With a birdie on the par-4 18th in the first round of the 2015 Masters, Jordan Spieth became the fourth player in tourney history to open with a 64 (or better). Three days later, Spieth bogeyed the 18th in the final round but still won his first green jacket with a record-tying 18-under, becoming just the second player since 1990 to win after holding the first-round lead.
Spieth also led after the first round in both 2016 in 2018 but failed to win on both occasions; a blown five-shot lead on the back-nine allowed Danny Willett to win his first Masters in 2016, while a final round 64 in 2018 wasn’t enough to erase an ugly Friday as Patrick Reed became another first-time winner.
Now, three years removed from the last time Spieth led after the first round, bettors like the 27-year-old’s chances of posting Thursday’s low round.
“First Round Leader is one of the most popular prop bets in golf betting,” said Jason Scott, VP of Trading for BetMGM. “Jordan Spieth has received the most bets after winning last week’s tour event and at +1800 to be the First Round Leader is our biggest liability heading into the tournament.”
Spieth, one week removed from a win in the Valero Texas Open, his first win since 2017, is earning 10.2 percent of all tickets for First Round Leader, the highest share of all golfers as of Tuesday. He ranks second (12.2 percent) to Justin Thomas (13.5 percent) in handle share for the First Round Leader.
Here’s the full ticket and handle breakdown for first round leader in Masters betting:
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