is one of golf's most demanding tests, however, and the margin between winning the Masters and missing the cut is razor thin.

Winning the Masters requires precision ball-striking, a hot putter and a bit of luck. With that in mind, let's take a look at which players are the best bets heading into the most exciting major championship on the PGA Tour. 

Tiger Woods: 3/1 Odds 

Woods has won at Augusta four times already in his career, and he enters this year's Masters riding a hot streak.

Having entered just five tournaments in 2013, Woods has won three of them, which is two more than any other golfer on the PGA Tour. He reclaimed the No. 1 spot atop the World Golf Rankings after winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and there isn't a hotter golfer on tour.

The biggest challenge for Woods this weekend will be his distance control and accuracy on approach shots—as it is for every golfer at Augusta.

Anyone who has watched more than a round or two of Masters golf knows that it's possible to hit a seemingly magnificent shot into the green, only to have it end up rolling off the back of the green and possibly into the water.

Woods knows the lay of the land at Augusta, however, and he has been phenomenal with his putter this year, leading the tour in strokes gained while putting. If he is hitting his irons with proficiency, he has a fantastic chance of winning this year's Masters.

Justin Rose: 20/1 Odds

Could this finally be the year Rose wins a major?

Having placed in the top 10 seven times in his career, Rose is one of the top golfers on tour to have never won a major championship. Judging by the way he's playing thus far in 2013, however, Rose could finally break out.

Rose has entered just four PGA tournaments in 2013. His worst showing was a 17th-place finish at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship, and he placed no worse than eighth in the other three.

He leads the tour in scoring, averaging 68.675 strokes per round, and is a phenomenal ball striker. If Rose can put his entire repertoire on display at Augusta this weekend, he could finally break through with his first major championship.

Phil Mickelson: 10/1 Odds

It doesn't seem to matter how well or how poorly Mickelson plays before the Masters—he's always in contention on Sunday.

Since 1995, in his 18 appearances at Augusta, Mickelson has finished in the top 10 14 times, the top five 10 times, the top three eight times and has won three times.

Lefty knows Augusta National like he knows his practice green at home. 

He's already won once on tour this year—at the Waste Management Phoenix Open—and has placed in the top 10 twice. 

If he can keep his drives from ending up in the pine straw, Mickelson's ability to aggressively target tough pins, make ungodly recovery shots and drain putts from anywhere on the green makes him one of the most dangerous golfers at the Masters in 2013. 

Note: All stats courtesy of PGATour.com, and betting information courtesy of LVH SuperBook.

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