The Masters
The Masters preview: It’s Koepka’s world, we’re just LIVing in it
The time has finally arrived. The Masters Tournament is upon us and for four days, maybe even five if you enjoy taking in the practice sessions, all eyes will be fixated on golf’s first Major of the year.
The Green Jacket is arguably golf’s most coveted prize and only a lucky and incredibly skilled few will ever have the honour of pulling it on.
Augusta National is an infamously tricky course that has taken many souls over the years, with Amen Corner being responsible for the majority. This year will surely be no different, as all four days look set to provide non-stop entertainment.
Finding the winner of the Masters is no easy task, but we have four selections whom we think could go well, with two towards the top of the market eyeing up a victory, as well as two who could provide great value at a larger price.
Without further ado, let’s dive in!
Bet on the Masters at William Hill
Xander Schauffele 14/1
We kick things off with a man who has been there or thereabouts many times at the Masters and has every chance of being in close contention again this year.
Xander Schauffele finished a respectable T10 last year, with a T17 and runner-up finish to his name in years gone by. He knows Augusta very well which is a factor that cannot be understated and one that will prove key this year, as is always the case.
He has been on seriously hot form this season but hasn’t managed to spark a win so far, something which isn’t necessarily a negative mark on his name heading into the Masters. He has finished T10 in six of his eight outings this year, managing to finish T2, T3, T4 and T5 without picking up a trophy.
At 14/1 he sits fourth in the market for this year’s tournament behind three of the sport’s biggest names in Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and defending champion Jon Rahm – hardly an easy trio to overcome.
The number one priority for Xander will be to stay in touch right up until the closing stages and finish at least within the 8 places available at William Hill, something which his seasonal form suggests should be more than possible. Then it will come down to whether he can really switch it on when it matters and claim the first Green Jacket of his career.
One thing to note is that Schauffele tends to fly out the blocks and could well be a good option in the first round leader market, for which he is 20/1.
Brooks Koepka 20/1
Brooks Koepka, where to start? The face of LIV Golf will certainly not be heading to Augusta expecting a warm welcome from the patrons, but he will go with every chance of overturning his runner-up finish last year.
Koepka ran now fellow LIV golfer Jon Rahm close for the majority of the tournament last time, before falling away in the latter holes on Sunday to finish four shots behind the eventual winner. Outside of that, Brooks was also runner-up in 2019 and managed a T7 finish in 2020 – course form that can’t go unnoticed.
Major wins also go some way to determining whether players will be able to handle the pressure that comes with the Masters, and Koepka has five of those to his name; three PGA Championships and two US Opens.
Koepka may not be in a rich vein of form as far as LIV Golf is concerned, but he is playing well enough to suggest that he has more in the locker which he will almost certainly bring out for the big one.
The pantomime villain is likely to be his role and he will suit that perfectly, with golf purists’ unwillingness to back him potentially part of the reason behind his odds of 20/1, which to us seems a touch big.
A man with Major experience such as Koepka’s, who has two runner-up finishes at Augusta to his name, will certainly hope to be in the 8 places available at William Hill, whilst a Green Jacket would take him three-quarters of the way to completing the career Grand Slam.
Shane Lowry 35/1
Irishman Shane Lowry has played his fair share of good golf in the past year, capped off by his part in Europe’s infamous Ryder Cup win in Rome last year.
As far as the PGA Tour is concerned, Lowry is beginning to turn up the heat at just the right time. After a significant lay-off, firstly to partake in and then eventually recover from Ryder Cup celebrations, he has started to produce some of his best golf in the leadup to Augusta. In his past three outings he has managed T19, T4 and third-place finishes, a similar upturn in form to his performances at the Masters.
Having begun his Augusta career with three missed cuts and one 39th-place finish, Lowry has been trending upwards in his past four outings. He managed respectable 25th and 21st-place finishes in 2020 and 2021, before finishing an impressive third in 2022. Last year saw another strong performance and he finished 16th following a quick start, shooting 68 on the Thursday.
At 35/1 Lowry looks to offer great value for someone who knows his way round the course, has experienced life towards the top of the Masters leaderboard, and knows how to win golf’s biggest prizes.
Whilst he will hope to find himself in the 8 places available at William Hill, the group betting market is where the best value may be found. Lowry is in Group D, at odds of 9/2 to finish ahead of Bryson DeChambeau, Sahith Theegala, Collin Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay and Tony Finau.
Chris Kirk 150/1
Aside from finding the winner, finding a rank outsider to finish in the places is an incredibly popular tasks for those betting on the Masters. Chris Kirk is our selection and we feel that, at 150/1, he has all the tools to provide a nice payout by finishing in the 8 places available at William Hill.
Kirk started off his 2024 season in style by winning The Sentry, the PGA Tour’s annual curtain-raiser. Since then he has been steady enough, missing just one cut and finishing inside the top 30 on four occasions, including his last outing at The Players Championship.
As far as his Masters experience goes, Kirk has a number of solid performances at Augusta and has shown no signs of being phased by the tough challenges which can put any player by the wayside.
Having taken to the course on four occasions Kirk has missed the cut just once, back in 2016. Before then he had recorded 33rd and 20th-place finishes. Then, following a seven-year hiatus which saw Kirk return last year as if he’d never left, he finished 23rd with a one-under-par final score.
Should that be anything to go by, there is no reason why a man who has looked back to his best on the PGA Tour this year can’t build on that performance. Finishing in the places will be no easy task for Kirk, but at 150/1 he has to be worth a shot.
