Specialty Markets For 2026 Masters Tournament

AUGUSTA, Ga. – The practice rounds have begun, the player interviews have been conducted and Rory McIlroy’s wagyu filets are still being digested as I write this.

We are deep into the preparation for the 90^th edition of the Masters Tournament, which also means we’re deep into the prognostication process, as well.

You’ve undoubtedly already started your betting research – and if not, might I point you in the direction, ahem, of my full Masters tournament preview.

As always, there are more markets at BetMGM for this major championship than weekly PGA Tour events, so let’s get to some of those which are oozing with value.

Specialty Markets For 2026 Masters Tournament

Tournament Matchups

Alright, so directly after mentioning there are more markets than usual, I went right to a market which is readily available on a regular basis.

That said, there are more options for this tournament and I’ve identified the four which I like the most.

Jason Day (-105) over Justin Thomas

Even when fully healthy, Thomas has never quite figured out Augusta National – at least, not to the standard that we might believe for one of the game’s best players over the past decade. His best finish was a solo fourth in the 2020 version which took place in November and can almost be thrown out when it comes to Masters history.

Other than that, he owns just a single top-10 in nine other starts, including a T-36 and two MCs in his last three. Throw in the fact that even though he finished T-8 at last month’s Players Championship, he’s still in the process of returning from offseason surgery and he’s a fade for me this week.

Well, the best matchups feature a fade on one side and a player we want to back on the other, and Day is a guy about whom I’m cautiously optimistic this week. He’s been wildly inconsistent this season, but does have five career top-10s and 10 top-30s at Augusta, including a T-8 last year. This one checks both boxes – and at a very fair price.

Sepp Straka (-105) over Shane Lowry

Other than maybe Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, I’m not sure two players are featured in the matchup market against each other more frequently than these Ryder Cup teammates. Neither owns a great record here, with Lowry’s share of third place in 2022 the lone top-10 between them, but I simply trust Straka’s game more right now.

His iron play has been through the roof this year – well, at least until last week’s MC at the Valero Texas Open – which should give him a leg up in a head-to-head that I might not love, but at least like enough to list here.

Patrick Cantlay (-125) over Jake Knapp

As I wrote in my big preview, I’m admittedly a bit irrationally bullish on Cantlay this week, because he fits the profile of an elite ball-striker who’s playing better than he’s gotten credit for and has absolutely nobody talking about him.

I can absolutely see this being a title contention type of week for him and while Knapp has enjoyed the better season and probably could/should be the favorite in this matchup, his record of a T-55 (here last year) and three MCs in four career major starts has me siding with the more proven commodity in this one.

Brooks Koepka (+105) over Jordan Spieth

In that preview I annoyingly keep mentioning, I listed both Koepka and Spieth for top-20s this week. Those will undoubtedly be different kinds of top-20s if they happen, though, as Koepka has been more consistent and Spieth can go from hot to cold to hot again within the span of a few holes.

For me, this one is purely a numbers game, as I think there’s a ton of value in the five-time major champion at a plus-money price. It’s no secret that Brooks often saves his best stuff for the biggest events and I certainly trust him more this week than Spieth.

Make Cut Parlays

This week at BetMGM, there are 21 different three-man groups priced for each player to be inside the top-50 and ties at the end of play on Friday. With only 91 players in the field – and at least a dozen past champions and amateurs without much of a chance of making it, there’s plenty of value in this market.

If you’ve got the bankroll to play, say Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy at -350, I suppose I don’t hate the idea; that’s just not the way I roll. Instead, I’ll cruise past the four parlays at shorter than even-money and offer three others at better prices.

Chris Gotterup, Russell Henley and Akshay Bhatia (-115)

The only player with multiple wins so far this season – a stat which has served as a great win predictor over the past three years – Gotterup is a Masters rookie in name only, but should be a very good fit on what is likely to be a fast, firm course over the four tournament days.

Henley is fresh off a missed cut in San Antonio, but he’s finished top-20 in 13 of his last 15 starts and usually boasts an extremely high floor. Bhatia has really come into his own this year, winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational with a short game/putting combo performance that would serve him well once again this week.

Corey Conners, Adam Scott and Marco Penge (+165)

It should come as little surprise that Conners thrives on this second-shot golf course, having finished top-10 in four of the last six Masters. At 45, Scott has an opportunity to be this year’s sentimental story, if not on a Fred Couples/Bernhard Langer level, at least to the degree of Justin Rose last year. And though he’s a bit of a wildcard, Penge is a terrifically talented player who just might be a great fit for Augusta National in his first start.

Harry Hall, Alex Noren and Aaron Rai (+320)

Ah, now we’re really speaking my language. I’m a big fan of Hall’s game, especially on a fiery course which could turn into a chipping and putting contest, which is his bread and butter. Noren owns a surprisingly awful record at Augusta, but he’s been consistent lately, with five straight results of 32^nd or better. Rai might not be the play on a soft, wet course, however he’s the type who can grind out pars, as evidenced by a T-27 in his Masters debut last year and seven straight made cuts at majors.

Nationality Props

There are plenty of markets under this category, but I’m going to eschew those with 10-12 players in favor of a few that don’t have too much competition.

Top Canadian: Corey Conners (-160)

I already wrote about Conners’ strong play at Augusta above and I actually think this number should be much shorter than what it is. He only needs to beat Nick Taylor, whose best finish here is T-29 in three starts, and 2003 champion Mike Weir, who hasn’t made an April cut at Augusta in 10 years.

Top Korean: Sungjae Im (+160)

This one is simply a matchup play, as I don’t mind taking a shot on Im at a big number over Si Woo Kim. Even though the latter has been very good this year and the former just returned from injury last month, Im owns three top-10s in six Masters starts, which is three more than Kim in two more appearances.

Top Senior: Zach Johnson (-120)

Yeah, I get that senior isn’t a nationality, but I’ll throw it in here anyway – and it’s one of my favorite plays on the board. In three starts on PGA Tour Champions, the newly turned 50-year-old has a first, a second and a third. Couple that with a T-8 finish here last year and a course which shouldn’t be playing too long for him, and I think Johnson makes a ton of sense in a group which also includes Angel Cabrera, Fred Couples, Vijay Singh, Mike Weir and Jose Maria Olazabal. Other than Cabrera, none of those names seem too threatening.

All Four Majors

If you can look outside the bubble of this week, there’s some value in previewing the entire major season, with the remaining three majors taking place at Aronimink (PGA Championship), Shinnecock (U.S. Open) and Royal Birkdale (Open Championship).

Top-20: Robert MacIntyre (+2000)

As I wrote in my preview this week, Bob has made a habit of playing some of his best golf in the biggest tournaments on the toughest courses, including a runner-up finish at Oakmont for last year’s U.S. Open. He’s still being priced as a bit of a longshot, even though he’s currently the eighth-ranked player in the world.

Top-20 Xander Schauffele (+700)

Hey, you know who else tends to play well at major championships? Yup, that’s right – the guy who won two of ‘em two years ago. He would’ve cashed this bet in 2023 and ’24, came within one of cashing in three of the last five and went 3-for-3 in 2020, when The Open wasn’t contested. I love everything about this play.

Top-20: Scottie Scheffler (+125)

Yeah, yeah. I know Scheffler has finished outside the top-20 in each of his last two starts, but those are the outliers, not the norms. Like Schauffele, he would’ve cashed these tickets in two of the five years, while missing by one in two others. There are certainly no sure things in golf wagering, but Scottie top-20s in majors are pretty damn close.