Thursday 4/7/2016 Masters Betting Info

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The Masters begins Thursday at Augusta National
By Zach Cohen

Masters Tournament

Tees Off: Thursday, April 7th
Augusta National GC – Augusta, GA

The Masters Tournament tees off in Augusta on Thursday and Jordan Spieth will be going for his second straight title at this prestigious event. Spieth was absolutely dominant in winning last year, shooting an 18-under on the 7,435-yard course. He tied Tiger Woods for the best score ever shot in this tournament, but Woods will not be playing in this year’s installment. Two guys to watch at The Masters are going to be Bubba Watson and Phil Mickelson. Watson won this event for the second time in 2014, shooting an eight-under to defeat runner-up Jordan Spieth by three strokes. Mickelson, meanwhile, is a three-time Masters champion (2004, 2006, 2010). Since this is The Masters, the field for this tournament will be loaded with talent. Joining Spieth, Watson and Mickelson will be guys like Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, Henrik Stenson, Rickie Fowler and Adam Scott. With that out of the way, let’s now take a look at some of the guys that could be celebrating come Sunday:

Rory McIlroy (9-to-1) – While most of this week’s talk is going to be about Jason Day and Jordan Spieth, McIlroy will have the benefit of playing with less pressure on him this weekend. The four-time major winner is still one of the most talented golfers on the planet and he will be more driven to win this event than any of his opponents. The Masters is the only major that McIlroy has not won and he will be looking to change that on Sunday. With the career grand slam being a real possibility, McIlroy is an easy player to back at 9-to-1.

Henrik Stenson (25-to-1) – Henrik Stenson has not had much success at the Masters Tournament, but he is one of the best golfers in the world and should have a real shot at winning this event on Sunday. Stenson is coming into this tournament in spectacular form, as he has shot a 14-under at each of the past two events. He finished tied for third at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in the middle of March and followed it up with a second place finish at the Shell Houston Open last week. If he can keep it up then he will certainly be hanging at the top of the leaderboard on Sunday and he is receiving some juicy odds at 25-to-1.

Justin Rose (28-to-1) – Rose has had a disappointing season, but he is somebody that can play at the same level as guys like Day, Spieth and McIlroy. Rose was actually the runner-up at this tournament in 2015, shooting a 14-under over the course of the event. He is a very solid all-around player and if he can get it going on the greens then he’ll have a very good shot at winning this tournament on Sunday. It’s very tough to stay away from a player of his caliber and it’s a no-brainer to put a unit or two on him at 28-to-1.

Jason Dufner (110-to-1) – When looking for a dark horse to win The Masters, one guy that stands out is Jason Dufner. Dufner is getting some absurd odds at 110-to-1 and he is a guy that can really get hot out on the course. He won the CareerBuilder Challenge with a 25-under in January, but he has been struggling as of late. Regardless, it’s hard to find somebody with his upside and odds in this tournament. He’d be a guy that people would regret not taking if he gets off to a good start on Thursday.

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Re: Thursday 4/7/2016 Masters Betting Info

The Masters 2016 betting preview: Tips for betting golf’s first major
By Matt Fargo

Henrik Stenson had his chances but fell one shot short for us as Jim Herman captured his first ever PGA Tour win at the Shell Houston Open as we head into the first major of the season, the 2016 Masters. This is considered by many as the unofficial start of spring and while avid golf fans live for this weekend, even non-golf enthusiasts know about this epic tournament and what it means. Its beautiful simplicity is what makes it the greatest golf tournament in the world.

Famed Augusta National plays host to its 80th Masters. Back in the day, hitting the ball a mile would be the greatest asset a player could have. And even though the yardage has increased from 6,985 yards in 2001 to 7,435 yards today, bombing it, is no longer the edge. Ball striking is now a big factor as hitting greens in the right spots can lead to easier putts. Only three times in the last 14 years has the winner finished outside the top 22 in driving accuracy, and only twice have they finished out of the top 10 in greens in regulation.

Unless you have seen Augusta National in person, you cannot appreciate the enormous elevation changes which means getting a flat lie is a rarity. Basically, it is a ‘second shot’ course which means the approaches are important just to get into position. Hitting an approach shot to the wrong place in some cases means not even being able to go after the pin, whether it be a chip shot or putt. That brings big scores into play so the thought process of shots is just as important as the physical part of the game.

Even though the course is much longer, it does not take the small hitters out of play as we have seen many contend and even win recently. Because the course has been tightened, it actually brings every player to an almost even playing field and that is what the goal has been since redesigns started taking place. The setup has made the goal pretty simple actually – hit fairways and then hit the correct side of the green and there is a good chance of being on the first page of the leaderboard on Sunday.

Past history plays a big part as you will see names near the top that you rarely see in other events as successful players here are usually successful close to every year. Americans dominated here early on with Gary Player being the only non-American to win through the first 43 years and he actually did it three times. Since then, it has been up for grabs as over the last 36 years, Americans have won the green jacket 19 times (nearly half of those by just three players) with the rest of the world not far behind with 17 wins.

The most shocking fact is that despite dominating the United States in the Ryder Cup, the European contingent has struggled at Augusta. Granted, it is a totally different experience but with the huge amount of world class players, a European hasn’t won since Jose Maria Olazabal in 1999. Could this be the year that changes? In total, the green jacket has been given to only six European players (Nick Faldo three times, Jose Maria Olazabal twice, Seve Ballesteros twice, Bernhard Langer twice and Ian Woosnam and Sandy Lyle once apiece).

How do first time participants fare at Augusta? Not very well as a Masters rookie has not won here since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979. But there have been some close calls, especially two years ago with Jonas Blixt and Jordan Spieth both tying for second in their debuts and Jimmy Walker and Kevin Stadler finishing T8. This year, there are 19 players making their Masters debut. Last week’s winner Jim Herman will be making his first ever start at the Masters.

The first Masters took place in 1934, won by Horton Smith by two strokes over Craig Wood for his first of two wins here. He earned $1,500 for the victory and eight decades later, the winner gets $1.8 million. To put it in even greater perspective of how far it has come, Charley Hoffman finished T9 last year and collected $270,000. Arnold Palmer played here 50 times which included four wins and took home a grand total of $279,013.

Jason Day, the winner of the most recent Major at the PGA Championship last year, is the favorite at +595.

Rory McIlroy, who is seeking his first green jacket is next at +745 while defending champion Jordan Spieth is the third favorite at +855.

Not far behind is two-time Masters Winner Bubba Watson +1,020 followed by 2013 champion Adam Scott at +1,060.

Rickie Fowler at +1,485, Phil Mickelson at +1,555 and Dustin Johnson at +1,650 round out the top eight.

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Re: Thursday 4/7/2016 Masters Betting Info

NFAC

GOLF – MASTERS MATCH UPS

7036) C SCHWARTZEL -125
($750)

7039) H MATSUYAMA -135
($750)

7041) P REED -115
($750)

7009) R McILROY -125
($500)

7011) J SPIETH -110
($500)

7015) A SCOTT -120
($500)

7065) C HOFFMAN -130
($500)

7029) H STENSON -165
($500)

7033) J ROSE -150
($500)

7078) B WIESBERGER -125
($500)

7096) A LAHARI -150
($500)

TO WIN 2016 MASTERS :

JIMMY WALKER +7500
($100)

LEE WESTWOOD +9500
($100)

CHRIS KIRK +9500
($100)

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Re: Thursday 4/7/2016 Masters Betting Info

Brady Kannon
The Masters
Full Tournament Head to Head Match Ups for One Unit a piece
Hideki Matsuyama (-135) over Zach Johnson
Sergio Garcia (-105) over Brandt Snedeker