It’s Masters time again! Just five months removed from the 2020 tournament, The Masters is back to its normal April scheduling after getting moved to November last season. With just a few months between tournaments there isn’t a lot of change in the makeup of the field, but some new contenders have emerged compared to what we saw in 2020. To quickly recap, Dustin Johnson was dominant en route to a five-shot victory, while Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy finished in the top five. Up-and-comers Cameron Smith and Sungjae Im actually edged both of them for second and third place, but DJ was simply too good and was able to keep everyone at bay. Johnson is the favorite again for this weekend’s tournament, but only just slightly, and several golfers are only fractionally behind him in the betting odds.
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Event Info
- 88 Players
- Course: Augusta National Golf Club - Augusta, Georgia (Par 72)
- Defending Champion: Dustin Johnson
Outright Winner
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The 2021 Masters outright splits are similar to that of 2020 — with one glaring exception. Last year, Bryson DeChambeau was the odds-on favorite and was also the most popular bet, with Dustin Johnson just behind him on both fronts. For 2021, the names at the top are almost all the same with the exception of the guy at the top: Jordan Spieth. Spieth has been almost undoubtedly the best player on tour this season, and as a result, he’s edging out the rest of the field in betting volume even though he’s down at +1200. Spieth opened at +6600 for this event back in November (following the conclusion of the 2020 Masters) and has had an unprecedented odds surge due to his incredible run of recent performances. Spieth didn't actually pick up his first win until last week, but it marked his fourth top five finish in his last six events.
First Round Leader
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Spieth is pacing first round leader betting as well, and it’s arguably even more justifiable than the betting on him to win the tournament. Prior to finally locking in a win at last week’s Valero Texas Open, Spieth had been routinely performing well earlier in tournaments, only to wind up faltering on Sunday. His first round scoring average has been incredible during this recent run (68.0), and it appears as though DraftKings bettors are buying into this trend with their betting this week.
Top 10
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Top 10 betting is falling more towards Dustin Johnson, as DraftKings bettors may be viewing him as a more reliable commodity than the aforementioned Spieth. The bet percentages between the two players are close, but Johnson is well ahead in terms of betting handle. DJ has certainly been less dominant since last year’s Masters, and he finished 48th and 54th in his two most recent events, respectively. However, he also just hasn’t been playing much golf and it seems like bettors are viewing him as safe; yet maybe lacking the typical upside that he carried throughout the 2020 season.
Featured Matchup
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The most bet on head-to-head matchup this week is Dustin Johnson vs. Bryson DeChambeau — and by a very significant margin, too. Johnson is a small favorite and, on the surface, it doesn’t make such sense that Johnson would be so much more popular with that line. The actual reason seems to be the DraftKings Sportsbook promotion — where bettors can get either of these players at +150 — and it appears as though most of the bettors who are in on this promo are taking the opportunity to grab the favorite as an underdog. DeChambeau has actually been much better than Johnson this season, and he’s earned a first place and a third place finish in his last two events.
Featured Players
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