The first major of the year is finally here. The game’s biggest stars will be in Augusta this week for the 2023 Masters, seeking to put on the coveted green jacket Sunday night. The fun begins for the 87th time Thursday morning with the 1st round at the always-spectacular Augusta National.
Below, we look at the 2023 Masters odds and make our PGA Tour picks and predictions.
Jon Rahm enters as the No. 1 player in the field this week, according to the latest Golfweek/Sagarin rankings. Last year’s champion, Scottie Scheffler, is No. 2, followed by Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy and Tony Finau. Because this is a major, LIV Golf players are eligible to play, which means Cam Smith (45), Dustin Johnson (32) and Brooks Koepka (175) will also be in the field.
This will be the longest Augusta National has ever played after the par-5 13th hole was lengthened 35 yards by moving the tee box back. It’s still a par 72, of course, but it will now play at 7,545 yards. It’s a course that gives long hitters an advantage off the tee because of the more advantageous angles they can take – especially given the width of the fairways and the shorter rough.
The greens are always treacherous with their undulation and speed, leading to a lot of 3-putts and difficult lag putts. Accurately hitting approach shots into the proper portions of the greens is critical, as well.
Follow the 2023 Masters leaderboard, news, groupings, course details and more from Golfweek and USA TODAY. Catch the tournament April 6-9.
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Masters – Expert picks
Odds provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Monday at 4:04 p.m. ET.
Jon Rahm (+900)
Rahm as the 3rd favorite at +900 behind Scheffler and McIlroy at +700 feels wrong. At the very least, he should be co-favorites with them, but a few poor showings in his last 2 events have dropped his odds from the top. Even though he finished 27th at last year’s Masters, he rattled off 4 straight top-10s at Augusta prior to that (5th, 7th, 9th, 4th).
He already has 3 wins and 6 top-10s in 9 starts this season and ranks 1st in strokes gained: total, as well as birdie average. He’s 28th in SG: off the tee, 4th in approach and 12th in putting. It doesn’t need to be said, but he has the all-around game to win his 1st green jacket.
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Collin Morikawa (+2200)
Morikawa missed the cut at 2 of the biggest tournaments so far this year (WM Phoenix Open and Arnold Palmer Invitational), but he already has a 2nd-place finish and 5 top-25s in 10 total starts. He said recently he’s happy to be back hitting his comfortable fade, which should give him confidence going into the Masters. He ranks 9th in SG: total, and that’s despite being 120th in SG: putting. He’s finished 18th and 5th in his last two Masters.
Jason Day (+2500)
We can go ahead and ignore the last 3 years of the Masters for Day. He didn’t play last year and missed the cut in his previous 2 appearances. That was not the version of Day we’re getting this week. Right now, he’s much more like the player who notched 4 top-10s here in the past and didn’t finish worse than T-28 from 2013-2019.
Day is on the cusp of winning again and he could get it done at a course he loves. He’s playing as well as anyone right now, with 11 top-25s in 13 starts, including 6 top-10s. The only 2 times he finished outside the top-25 was when he missed the cut earlier in the season.
Tony Finau (+2500)
Finau has quietly had a fantastic season so far, with 9 top-25 finishes in 10 starts. He has a win already, too, and is now heading to a course where he’s notched 3 top-10s in 5 tries.
Few players are as well-rounded as Finau is right now, either. He’s 4th in SG: total, with rankings of 25th off the tee, 3rd on approach and 23rd in putting. His odds are fairly short at +2500 but he’s coming into the week with 3 wins since last July.
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Masters picks – Contenders
Will Zalatoris (+3300)
Zalatoris was as low as +2000 two months ago after he finished 4th at the Genesis Invitational, but 3 straight disappointing starts have dropped his odds. Now is the time to buy low, if you can even call it that. He finished 2nd in his Masters debut 2 years ago and backed it up with a 6th-place finish last year.
His recent form has been poor but as one of the best pure ball-strikers in the world, I’ll bet on him to win the Masters just about every year. His putter is the biggest thing holding him back but he gained 1.40 strokes putting last year at the Masters, according to DataGolf.
Corey Conners (+4000)
Conners won the Valero Texas Open on Sunday and will now try to follow it up with a strong showing for the 4th straight year at the Masters. Amazingly, he has 3 straight top-10 finishes in the last 3 years here, finishing 6th, 8th and 10th since 2020. His win on Sunday was also his 7th top-25 in 11 starts, despite ranking 150th in SG: putting. At +4000, it’s probably the shortest odds he’s ever had at the Masters, but his tournament history warrants it.
Min Woo Lee (+6600)
Lee made his debut at the Masters last year when he finished tied for 14th, an impressive showing by the young Australian. He tied for 6th at the Players Championship this year and 26th at the Honda Classic, playing well in 2 of his 4 PGA Tour starts. Where he’s really excelled is on the DP World Tour with nothing worse than a T-13 since last July.
Masters picks – Long shots
Si Woo Kim (+10000)
Kim has finished in the top 40 in each of his last 4 starts at the Masters, including a T-12 in 2021. He’s understandably a long shot to win this week but he has 12 made cuts in 13 starts this season, converting 6 of those into top-25 finishes. He’s been a cut-maker this year and throughout his career at the Masters (4-for-5). That makes him a worthy bet.
Tom Kim (+8000)
Kim is making his Masters debut, which already puts him at a disadvantage because no debutant has won here since 1979. It just doesn’t happen. But Kim isn’t like most debutants. He’s already a 2-time champion on the PGA Tour and has 3 top-10s in 11 events played this season.
Russell Henley (+12500)
Henley has made the cut in 5 of his 6 starts at the Masters and although he doesn’t have a top-10 yet, he’s finished T-11 and T-15 in the past. He played well on a big stage at the Players Championship this year when he tied for 19th.
MORE 2023 MASTERS COVERAGE
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Golfweek:
- 2023 Masters Tournament: CBS, ESPN TV and streaming coverage
- Masters merchandise 2023: New gnome leads six hottest items to buy at Augusta National
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