Masters Favorites 2016: Updated Vegas Odds for Golf's Elite Talent
The Masters Tournament is always the first big event of the golf season, and although Tiger Woods won't be participating, there are plenty of stars who can provide some memorable performances in Georgia at Augusta National.
Three players stand above the rest as the top contenders for the upcoming tournament. Rory McIlroy won two majors two seasons ago, while Jordan Spieth replicated that feat last year. Meanwhile, Jason Day has passed both of them to become No. 1 in the world golf rankings.
Of course, while these players remain the favorites, anything can happen when the best golfers in the world compete for their share of a $10 million purse. You can win money too if you make the right selections based on the latest odds to win the championship.
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| Jordan Spieth | +700 |
| Rory McIlroy | +700 |
| Jason Day | +700 |
| Bubba Watson | +1000 |
| Adam Scott | +1000 |
| Rickie Fowler | +1200 |
| Phil Mickelson | +1400 |
| Dustin Johnson | +1800 |
| Justin Rose | +2200 |
| Henrik Stenson | +2500 |
| Louis Oosthuizen | +2500 |
| Jimmy Walker | +3300 |
| Hideki Matsuyama | +4000 |
| Patrick Reed | +4000 |
| Brandt Snedeker | +4000 |
| Sergio Garcia | +5000 |
| Matt Kuchar | +5000 |
| Paul Casey | +5000 |
| Brooks Koepka | +5000 |
| Zach Johnson | +5000 |
| Charl Schwartzel | +6600 |
Notable Players
Jordan Spieth (+700)
Not many in history have done what Spieth did in majors last season. Not only did he win both the Masters and the U.S. Open, but he also added a second-place finish at the PGA Championship and tied for fourth at the British Open, legitimately coming a few strokes away from a full Grand Slam in a calendar year.
Considering he is just 22 years old, the potential is off the charts for this young golfer.
However, so far this season, we have seen both good and bad from Spieth. He blew away some good competition at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions earlier this year with a 30-under-par score. Since then, though, he hasn't finished in the top 10 in any of his last five stroke-play events. He also missed the cut in February at the Northern Trust Open.
Even his showing at the Shell Houston Open last weekend included some up-and-down play as he finished tied for 13th. Then again, he also showed why he could be so dangerous with four straight birdies on Sunday to get back near the top of the leaderboard.
While Spieth was knocking down long putts to start the day, ESPN's Kevin Van Valkenburg was impressed:
He has the complete game necessary to be successful, and he proved it at Augusta last year. No one has won back-to-back Masters since Woods in 2001-02, but Spieth has the chance to do it.
Rory McIlroy (+700)
After McIlroy was the up-and-coming star in the sport for a few years, the attention has now shifted toward Spieth and others. The 26-year-old is still considered a top contender, but he simply isn't being discussed the way he was in the past.
This hasn't seemed to affect the Northern Irish star too much, as he explained to Ewan Murray of the Guardian:
"I’m going in there with the same objective, same mindset and trying to achieve the same thing. I don’t think it makes much of a difference at all, whether I’m going in there and being talked about or if I’m not, because I’m still feeling the same things that I’m thinking about.
Maybe I’m putting pressure on myself, but I know what it would mean to me and I know what it would mean to my career [to win].
"
A win would mean a career Grand Slam, which he is so close to achieving at such a young age. The Masters is the last step on this path, although it has proved to be a difficult one in his career. It's a course that isn't built for him, where his length off the tee isn't quite as important as accuracy.
Despite the struggles, McIlroy seems to have figured out Augusta with a pair of top-10 finishes in the past two years, including a fourth-place showing last year. If he can continue to build off his success, he will eventually erase those demons from 2011, when he held a lead with nine holes remaining before collapsing and finishing 10 strokes back.
The ability to win is there; all anyone is looking for is consistency.
Jason Day (+700)
For a few years, Day was the man who was seemingly always on the leaderboard at majors. The Australian wasn't quite a household name, but he had nine top-10 finishes at majors in his career before finally breaking through with his first win at the PGA Championship last season.
All of a sudden, Day is the hottest player in the world while shooting to the top of the world rankings.
Including the PGA Championship, Day finished 2015 with four wins in his final seven events. This year, he has won his last two events on American soil: the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the WGC-Dell Match Play Championship in Austin, Texas.
The best way to explain Day's run comes from one of his competitors, Spieth, via the PGA Tour:
He has succeeded at this event in the past without ever winning it, but this might be his time to shine and prove he is truly the best in the world at the moment.
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