2023 Masters Odds: Can Any LIV Golfers Cause An Upset?
Masters Golf Predictions:
- Cameron Smith To Win The Masters - 20/1 With 888sport
- Dustin Johnson To Win The Masters - 25/1 With Bet365
- Brooks Koepka To Win (Each-Way) The Masters - 40/1 With William Hill
- Patrick Reed To Win (Each-Way) The Masters - 80/1 With Bet365
- Bubba Watson To Win (Each-Way) The Masters - 200/1 With BetVictor
Eighteen players from the breakaway LIV Golf League will bid for glory when the Masters gets underway at Augusta National this week.
Betting sites make most of them heavy underdogs for the green jacket, but a few famous names stand out, including Cameron Smith and Dustin Johnson.
It comes at a pivotal moment for the Saudi-backed LIV Golf League, which lured several stars away from the PGA Tour by offering them huge contracts.
The viewing figures for the league’s first televised event of 2023 were dismal: just 291,000 people tuned in for LIV Golf Mayakoba, according to Nielsen figures.
Meanwhile, the PGA Tour appears stronger than ever, plunging the rebel LIV Golf League into a perilous position as it faces up to major financial losses.
Organisers will be desperate for one of their stars to win the Masters, as it could potentially galvanise interest in the breakaway league.
It begs the question: are any of the 18 LIV golfers that qualified for the tournament worth backing?
This article takes a look at the leading contenders and analyses their chances of beating PGA Tour stars like Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Jordan Spieth.
Cameron Smith
The down-to-earth Queenslander will lead the charge for the LIV Golf rebels at Augusta National this year.
Many of the players that abandoned the PGA Tour for the LIV Golf League were washed-up veterans seeking one last major payday before retiring.
That makes Smith stand out like a sore thumb, as he is just 29 years of age and he is currently operating at the peak of his powers.
He defected in the immediate aftermath of his famous triumph at the Open Championship last year, which saw him reel in McIlroy on the final day.
Smith has remained sharp since joining LIV Golf, finishing three shots ahead of Johnson and Peter Uihlein to win on his second start.
Last year, he looked on course to win the Masters at Augusta, only to see his dreams evaporate with one bad swing on the 12th.
Yet his short game is arguably the best in the world, and he is remarkably cool under pressure, so he has a great chance of winning the Masters this year.
He is priced at 20/1 with golf betting sites and that looks like a great each-way bet.
Dustin Johnson
The former world No. 1 has an excellent record at Augusta, so you cannot write off his chances of success this year.
He finished T6 in 2015 and T4 in 2016, and he was installed as the red-hot favourite for his first green jacket in 2017, only to miss out after suffering a freak back injury.
Johnson returned in 2018, when he finished T10, and he then secured a T2 finish in 2019, before finally winning the Masters in 2020.
DJ missed the cut in 2021, and he could only finish T12 last year, but if he gets in his groove, he can be unstoppable.
He is 25/1 with Bet365 to win the Masters, which looks like another excellent option.
Can you cash out of bets before an event has finished?
Can you cash out of bets before an event has finished?
Can you cash out of bets before an event has finished?
Brooks Koepka
The four-time major champion, Brooks Koepka, is among the most famous players to ditch the PGA Tour in favour of the riches on offer at LIV Golf.
He won the US Open in 2017 and 2018, along with the PGA Championship in 2018 and 2019, which marked him out as a specialist at the big tournaments.
Kopeka remained consistent in 2020 and 2021, but his form dipped last year, and he then decamped to the breakaway league.
He has two victories under his belt at the LIV Golf Invitational Series, having beaten Peter Uihlein in a playoff in Jeddah back in October and last week's LIV Golf-Orlando event, but he has slipped down to No. 111 in the world rankings.
However, Koepka qualifies as a result of his recent major triumphs, and he could roll back the years at Augusta.
He missed the cut in the last two years, but he was T7 in 2020 and T2 in 2019, so some punters may be tempted by the 40/1 on offer at William Hill.
Patrick Reed
Patrick Reed is golf’s ultimate pantomime villain, with a knack of winding up fans and fellow players alike.
He will revel in that role once again this year as he seeks to get the better of his former PGA Tour colleagues, including his old foe McIlroy.
The 32-year-old Texan won the Masters in 2018, and he has finished in the top 10 in two of his subsequent four appearances.
He knows how to get the job done at Augusta, so he could be a very interesting each-way punt at 80/1 in the US Masters betting.
Bubba Watson
Bubba Watson won the Masters at Augusta in 2012 and 2014, so he has already proven his ability to thrive under pressure at this tournament.
He has not had much luck at the famous course since then, aside from a T5 finish in 2018, and he is now in the twilight of his career at 44 years of age.
However, Tiger Woods was 43 when he won the Masters in 2019 and Jack Nicklaus triumphed at the age of 46 in 1986, so a Watson victory is not beyond the realms of possibility.
He is a 200/1 long shot with BetVictor, which might appeal to anyone looking for an intriguing underdog.
The Rest
The remaining 13 LIV Golf representatives at the Masters all fall distinctly into the “outsider” category.
Bryson DeChambeau is another big name at 100/1 with betting apps, but his game is not suited to Augusta and he has a poor record in the Masters.
Phil Mickelson, Charl Schwartzel and Sergio Garcia are former Masters champions, but it is hard to see any of them seizing the green jacket.
The others in the field are Mito Pereira, Joaquin Niemann, Taylor Gooch, Abraham Ancer, Jason Kokrak, Kevin Na, Louis Oosthuizen, Thomas Pieters and Harold Varner III.
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