Masters Odds 2022: Breaking Down Best and Worst Selections in Augusta Field

Matt Slocum/Associated Press

One of the best approaches to betting a golf major is to bank on golfers with previous title experience.

Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka have been two of the best major tournament golfers over the last five years.

Johnson is a constant fixture in the top 10 at majors and won The Masters in 2020.

Koepka always seems to raise his game during the major tournament circuit and that is backed up by his three top-10 finishes at majors in 2021.

Koepka does not have a victory at Augusta National Golf Club, but he owns four major victories from other tournaments that will help him deal with any pressure that comes with being at, or near, the top of the leaderboard over the weekend.

Hideki Matsuyama beat out a list of household names to win The Masters in 2021, but he may not be in the mix again this April.

Matsuyama has been dealing with a back injury lately and he has not had the best season on the PGA Tour.

Bryson DeChambeau falls into a similar category as Matsuyama going into Augusta because he just returned from an extended injury layoff.

Even if he was healthy, DeChambeau might not be a strong pick at Augusta because of how he approaches the game and what the golf course requires out of golfers.

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

Dustin Johnson

Dustin Johnson feels like a forgotten favorite heading into Augusta.

Jon Rahm is the favorite to capture the green jacket, Scottie Scheffler comes in as the new No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking and Justin Thomas is in the middle of a strong season.

Johnson won The Masters in 2020 and he has five top-10 finishes in his last six starts at Augusta.

The attention around Johnson may have cooled off because he missed the cut last season and had a single top-10 finish across the four majors.

Johnson has a single top-10 finish at a stroke play event this season, but that was an important placing at The Players Championship.

Johnson should be considered to win The Masters for a reason. He has one of the best overall records at majors over the last three seasons and he could add to the six top 10s during that span.

Brooks Koepka

Brooks Koepka and Johnson are typically lumped into the same category of golfers that are expected to be on the first page of the leaderboard at every major.

Like Johnson, Koepka also missed the cut at Augusta last season and that could serve as some extra motivation to play better this year.

Koepka rebounded from his missed cut at The Masters with three consecutive top-10 finishes at the other three majors in 2021.

Koepka played himself into the top 10 in eight majors over the last three seasons. He landed in the top five in six of those events.

His play has been on-and-off throughout the early parts of the PGA Tour season. Koepka missed the cut at the Genesis Invitational and The Players Championship.

Koepka produced three top-20 placings in the last three stroke-play events in which he made the cut. He also made it to the quarterfinal round of the WGC Match Play.

Koepka should have any flaws figured out from those missed cuts to put himself in contention for the green jacket when Sunday rolls around.

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

Bryson DeChambeau

Bryson DeChambeau and Augusta National have not gotten along too well during his professional career.

DeChambeau has not finished inside the top 20 in his five starts at The Masters. His best finish was a tie for 21st in 2015 that earned him the low amateur title.

The 28-year-old’s bombing drive style does not exactly suit itself for a course in which approach shots are so vital.

The timing of this year’s event does not help DeChambeau either since he recently returned from an injury layoff.

DeChambeau did not make it out of the group stage at the WGC Match Play and missed the cut at the Texas Open with rounds of 73 and 76.

He could be a threat at majors later this season, when his return to form happens from playing more rounds of golf.

Hideki Matsuyama

The reigning Masters champion may be the top golfer to avoid.

Hideki Matsuyama was forced to withdraw from last week’s Texas Open because of his back injury.

Matsuyama turned in a pair of average performances in the two tournaments prior to Texas, but he had a single round under 70.

Any Matsuyama backer would argue that his tie for eighth at the WM Phoenix Open is a sign that he can compete at Augusta.

However, the injury concerns and average scores of late may not be enough to convince people to bet on him to repeat with other options out there.