Masters Odds 2017: Favorites to Win the Green Jacket
The 2017 Masters Tournament begins Thursday, which means the Dustin Johnson show will travel to hallowed Augusta National.
Johnson arrives at Augusta on the heels of three consecutive victories, making him the presumptive favorite to walk out with the green jacket. Four-time major champion Rory McIlroy and 2015 Masters winner Jordan Spieth won't go down without a fight, though. The same goes for Hideki Matsuyama, already twice a winner on Tour this season, and surging rookie phenom Jon Rahm.
Let's take a look at the odds for the top 10 contenders for this year's Masters, courtesy of OddsShark. We'll also walk through each player's best Masters performance, season highlights, and let you know why any of them could be slipping into the green jacket come Sunday.
T-8. Phil Mickelson
1 of 10
Odds to Win: 25-1
Best Masters Finish: First (2004, 2006, 2010)
Season Highlights
Without a missed cut in nine starts this season, Phil Mickelson has tallied six top-25 finishes. His best work was a tie for seventh at the WGC-Mexico Championship and a tie for eighth at the Safeway Open.
Why He'll Win
There's no need to discuss how Mickelson hasn't been hitting the ball well off the tee—he ranks 166th among 213 eligible golfers—or hasn't notched a top-five finish so far this season. No golfer in the field has enjoyed as much success at Augusta National.
If Mickelson can drive the ball respectably and avoid big numbers, he knows the subtleties of Augusta far more than anyone else in the field. Don't be surprised if he uses that experience to plot a course to victory.
T-8. Justin Thomas
2 of 10
Odds to Win: 25-1
Best Masters Finish: T-39th (2016)
Season Highlights
Justin Thomas has missed only three cuts in 11 starts. He has three first-place finishes on the PGA Tour as well—the CIMB Classic, the SBS Tournament of Champions and the Sony Open. However, Thomas has missed the cut in two of his last three stroke-play events.
Why He'll Win
Thomas' lack of experience and up-and-down recent form doesn't inspire much confidence in his chances of winning the 2017 Masters. However, he ranks 12th on the tour in strokes gained from off the tee (SG:OTT) and 16th in strokes gained approaching the green (SG:APP).
With three Ws under his belt this season, Thomas will arrive in Augusta with no shortage of confidence. Plus, a look at his social media accounts reveals he loves the Masters experience. Don't count him out.
T-8. Justin Rose
3 of 10
Odds to Win: 25-1
Best Masters Finish: T-2nd (2015)
Season Highlights
Justin Rose finished second at the Sony Open and tied for fourth at both the Farmers Insurance Open and the Genesis Open. The Englishman has five top-25 finishes in his seven PGA Tour starts, and he hasn't missed a cut yet this season.
Why He'll Win
With plenty of experience beneath the Georgia pines and a streak of high-quality play coming in, Rose could be just the man to don the green jacket at a venue where the average winner is well above 30.
He'll drive the ball well enough to put himself in position—he's eighth in SG:OTT—and his approach play has been above average in 2017. Perhaps most importantly, Rose has improved his putting this season, which has him looking well-rounded heading into the Masters.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
7. Rickie Fowler
4 of 10
Odds to Win: 20-1
Best Masters Finish: T-5th (2014)
Season Highlights
Rickie Fowler won the Honda Classic at the end of February and has top-20 finishes in each of his last five starts. The only time he finished outside of the top 20 this season was a missed cut at the Farmers Insurance Open in January. He posted a strong showing at the Shell Houston Open, tying for third, before arriving at Augusta.
Why He'll Win
Consistent, high-quality play has defined Fowler's season thus far. And a win at the difficult Honda Classic is a significant feather in his Puma golf cap as he tunes up for the Masters.
Fowler's 2014 major campaign, in which he finished inside the top five at all four majors, showed he's poised to win one of golf's big ones.
T-4. Jon Rahm
5 of 10
Odds to Win: 18-1
Best Masters Finish: N/A
Season Highlights
In his 10 starts on the PGA Tour, rookie Jon Rahm not only hasn't missed a cut, but he's also finished outside the top 25 just twice. He also won the Farmers Insurance Open in January by three strokes.
Why He'll Win
While Rahm's recent form is brilliant, no rookie has ever won the Masters. The Spaniard has no shortage of confidence—as his WGC-Dell Match Play duel with Dustin Johnson showed—so don't expect him to be disheartened by that fact.
Rahm is fourth on tour in total strokes gained, which speaks to the overall quality of his play. At a soft course, strategy and local knowledge will be less important, which means the rookie could shine.
T-4. Jason Day
6 of 10
Odds to Win: 18-1
Best Masters Finish: T-2nd (2011)
Season Highlights
Dealing with familial turmoil we knew nothing about until recently, Jason Day's 2016-17 play hasn't been up to standard. He's made five of six cuts but hasn't yet threatened victory, as his highest finish this year was a tie for fifth at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Why He'll Win
While all signs would point to Day not playing well at Augusta—distraction, lack of practice, substandard recent form—a strange phenomenon in sports could ultimately benefit him.
When a player has nothing to lose, enters with low expectations and is playing for something greater than himself (Day assurdly wants to win this one for his ailing mother), it's sometimes easier for them to enter a peak state and perform at the highest level.
By this logic, Day could either blow up...or blow the field away at the Masters.
T-4. Hideki Matsuyama
7 of 10
Odds to Win: 18-1
Best Masters Finish: Fifth (2015)
Season Highlights
Twice a winner on the PGA Tour this season (at the WGC-HSBC Champions and the Waste Management Phoenix Open), Hideki Matsuyama has made nine of 10 cuts. He's totaled five top-25 finishes and has two second-place finishes under his belt, too.
Why He'll Win
While he hasn't been playing his best golf in recent weeks—as evidenced by his early-round exit at the WGC-Dell Match Play—Matsuyama is one of the PGA Tour's great grinders. Don't be surprised if he spent the last two weeks practicing 12 hours a day to get his game in top form for Augusta.
The Japan native's Masters pedigree is respectable, so that isn't a concern. While he can be bothered by a balky putter, Matsuyama is more than capable from tee to green, as he's ranked seventh on the tour in SG:TTG this season.
Perhaps the added motivation of becoming the first Japanese Masters champion will push him over the top this year.
3. Rory McIlroy
8 of 10
Odds to Win: 8-1
Best Masters Finish: Fourth (2015)
Season Highlights
Rory McIlroy finished fourth in both the WGC-HSBC Champions and the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Impressively, he hadn't finished outside the top 10 in a PGA Tour or European Tour start this season prior to his 30th-place finish at the WGC-Dell Match Play.
Why He'll Win
For one, a major victory at Augusta is the one McIlroy wants most. He needs it to complete his career Grand Slam, after all.
McIlroy was the tour leader last season in strokes gained from off the tee and was second in strokes gained from tee to green. He's continued his superb tee-to-green play thus far this season, as he would rank 15th if he had played enough events to qualify for the leaderboard. He enters the Masters with plenty of rest and a tie for fourth in his most recent stroke-play event (the Arnold Palmer Invitational).
It's difficult to find reasons McIlroy won't win this week, unless you buy into the narrative that he has unresolved issues at Augusta as a product of his 2011 back-nine implosion.
2. Jordan Spieth
9 of 10
Odds to Win: 7-1
Best Masters Finish: First (2015)
Season Highlights
Jordan Spieth has missed only one cut in eight PGA Tour starts. The 23-year-old has tallied four top-10 finishes and tied for 12th in his most recent stroke-play event (the WGC-Mexico) prior to his missed cut at the Shell Houston Open. He won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February.
Why He'll Win
Don't expect the demons of the 12th hole to befuddle Spieth again. He has assuredly taken extra precautions to ensure he doesn't make the same mental mistakes he did last year when he shot himself out of the tournament.
While a ho-hum showing at the Dell Match Play and a missed cut at the Shell Houston Open are concerning, Spieth should get his swing to a point where he can let his superior course management propel him to victory at Augusta National. He's not too bad at the venue, after all, having won the Masters in 2015.
1. Dustin Johnson
10 of 10
Odds to Win: 11-2
Best Masters Finish: T-4th (2016)
Season Highlights
Dustin Johnson has five top-10 finishes in seven starts this season, including wins in each of his last three starts (at the Genesis Open, the WGC-Mexico Championship and the WGC-Dell Match Play). Prior to the trio of wins, he finished third at Pebble Beach. In other words: He's en fuego.
Why He'll Win
Johnson is the hottest hand in the game by a wide margin, which goes a long way toward tabbing him as the favorite this week. He has experience and two top-six finishes at Augusta under his belt, so there's no concern about him heading to a venue he can't play well.
At a course that prioritizes the combination of power and accuracy off the tee, it's nice to be second on tour in strokes gained from off the tee, as Johnson is. He also leads the tour in strokes gained from tee to green and total strokes gained.
If Johnson continues to play the way he has this season and uses his experience at Augusta to his benefit, he'll win the Masters handily.
All statistics via PGATour.com.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
