Tournament History

The US Masters is probably the most unpredictable of the 4 majors in the golfing world. Although with an average finish of -11 being on the winning scorecard, the Masters is famous for producing first time champions, 14 in all since 1990. The title has only been defended 3 times in the 80 year history of the tournament, so you would expect odds on the field of around 90 players to be fairly closely matched. However, this is one of the Majors!  4 rounds, a half way cut, 270+ strokes and a massive amount of tension. For even the serious golf enthusiast it can be a lottery in picking a Masters winner, which is why it is probably better to look at pre-tournament betting as nothing more than a bit of fun. With what might look like some seriously generous odds, there is plenty of scope for many smaller bets with very interesting returns.

Outright Winners
Tiger Woods already has 4 Masters Green Jackets to his name, and the American is always red hot favourite for the Masters, and has had fairly decent preparation this year. Woods is at 5/1 to win outright, however if you don’t wish to back Woods, there is a money back on all losers if he does go on to win, which makes the high odds given for other multiple Major winners look even more tempting. Three time Masters champion Phil Mickleson is at 11/1, last year’s champion Charl Schwartel is at 40/1, Former US Open champion Greame McDowell is at 66/1, 2008 champion Trevor Immleman is at 100/1, as is 2009 champion Angel Cabrera. This year’s Open Champion Darren Clarke is at 300/1.
Although many of these players have perhaps not had perfect seasons thus far, they certainly know their way round the famous course, and if you are looking to do a number of small punts, a pound or two, these players would be good choices. With the Tiger Woods insurance it may not even end up costing you anything!

Top 5/ Top 10
A more tangible and perhaps a more considered bet for the Masters would be to go for top 5 or 10 finishes. There are two types of top 5 placing bet, straight forward 1-5, and an insurebet for the same 5 places, the insurebet odds are slightly longer. Picking a top 5 or 10 finisher can be done by not only looking at previous Masters performances, but also at current form.
For example, Hunter Mahan this week clinched the Houston Open, a renowned form guide event for the Masters. He has also won the Accenture Match-Play Championships already this year, beating Rory McIlroy in the final. Mahan is 30/1 to win outright, but a more likely result for Mahan will be improving on his best Masters finish of 8^th back in 2010. For a top 5 placing he is at 5/1, insurebet at 22/1 and top 10 2/1.
Current season form is more of a factor in odds for these markets. A good yard stick is anyone under 100/1 for top 5 and 10/1 for top 10 has been in decent form and won or placed well in at least 1 US or European tour event this year.
For Placed Finishes dead heat rules do apply. For 3 players tied for the 10^th spot then only 1/3 of the stake is taken, and for 5 players 1/5 of the stake is taken, both on full top 10 odds.

Top Tips
I will be taking £20 and making a series of small bets in each category. I would welcome any challengers to do the same and see if they can make any more (or even any!) profit than me.

Outright Winner
Rory McIlroy. £3.50 at 11/2.
Graeme McDowell. £3.50 at 66/1.

Top 5
Hunter Mahan. £1 at 5/1
Dustin Johnson. £1 at 8/1
Lee Westwood. £1 at 4/1
Bubba Watson. £1 at 8/1
Martin Kaymer. £1.50 at 10/1

Top 5 Insurebet
Phil Mickleson. £1 at 16/5
Luke Donald. £1 at 9/1
Justin Rose. £1.50 at 21/1

Top 10
KJ Choi. £1 at 4/1
Ian Poulter. £1 at 6/1
Paul Casey. £1 at 8/1
Miguel Angel Jimenez. £1 at 10/1
Charl Schwartzel. £1 at 5/2

Maximum Potential Return....£348.70

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Min deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits and are available for use upon settlement of qualifying bets. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply

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