What are the Most Popular Masters Prop Bets You Can Wager?
You can pull out the driver and bomb it down those wide, inviting fairways, work irons to get close and minimize putting distance on those lightning-fast greens, or be strategic and go after some of the most accessible par-5s in professional golf.
There are a number of ways for players to approach Augusta National — and about as many ways for bettors to lay action in Masters betting.
Wagering on the tournament winner may be the best-known and most popular bet on one of golf’s biggest weeks of the year, but it’s far from the only way to bet on the Masters.
Bookmakers also typically offer a variety of prop bets on the event, which provide betting on golf fans with not only a variety of ways to wager but also perhaps a better chance of collecting at the end.
Picking the tournament winner presents the allure of a big payoff, but is also exceedingly difficult given the relatively meager win rate of even the best golfers in the world. So, as part of your golf betting strategy, grab a peach ice cream sandwich — a Masters concession staple — and let’s take a stroll through the types of prop bets and how to approach them.
Shoot a Certain Score
It’s not unusual for books to offer tempting odds on players shooting a certain score or lower either for a round or the tournament, but be forewarned — the scores set by oddsmakers are often at or near tournament records, which at Augusta are 63 for a round and 270 for the tournament, and they’re rarely attained.
The chances of players posting numbers that low might be worse than correctly picking the tournament winner, so tread carefully.
Over/Under Birdies or Eagles
When conditions are right, Augusta National can be a scorer’s paradise, with its inviting fairways and minimal rough — er, we mean “second cut.” One prop bet can be a player going over or under a specified number of birdies or eagles, the latter being fairly realistic at Augusta given its reachable par-5s. Prop bets on specific players making eagle on specific holes often exist well.
Knowing a player’s strengths — such as, are they long enough off the tee to reach par-5s in two shots? — and personal history at the Masters can be a helpful guide in this area.
Also, keep an eye on the weather; lots of rain can make Augusta play shorter and slower than it does typically, lots of wind can make it impossible, and in either case scoring will be that much more difficult.
Over/Under Winning Score
Some books may offer an over or under on a final score, such as 10-under, with bettors able to wager on whether the winner of the green jacket will finish above or below that mark. Statistically, most common winning score is 8-under, though players have routinely won in double-digits under par in warm and forgiving conditions.
Hole-in-One
Another prop bet can be any player (or in some cases, one specific player) recording a hole-in-one. Augusta’s par-3s are fairly short, but they can also be difficult — especially No. 12 giving how the wind swirls through Amen Corner, and No. 16 with water guarding the green.
In the first 80-plus years of the tournament, there were only 29 aces.
Make/Miss Cut
Bettors can also typically wager on whether a player will make or miss the cut, which comes after the tournament’s second round. Again, personal history at Augusta is key here — some top players typically always make the cut at the Masters, while others are far less predictable.
Performance entering the event can also be a guide; has the player been battling an injury, or have a string of missed cuts behind him? Augusta can also often be unkind to first-timers, given that the speed and undulation of its greens are almost impossible to replicate.
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Play in the Final Pairing
Some sportsbooks will offer odds on whether top players will tee off in the final pairing of the final round, which means they’ll be at or just off the tournament lead.
While sometimes this can be tough to figure — the likes of Smylie Kaufman, Brandt Snedeker and Peter Hanson have all played in the final grouping in recent years — Jordan Spieth has been something of a mainstay in that spot over his history at the Masters, and Rory McIlroy is traditionally a strong contender for the position as well.
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