Masters Odds 2019: Breaking Down Best and Worst Selections in Augusta Field
Sifting through which golfers are the best and worst selections for a major tournament can be a difficult task.
Certain players can be considered contenders because of their recent form at courses, like Augusta National Golf Club, while others come into The Masters in solid form.
However, even some of those players will be counted out of earning the green jacket before the tournament starts because Augusta is a fickle beast to tame.
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Other popular names will be in the favorites conversation because of previous major form, but when you dig a bit deeper, you will realize it has been hard for some golfers to recapture their success on the PGA Tour this season.
Best Selections
Bubba Watson (+3500; Bet $100 to win $3,500)
Bubba Watson doesn't enter The Masters in the best form, but he is one of a select few in the field with multiple wins at Augusta.
The 2012 and 2014 Masters champion tied for fifth a year ago in his first top-10 finish since donning his second green jacket.
If the lefthander didn't put together three rounds in the 60s in 2018, we wouldn't have considered him as a best bet because of a missed cut in 2017 and a pair of finishes beneath the top 35 in 2015 and 2016.
Add into the conversation that Watson finished in a tie for fourth at the Valspar Championship and you have a golfer with confidence entering one of the courses that suits him best.
If Watson is able to produce a few solid rounds at Augusta, he'll be in contention to become the ninth three-time Masters winner and first since Phil Mickelson earned the achievement in 2010.
From the betting perspective, Watson is worth a small gamble at +3500 because he'd earn you a solid payout.
Brooks Koepka (+3000)
Attention has to be paid to the most successful golfer at majors over the last two years.
Brooks Koepka won three of the last eight majors, and he's attempting to add to his haul at a tournament where he finished in a tie for 11th in 2017.
The two-time U.S. Open champion and 2018 PGA Championship winner improved with each round he played in the 2017 Masters, which was the last time he competed at Augusta.
Koepka's 2017 performance is the best sample size we can use to evaluate what he's capable of this time around at Augusta since that came a few months before he won his first major.
After his tie for 21st at the 2016 Masters, Koepka's landed in the top 15 in seven of the eight majors he's played in, with The Open in 2018 being the lone exception.
Koepka might not be picked by many to win the tournament since he hasn't been in the best form this season, but he does have a tie for second at the Honda Classic to his name.
If Koepka erases his poor season form and continues his consistency at majors, he'll be a factor come Sunday.
Worst Selections
Kevin Kisner (+8000)
Kevin Kisner comes into Augusta with some buzz after winning the World Golf Championships match play event.
But that's where the positive vibes about Kisner's chances to win The Masters should end.
In three Masters appearances, Kisner, who is from nearby Aiken, South Carolina, hasn't cracked the top 20.
In fact, in those three tournaments, Kisner has recorded a single round in the 60s, which came in the third round in 2018.
It's possible for Kisner to bank off the momentum gained from his victory and reverse his form at Augusta, but it's hard for a golfer to significantly change his form at a course that doesn't change much.
Tony Finau (+4000)
Tony Finau is a sentimental favorite in the Masters field after he achieved a tie for 10th on a broken ankle he suffered during the Par 3 Contest a year ago.
Finau also inspires confidence because he followed up his Masters performance with a fifth-place finish at the U.S. Open and a tie for ninth at The Open.
But nothing Finau has done during the current season suggests he'll be in form at Augusta.
The 29-year-old American comes into The Masters off a tie for 61st at the Valero Texas Open, and he's cracked the top 20 once in his last five stroke-play tournaments.
While it's always possible for Finau to rebound on a course he succeeded at a year ago, it's hard to put any betting confidence behind him because of his recent form.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
Statistics obtained from PGATour.com.
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