Best Long Shots At Augusta – Five Outside Masters 2024 Betting Picks
Masters golf betting sites have once again focused on the big boys this year, with Scottie Scheffler being priced to an all-time low ahead of Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm.
Scheffler has never been shorter than his 5.0 favourite tag to win one of golf’s majors. However, bookmakers have had to act following a flurry of wagers on the American.
The likes of McIlroy, Rahm and Brooks Koepka are also courting plenty of bets but it is Scheffler who leads the market. Meanwhile, the list of outsiders continues to grow as firms tweak their odds to account for the weight of bets on Scheffler.
A maximum of 90 players will compete at Augusta National from April 11-14. Eight players have won their maiden major title at this course since 2011 and there are a handful of outsiders who have an eye on the Green Jacket this spring.
The likes of Sahith Theegala and Corey Conners may not be the most glamorous of bets but they carry good odds heading into the first round.
Meanwhile, LIV Golf’s cohort of rebels will be hoping to once again upset the old guard and claim victory at this most historic of courses. Rahm, the defending champion, is now among them.
The LIV players are preparing for Augusta by competing over three rounds in Miami. Many of the PGA lot, meanwhile, are set to bypass the Texas Open in order to focus on the major a week later.
Betting on the Masters isn’t always easy, especially when the course is designed to punish a single mistake. Even the top pros can bomb out here and miss the cut, which makes it an ideal tournament for backing outsiders.
Exchange betting sites offer outright odds on who will win the Masters and each-way options that pay out for top-eight finishes. Suddenly outside picks aren’t such a bad choice because practically anyone can be in the running come Sunday afternoon.
We’ve assessed the field heading into this year’s tournament and unearthed the five best long shots at Augusta.
Sahith Theegala is in full swing for 2024 having played nine tournaments already heading into the Texas Open.
His best finish was second at The Sentry back in January, while he’s also posted three more top-10 results.
Theegala is still relatively new to the tour. He hasn’t shot above par yet this year and has missed the cut just once.
His odds with bookies have already come in from 66.0 to 46.0 as punters keep an eye on his results. He’s certainly trending in the right direction and he finished ninth at Augusta in 2023.
Patrick Reed won the Masters by a stroke from Rickie Fowler in 2018 and he has remained a reliable bet to place in the top 10 ever since. It might be that Reed never wins another major but he will certainly place.
Reed has struggled on the LIV Golf tour this year, posting a highest finish of tied-17th at Mayakoba in February. Half of his 12 rounds played in 2024 have strayed over 70 shots.
Reed is priced at 80.0 with the bookies but those odds are fluctuating. Bettors are looking at his history at Augusta and seeing him as a worthwhile punt.
After all, he has a 60% record of making the top 10 since his victory in 2018. Reed could impress here but remains a cautionary outside bet.
At 32, Corey Conners’ best major result was tied-sixth at Augusta in 2022. He misses the cut 50% of the time at major tournaments. Why is he an outside pick for the Masters? Well, it’s at Augusta where Conners really flourishes.
Conners has posted top-10 finishes in three of his last four Masters outings. He’s a silky player with a better-than-average short game, which makes him a good play at Augusta.
Consistency has always been his issue and perhaps it’s the familiarity of this course that has resulted in regular strong results.
At 100.0 Conners is perhaps the best outside pick of the bunch. He could genuinely threaten the leaderboard over the opening two rounds and see his odds plummet. Equally, he could bomb out. But that’s the beauty of an outside bet.
Russell Henley is another outsider this April who has form at Augusta National. He’s posted top-15 results in each of his last four Masters outings and finished tied-fourth in 2023.
Fourth seems to be his favourite position right now, having placed there at the Sony Open and Arnold Palmer recently too. The 34-year-old has a tendency to drop away over the weekend rounds but is a reliable player to make the cut.
His odds of 100.0 with betting sites more accurately reflect his chances of winning the Masters than Conners’.
A smarter option is backing a top-10 finish at 6.5, which puts him ahead of Justin Rose, Sergio Garcia and Charl Schwartzel in the betting.
Taylor Moore made the cut in his debut Masters Tournament last year, a month after he won his first PGA Tour event. Since then he’s struggled to make a big impact on the tour but heads to Augusta having enjoyed an uptick in form.
Moore finished second in the Texas Children's Houston Open last month, one stroke behind Stephan Jäger. It was his best finish since winning the Valspar Championship and offers a glimmer of hope for punters seeking a huge outside bet.
Realistically Moore shouldn’t get near the top 10 at Augusta but at least he has experience of the event this year. He admits that he was caught up in the whirlwind of the 2023 Masters as a rookie, and didn’t prepare as well as he should.
This time, he says: “I want to go into Monday of that week, go through my normal routine, go through my proper prep, and get myself ready to be in the best position to have a chance to compete on the weekend.”
That bit of experience could help Moore through the opening two rounds and make the cut with a decent score. His odds will almost certainly fall, which is why he is a good outside pick this far out from the tournament.
*Preview written before LIV Miami and the PGA Texas Open
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