Typically in golf betting and betting in general, bettors like to find longshots with longer odds and, thus, a bigger payout.
That is not the case this week ahead of the Masters at the BetMGM online sportsbook.
As of Wednesday, Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy are the two most popular players, and they are the two with the shortest odds — both currently +700 to win the tournament.
Scheffler, the defending champion, is pulling in the most handle (13.5%) on the most tickets (8.7%). McIlroy is right behind him, drawing 11.1% of the handle on 7.5% of the tickets, good for the second-most in each.
A number of trends are going their way, including the last 11 winners being ranked in the top 18 of the Official World Golf Rankings entering the week. In addition, course history is perhaps more important at Augusta National than at any other tournament.
Scheffer is making his fourth Masters appearance, and before his win last year, he had finishes of T-18 (2021) and T-19 (2020). Meanwhile, McIlroy is seeking a win to complete the career Grand Slam. He has top-10 finishes in seven of the past nine years.
The third-most popular player ahead of the tournament is Jordan Spieth. He has the fourth-best odds to win the Masters at +1800 and is drawing the third-most tickets (7.2%) and the third-biggest handle (9.3%).
Of course, Spieth has had a ton of success at Augusta National. The 29-year-old has top-three finishes in five of his past nine starts at the event, including winning in 2015.
As for Tiger Woods, he is BetMGM’s biggest liability since he’s drawing 4.2% of the handle at +6600 odds.
But bettors also believe he will miss the cut.
There are more tickets for Woods to miss the cut at +150 (59.2%) than for him to make the cut at -190 (41.8%).
In 24 Masters appearances, Woods has missed the cut only once, and it happened in 1996, the second time he teed it up at Augusta National.
Current Handle & Tickets
Handle
- Scottie Scheffler – 13.5%
- Rory McIlroy – 11.1%
- Jordan Spieth – 9.3%
- Jon Rahm – 6%
- Cameron Smith – 5%
Tickets
- Scottie Scheffler – 8.7%
- Rory McIlroy – 7.5%
- Jordan Spieth – 7.2%
- Jon Rahm – 5.5%
- Cameron Smith – 4.9%
Rahm is the third-shortest odds at +900 and is also popular among bettors. Before finishing T-27 a year ago, Rahm had four straight top 10s at the Masters.
Smith also has enjoyed a ton of success at the event. The 29-year-old has top-10 finishes in four of the last five editions of the tournament. He has odds of +2000.
