Masters Odds 2015: Locating Top Vegas Bets in Saturday's Field
If you are planning on placing a bet on the winner for the remaining two rounds of the 2015 Masters you really only have two options—latch onto the Jordan Spieth train or lose your money.
While that may be a bit hyperbolic, can you really envision anyone else winning this thing after the 21-year-old went out and set a 36-hole Masters scoring record with a 14-under par 130? He is a full five strokes clear of the rest of the field, and it doesn’t look like anyone else is going to challenge for the green jacket.
Of course, it’s no fun simply picking the sure thing when it comes to gambling. With that in mind, here is a look at the updated odds for Spieth and the rest of the challengers, per Oddschecker at 11 p.m. ET on Friday.
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| Jordan Spieth | 1-2 |
| Dustin Johnson | 9-1 |
| Justin Rose | 16-1 |
| Charley Hoffman | 14-1 |
| Paul Casey | 18-1 |
| Phil Mickelson | 18-1 |
| Rory McIlroy | 40-1 |
| Jason Day | 50-1 |
| Adam Scott | 66-1 |
| Bubba Watson | 60-1 |
| Tiger Woods | 80-1 |
| Ernie Els | 80-1 |
| Louis Oosthuizen | 80-1 |
| Ryan Moore | 80-1 |
| Bill Haas | 80-1 |
| Hideki Matsuyama | 100-1 |
| Kevin Na | 100-1 |
| Sergio Garcia | 125-1 |
Possible Betting Angles
Spieth Train
Let’s be honest—barring a complete collapse or a stunning charge from someone else, Spieth is going to win the Masters. It’s just a question of by how many strokes.
He understands the pressure that comes on Sunday in Augusta after finishing in second place last year and leading after three rounds. He is playing red-hot golf and has nine top-10 finishes in his last 11 starts, including three titles. He simply looks like an unstoppable force on the course right now.
His five-stroke lead over Charley Hoffman is tied for the largest lead after two rounds in Masters history. Unsurprisingly, the previous three players to do that all won.
Spieth also has the perfect formula for riding a large lead to the title locked down. He birdied all four par fives Friday, which provided a bit more breathing room on the other holes. If he is picking up strokes on the par fives, it will allow him to play safer on the par fours and simply shoot for pars and not risk any penalties or crippling mistakes.
This is Spieth’s tournament to lose. Are you going to bet accordingly?
Superstar Longshots
You don’t have to venture too far down the list of betting odds to see the game’s two biggest names in Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods. They have to at least be somewhat intriguing as options based on their histories alone.
Woods answered some questions Friday with a three-under 69 to bring his tournament total to two under par. Sure, he’s not the invincible force who dominates tournaments just by showing up like he used to be, but he looked much improved from the version of Woods who missed three cuts and withdrew from two tournaments in his last eight starts.
He clearly figured something out during his two months off, even if he has to prove it over a longer sample size.
We are talking about someone with 14 major titles and an illustrious Masters history that includes four green jackets and the four-round course record of 270 he set during his 1997 victory. There aren’t many long shots on the betting board who can say that, and crazier things have happened.
Just take it from the man himself, per Jay Coffin of GolfChannel.com: “I’m still right there. I’m 12 back, but there’s not a lot of guys ahead of me. And with 36 holes here to go, anything can happen, you know.”
As for McIlroy, he is somewhat intriguing because of the burst we saw Friday. He went from a four-over 40 on the front nine to a five-under 31 on the back nine and rescued himself from the looming cut line of two-over par. Playing for your weekend spot may not be the same pressure as playing with the lead on the Sunday, but he still delivered when he needed to with an impressive showing.
He has never won the Masters but has a title in every other major and understands what it takes to win on pressure-packed weekends at these events. Perhaps that late charge was a sign of things to come.
Dustin Johnson
The only way someone is catching Spieth is if they make up serious ground quickly. The best way to do that is with eagles on the par fives, and Dustin Johnson racked up an incredible three of those Friday.
It was the first time in Masters history that someone tallied three eagles in a single round.
ESPN radio’s Mike Greenberg believes Johnson is still in the race at the Masters:
Johnson is still seven strokes back and tied for third place after his five-under 67 Friday, but a few more eagles would certainly put him in contention. The PGA Tour pointed out just how good Johnson has been on the par fives thus far, which is unsurprising considering he is first on the Tour in driving distance at 318.8 yards, per his PGATour.com profile:
If Johnson bombs a few more drives on par fives to set up some eagles Saturday, he could at least make Spieth sweat. That is about all bettors can ask for at this point.
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