Masters Betting – Westwood Finally Breaks Through at the Masters

June 27, 2011

The azeleas are in bloom. Augusta National Golf Club is manicured and waiting to host the best golfers in the world for the most beloved tournament on the planet.

Masters Betting Overview

Online betting pundits are certainly going to take a lot of action on Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson simply because those two global superstars generate a lot of publicity and are magnets for the betting public. The Golf Betting community, however, needs to be attuned to matters far beyond pure popularity. Sure, March Madness betting is a popular drawing card in Las Vegas, and the NCAA Tournament still creeps into the week during which The Masters is contested, but by the time Thursday arrives at Augusta National, the college basketball season has been fully put to bed. It’s time to focus on four magical days deep in the American South, tucked away in a forest of Georgia pines. Here’s a look at the top 10 betting favorites for the tournament created by the legendary Bobby Jones in 1934. 

Phil Mickelson +595

Mickelson is naturally a popular choice after scoring a PGA Tour win in the lead-up to The Masters this past weekend. However, a win one weekend is hard to follow with yet another victory the following weekend. This is not a sport in which regular weekly dominance is easily established. Mickelson is extremely likely to card another top-10 finish, but is he likely to take home a fourth Green Jacket and defend his title? No. That flies in the face of the odds.

Tiger Woods +1050

Tiger is by far the great uncertainty of this tournament. In 2010, it was very hard to expect the former world No. 1 to play at his best. The fallout from the 2009 incident at his Florida home, combined with the subsequent revelations of his marital infidelity and the divorce which soon followed, clearly weighed on Woods’ mind over the course of the season. No normal human being would have been able to display mental clarity and inner peace under such circumstances. Woods was merely as mortal as the rest of humanity. Now, in 2011, he might be able to bounce back, but no one will know for sure until he handles three rounds at Augusta. If he’s within two shots on Sunday, look out. Still, he’s not the number one pick to win this tournament.

Lee Westwood +1500

This is the best bet to win the Green Jacket. Westwood has come on strong over the past two years at the majors. He’s accumulated a lot of top-three finishes and has found himself in the thick of the fight on many Sundays, but he just hasn’t been able to close. The odds say that if you put yourself in position to contend for a championship on enough occasions, you’re going to break through at some point. Westwood has come closer than anyone else in the field to claiming a major without actually winning a title. The European’s chances are very good at Augusta.

Nick Watney +1700
The young American owns a world of talent, but he hasn’t smelled the aroma of victory the way a guy like Westwood has. A top-15 finish is very realistic, but this is just not Watney’s time.

Martin Kaymer +1900

The German has more majors in his future, but the 2010 PGA Championship winner needed a break on an obscure rules provision to secure that major title last August. Can Kaymer win back-to-back majors by breaking through on a hallowed golf course? The odds would seem to tilt against him.

Luke Donald +2800

Like Watney, Donald hasn’t come within a fraction of winning a major. He shouldn’t rate too high on anyone’s list.

Dustin Johnson +2800

This is one of the more intriguing possibilities at Augusta National. Johnson’s stroke penalty when hitting from an “open bunker” at the PGA Championship ruined his chances of winning. The American handled his situation with grace, but it still remains that he’ll face a mental challenge when he returns to the major spotlight. Don’t count on Johnson to succeed, though a victory would make for the single best story of the week.

Rory McIlroy +3000

The Irishman will win a major in due time. He’s probably still too young and inexperienced to handle the unique pressure of the back nine at Augusta on Sunday.

Hunter Mahan +3200

File the American in the same category as both Watney and Donald. One just doesn’t see Mahan making it to the thick of the chase on Sunday afternoon.

Paul Casey +3400

Casey is being looked to as the Englishman who will succeed Nick Faldo and become the next great golfer from the non-Irish part of Britain. He has a legitimate chance of contending, but one wouldn’t expect him to grab the brass ring in the final round.

Pick: Lee Westwood