Masters Betting Preview, Trends & Analysis

Masters Betting Preview Introduction

This Masters Blog Content includes:

• 2024 Masters Betting Preview
• Augusta National Golf Club - Home of the Masters
• Masters History
• Last Ten Masters Winners
• Masters Ten Year Trends & Winning Profiles
• Masters Winning Nationality
• Masters First Round Leader Betting Stats
• Masters In Play Betting Pointers
• Official World Golf Rankings - Top 25
• Other Golf Blogs on OLBG

How can I bet on the Masters golf tournament today ?

If you are a rookie when it comes to placing golf wagers then take a few minutes to read our Which Online Golf Betting Site Is The Best guide which has useful info on which sportsbooks have the best golf betting market coverage, best golf odds and are generally the best for golf bettors. Plus there are plenty of new customer sportsbook sign up offers and promos to get you started.

For a list of states where placing a golf wager online or via a cell phone sportsbook betting app is legal, take a look at our best betting sites guide which lists the sportsbooks and the states where you can legally place an online wager. You will also find new sportsbook promos and sign up offers including free bets which may suit your golf betting needs. If you like betting on the go and are planning on visiting (or reside in) New York or Nevada for example, you can view the NY Sportsbook promos or the Nevada Sportsbook promos in this guide.

There are so many golf betting markets available and many appeal to golf handicappers who like to combine multiple selections in a parlay bet, for example the early round 3-balls and weekend 2-balls. Parlays can offer a better return for a relatively small outlay and if this way to bet appeals to you then you may wish to check out our Parlay Bet Tips Guide which explains how parlays work and the easiest way to convert American Odds to decimal odds for calculating potential pay outs.

Who will win the Masters Tournament ?

OLBG's knowledgeable golf handicappers provide their analysis on the Masters Tournament Winner market, plus predictions on other Masters golf markets like First Round Leader so don't forget to check out the Masters golf picks before placing your Masters golf wagers.

2024 Masters Betting Preview

When is the 2024 Masters Tournament ?

The 2024 Masters tournament tees off on Thursday April 11th and concludes on Sunday April 14th.

Where is the 2024 Masters Tournament ?

The 2024 Masters will take place at it's annual venue the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia.

Who are the favorites to win the 2024 Masters Tournament ?

Spain's Jon Rahm is the current Masters champion and may be a  popular pick with the sportsbooks in the Masters Futures betting market to defend the 'Green Jacket'. 

Check out OLBG's best performing golf experts Masters picks over on the Best Golf Handicappers page before deciding on your Masters selections. The best golf handicappers are those showing the best level stakes profit and consistency for golf picks over the last 12 months.

In the following sections of the 2024 Masters Betting Preview, we take a look at past Masters winners trends and stats to see if we can narrow the field for tournament winner predictions, First Round Leader picks and other popular Masters betting markets.

Augusta National Golf Club - Home of the Masters

Golf trends bettors can at least rely on the fact the Masters is the only golf major which is held at the same course year on year so apart from how the greens, fairways and rough areas are prepared each year we can at least correlate the previous winners stats and draw comparisons for potential Masters betting picks.

Augusta National is a Par 72 course and 7545 yards in length:

Front 9, 3765 yards, Par 36:

• Hole 1 (Tea Olive) - 445 yards, Par 4
• Hole 2 (Pink Dogwood) - 575 yards, Par 5
• Hole 3 (Flowering Peach) - 350 yards, Par 4
• Hole 4 (Flowering Crab Apple) - 240 yards, Par 3
• Hole 5 (Magnolia) - 495 yards, Par 4
• Hole 6 (Juniper) - 180 yards, Par 3
• Hole 7 (Pampas) - 450 yards, Par 4
• Hole 8 (Yellow Jasmine) - 570 yards, Par 5
• Hole 9 (Carolina Cherry) - 460 yards, Par 4

Back 9, 3780 yards, Par 36:

• Hole 10 (Camellia) - 495 yards, Par 4
• Hole 11 (White Dogwood) - 520 yards, Par 4
• Hole 12 (Golden Bell) - 155 yards, Par 3
• Hole 13 (Azalea) - 545 yards, Par 5
• Hole 14 (Chinese Fir) - 440 yards, Par 4
• Hole 15 (Firethorn) - 550 yards, Par 5
• Hole 16 (Redbud) - 170 yards, Par 3
• Hole 17 (Nandina) - 440 yards, Par 4
• Hole 18 (Holly) - 465 yards, Par 4

The notorious stretch of holes (11th, 12th & 13th) known as "Amen Corner" renown for being the most difficult on the course has had a significant impact on Masters tournaments down the years.

Jordan Spieth's Masters defence in 2016 was on course until coming a cropper when approaching Amen Corner on the final day, first bogeying the 11th and then a quadruple bogey at the 12th sealed his fate:

For a detailed layout of the course setup at Augusta, head over to the official Masters website.

Masters History

Golfing legend Jack Nicklaus holds the Masters record for most wins which currently stands at six and spanning 23 years, winning his first in 1963 and the last in 1986. Jack's final Masters win in 1986 set a record for the oldest Masters winner at the age of 46 years and 2 months.

Tiger Woods' victory in 2019 was his 5th Masters win and first for fourteen years, his first four were obtained within an eight year period (1997 to 2005). Tiger's maiden Masters win in 1997 set the record for the youngest Masters winner at the age of 21 years and 3 months.

There have been 17 multiple Masters winners, another golfing legend Arnold Palmer with four victories sits in 3rd behind Nicklaus and Woods. Five golfers have won thrice, these include England's Nick Faldo (1989, 1990 & 1996) and more recently Phil Mickelson (2004, 2006 & 2010).

Can The Defending Masters Champion Win Again ?

Only three golfers have won back to back Masters tournaments:

• Jack Nicklaus (1965 & 1966)
• Nick Faldo (1989 & 1990)
• Tiger Woods (2001 & 2002)

Although Tiger Woods has been the only back to back winner this century in 2001 & 2002, there have also been two other multiple Masters winners along with Tiger since 2000:

• 4 - Tiger Woods (2001, 2002, 2005 & 2019)
• 3 - Phil Mickelson (2004, 2006 & 2010)
• 2 - Bubba Watson (2012 & 2014)

Record Winning Score

• Dustin Johnson's 20 under par (268) in 2020 eclipsed the previous Masters best of 270 set by Tiger Woods (1997) and more recently Jordan Spieth in 2015.

Biggest Winning Margin

• When Tiger set the best Masters winning score of 270 strokes (-18) in 1997 he also recorded the widest winning margin of 12 strokes with Tom Kite back in 2nd on 282 (-6).

Sergio Garcia currently holds the record for most attempts before winning the Masters, he was making his 19th Masters appearance when winning in 2017.

Winners on Masters Debut

• There have been three debutante Masters winners, Horton Smith was the inaugural winner in 1934, Gene Sarazen won the 2nd Masters tournament at his first attempt in 1935 and Fuzzy Zoeller was the latest in 1979.

Hole In One

• There have been 34 Hole In One's recorded in the history of the Masters tournaments.
• The first 'hole in one' was recorded in the very first Masters tournament in 1934 by amateur Ross Somerville at the Par 3, 16th.
• The most recent 'hole in one' was on the Par 3, 16th by Stewart Cink in the 2022 Masters tournament.

Most Hole In One's at a Masters Tournament

• The record for most Hole In One's at a Masters is 3 in 2004 & 2016.

Here is a breakdown of the Hole In One's by hole (present yardage):

• 24 - 16th, Par 3 (170 yards)
• 6 - 6th, Par 3 (180 yards)
• 3 - 12th, Par 3 (155 yards)
• 1 - 4th, Par 3 (240 yards)

For more Masters stats and facts take a look at the historical stats section on the official Masters website.

Last Ten Masters Winners

Who won the 2023 Masters Tournament ?

Spain's Jon Rahm won the 2023 Masters golf tournament, his four stroke victory kept the run going of Masters winners ranked inside the top 25 in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR).

Here is a table showing the last ten Masters winners, their nationality, official world golf ranking (OWGR) heading into the tournament and winning score:

• Masters winners in the last ten years have bucked the appearance trend average, Jordan Spieth was winning at the second attempt in 2015, he was tied for 2nd on his maiden appearance in 2014. Charl Schwartzel (2011) and Danny Willett (2016) were also winning at the second attempt.
• Since 2015, the following six winners Scottie Scheffler (2022), Hideki Matsuyama (2021), Patrick Reed (2018), Sergio Garcia (2017), Danny Willett (2016) and Jordan Spieth (2015) were not only winning their first Masters 'Green Jacket' but were also recording their maiden major win.

 Will the knowledgeable OLBG Golf handicappers be predicting a first time 'Green Jacket' and major winner at Augusta with their 2024 Masters picks ?

Masters Ten Year Trends & Winning Profiles

So what factors will the OLBG golf experts and punters be looking for when selecting their Masters betting picks ?

Previous trends that appear to be pointing towards success can help narrow a short list of fancies, but it's also worth mentioning just because something has happened previously it doesn't mean it is guaranteed to happen again.

However, using a strategy that appears to be trending in the right direction can at least help provide a nucleus of players to focus your Masters betting picks. Here's a look at the most recent winners and their rankings:

Masters Ten Year Trends

• 10/10 were ranked inside the top 25 in the world going into the tournament

Focusing on the world's top 25 in the past ten years has been a good starting point for Masters betting tips. Dustin Johnson (2020) and Scottie Scheffler (2022) were ranked number 1 in the world and Hideki Matsuyama was the lowest at number 25 in 2021, the average world ranking of the last 10 winners is 10.5 (10/11).

• 8/10 were ranked inside the World's top 20

Patrick Reed (2018) ranked at 24 and Hideki Matsuyama (2021) ranked 25 are the only two winners outside of the world's top 20 in the last ten years, four were in the top ten. There have been only two winners this century that were ranked outside the world's top 50 heading into the Masters, these were Zach Johnson ranked 56 when winning in 2007 and Angel Cabrera was ranked 69 when he won in 2009.

* The 2019 Masters saw 7 of the top 8 finishers (including ties) ranked in the top 15 in the world, the other Webb Simpson (T5) was ranked 24th.

* 2020 saw three of the world's top 5 (Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas & Rory McIlroy) fill the top five places including ties, the other three players were ranked 25, 44 & 100.

* Four of the top five finishers in 2022 were ranked inside the world's top ten (1, 9, 6 & 3), the top eight were all ranked inside the world's top 32, the 9th Charl Schwartzel (169) was a previous Masters winner in 2011.

• 6/10 were from the USA

So an American has won 60% of the last ten Masters tournaments, there have been 87 editions and 63 (72%) have been won by a compatriot.

Winners Profile

We have established 22 of the 24 Masters winners since 2000 were officially ranked inside the world's top 25 heading into the tournament but what else can we glean from a winning player's profile ?

The following factors are also worth considering in helping build a clearer picture of a likely candidate for Masters glory.

• Current form
• Previous Masters Record
• Key Attributes

This table shows the last ten Masters winners form heading into Augusta, their previous best Masters finish and the number of Masters appearances it took to register their first win:

Current Form

So seven of the last ten Masters winners had a recent tournament win heading to Augusta and eight out of ten had a top 2 finish in their seven most recent tournaments played thus emphasising the importance of good recent form. Scottie Scheffler had won three of his last five events prior to winning in 2022 and Jon Rahm won five of his previous eleven events before winning the 2023 Masters.

Previous Masters Form

Two had won and five finished in the top 5 previously, all ten had finished inside the top 40, we have already highlighted the average number of Masters appearances before winning is six.

Key Attributes

• Are we looking for length or Accuracy off the tee ?
• Does the putter need to be red hot ?

Here's a breakdown of the last three winners tournament stats rankings:

Greens In Regulation (GIR)

The standout category where all last three winners rank highly is Greens In Regulation (GIR), the player's approach shot to the green after teeing off. All three winners ranked in the top 6th for the tournament for Greens In Regulation.

• Nine of the top eleven finishers in 2022 all ranked in the top 15 for Greens In Regulation (seven were ranked in the top 9 including ties).
• Eight of the top eleven in 2021
• Five of the top eight finishers in 2019. 

Here is a table showing the top ten performers for Greens in Regulation in the 2023 Masters tournament with their finishing position in parenthesis:

2023 GIR % (PGA Tour Stats)

This table shows the highest ten golfers for Greens In Regulation % stats on the PGA Tour prior to playing the Masters. Their 2023 Masters finishing position is shown in brackets:

Head over to the official PGA Tour and DP World Tour websites for more player stats heading into this 2024 Masters tournament.

Masters Winning Nationality

The Top American, Top European, Top GB & Ireland and Top Rest of The World (ROW) markets provide punters and OLBG golf handicappers with a condensed group of players by nationality or continent to pick from offering a greater probability of finding successful Masters tips.

These markets appeal to golf bettors as in some cases for example the top GB & IRE odds, we are talking about only a handful of players and as long as your top GB & IRE pick finishes in front of their GB and Irish rivals it does not matter if they are not in contention to win the tournament outright.

As already mentioned in the Masters Trends section, players from the USA have won 63 of the 87 (72%) Masters tournaments. Here is a breakdown of the winners by continent:

1. U.S.A = 63 (73%)
2. Europe = 14 (16%)
3. Rest of The World = 10 (12%)

Top American

The Top American is still a very competitive market with players odds shorter than in the Masters Outright betting and usually four places available for each way bets. The historical US dominance may encourage punters to take their chance with the greater odds in the outright winner market and hope the home dominance continues.

Here is a table showing the top 4 American players (plus ties) in the last ten Masters tournaments:

Top European

• Europe have provided the Masters winner in 14 of the 87 (16%) editions to date, Jon Rahm's win in 2023 was the first European win since compatriot Sergio Garcia in 2017.
• England (4) and Spain (6) have supplied 10 of the 14 European winners, the other nations being Germany (including one as West Germany), Scotland and Wales.

Here is a table showing the top 4 European players (including ties) in the last ten Masters tournaments:

Top GB & IRE

• England have provided 4 of the 6 GB & Ireland Masters winners, Nick Faldo was responsible for three of those wins and Danny Willett became the second English player to win in 2016.
• Scotland (Sandy Lyle) and Wales (Ian Woosnam) have one win apiece in 1988 and 1991 respectively.

Here is a table showing the top 3 GB & Ireland players (including ties) in the last ten Masters tournaments:

Top Rest of The World

• 10 of the 87 Masters winners have originated from a continent other than North America (excluding Canada) and Europe, three of South Africa's five wins were by the legendary Gary Player between 1961 and 1978.
• Australia, Argentina, Canada, Fiji and Japan complete the set of ROW winning nations.

Here is a table showing the top 3 ROW players (including ties) in the last ten Masters tournaments:

Masters First Round Leader Betting Stats

Not only will the OLBG golf handicappers be making a case for their Masters betting picks to win the tournament, they will also be predicting the players they feel are likely to get off to a flyer on Thursday with their First Round Leader tips.

There have been six Masters winners who have gone wire to wire, leading at the end of the first round and holding top spot at close of play on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Dustin Johnson shared the lead at the end of Days 1 and 2 before taking the outright 3rd round lead in 2020. Jon Rahm was in a three way lead after the first round prior to winning in 2023.

• 1941 - Craig Wood
• 1960 - Arnold Palmer
• 1972 - Jack Nicklaus
• 1976 - Raymond Floyd
• 2015 - Jordan Spieth
• 2020 - Dustin Johnson

First Round Leader Stats

• Jack Nicklaus holds the record for most First Round Leads including ties which stands at four, Jack led after the first 18 holes in 1966, 1972, 1982 and shared in 1993.

Lowest First Round Score

• Greg Norman holds the Masters record for the lowest first round score, shooting a 63 (-9) in 1996.

Last Ten Masters' First Round Leader

Here is a table showing the last ten Masters first round leader and their score:

• Former world number one Jordan Spieth has led the Masters field after day 1 on three occasions since 2015. 

Check out the 2024 Masters First Round Tee Times and pairings on the official Masters website, these are usually available on the Tuesday of Masters week.

Round 1 Scoring Average (PGA Tour Stats)

This table shows the highest ten golfers for Round 1 Scoring Average on the PGA Tour stats in 2023 prior to playing the Masters, their position after the First Round at the 2023 Masters is shown in brackets:

Masters In Play Betting Pointers

As already mentioned, the Masters is the only major golf tournament which is held at the same venue every year so winning trends are a really useful tool for compiling Masters betting picks pre-tournament and round by round scoring stats of previous winners are an important reference guide for in play betting strategies.

Betting in play on golf is extremely popular and it's not surprising as so much can happen on one hole, Jordan Spieth's experience at Amen Corner here in 2016 in the final round is testimony. If you are new to in play betting and would like to find out more before placing a bet then take a few minutes to check out our How Does Live Betting Work guide.

The following table shows the biggest deficit and position of the Masters winner at the end of rounds 1 to 3 in the last ten years, this can be really useful in assessing whether your pre-tournament picks are close enough to still mount a challenge if not leading, and any in play betting opportunities perhaps under the radar who are also worth covering and hedging in your Masters betting portfolio.

How often does the overnight 3rd round leader go on to win the Masters ?

For a more detailed look at the facts and figures head over to our article on the How the 3rd round leader finishes in the major golf tournaments. Do they handle the pressure ?

If your 2024 Masters picks are still in with a shout approaching the back nine on Sunday or even if you are just looking to place In Play Masters bets to watch for the closing stretch then it's worth noting:

• The 2019 Masters saw 32 of the 40 'Eagles' over the four days recorded on the 13th (17 eagles) and 15th holes (15 eagles), both Par 5's.
• In 2020 the 'Eagles' count on the back nine over the four days was 22 from a total of 35, 13th (8 eagles) and the 15th (14 eagles).
• The 30 'Eagles' were evenly shared in 2021 with 15 on the front and 15 on the back nine.
• The 2021 Masters saw 70 of the 128 double bogeys occur on the back nine, the 11th (13), 12th (11) and 15th holes (11) accounted for 35 of the 70.
• There were 25 'Eagles' in 2023 with 8 apiece on holes 2 & 13 seeing the most.

Official World Golf Rankings - Top 25

The last ten Masters winners were all ranked in the world's top 25 heading to Augusta so if the trend continues, the Masters winner (we hope!) will be amongst these players listed below. In addition to their previous Masters record, their best finish in their last seven tournaments is shown along with their last tournament win (correct at 20th March 2024):

1. Scottie Scheffler (Age 27)

• Last 7 Events (best): Won - Players Champ (Mar 24)
• Last win: Players Champ (Mar 24)

2. Rory McIlroy (Age 34) 

• Last 7 Events (best): Won - Dubai Desert Classic (Jan 24)
• Last win: Dubai Desert Classic (Jan 24)

3. Jon Rahm (Age 29)

• Last 7 Events (best): 3rd - LIV Mayakoba (Feb 24)
• Last Win: Masters (Apr 23)

4. Wyndham Clark (Age 30)

• Last 7 Events (best): Won - AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (Feb 24)
• Last Win: AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (Feb 24)

5. Xander Schauffele (Age 30) 

• Last 7 Events (best): T2 - Players Champ (Mar 24)
• Last win: Tour Championship (Aug 23)

6. Viktor Hovland (Age 26) 

• Last 7 Events (best): T2 - DP World Tour Champ (Nov 23)
• Last Win: BMW Championship (Aug 23)

7. Patrick Cantlay (Age 31)

• Last 7 Events (best): T4 - Genesis Invitational (Feb 24)
• Last Win: BMW Championship (Aug 22)  

8. Brian Harman (Age 37) 

• Last 7 Events (best): T2 - Players Champ (Mar 24)
• Last Win: Open Championship (Jul 23)

9. Ludvig Aberg (Age 24)

• Last 7 Events (best): 2nd - AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (Feb 24)
• Last Win: RSM Classic (Nov 23)

10. Max Homa (Age 33)

• Last 7 Events (best): T8 - Arnold Palmer Invitational (Mar 24)
• Last Win: Nedbank Golf Challenge (Nov 23)

11. Matt Fitzpatrick (Age 29)

• Last 7 Events (best): 5th - Players Champ (Mar 24)
• Last Win: Alfred Dunhill Links Championship (Oct 23)

12. Hideki Matsuyama (Age 32)

• Last 7 Events (best): Won - Genesis Invitational (Feb 24)
• Last Win: Genesis Invitational (Feb 24)

13. Tommy Fleetwood (Age 33)

• Last 7 Events (best): Won - Dubai Invitational (Jan 24)
• Last Win: Dubai Invitational (Jan 24)

14. Sahith Theegala (Age 26) 

• Last 7 Events (best): 5th - Phoenix Open (Feb 24)
• Last Win: Fortinet Championship (Sep 23)

15. Keegan Bradley (Age 37) 

• Last 7 Events (best): T2 - Sony Open in Hawaii (Jan 24)
• Last Win: Travellers Championship (Jun 23)

16. Jordan Spieth (Age 30) 

• Last 7 Events (best): 3rd - The Sentry (Jan 24)
• Last Win: RBC Heritage (Apr 22)

17. Tyrrell Hatton (Age 32)

• Last 7 Events (best): T2 - BMW PGA Championship (Sep 23)
• Last Win: Abu Dhabi HSBC Champ (Jan 21)

18. Collin Morikawa (Age 27)

• Last 7 Events (best): T5 - The Sentry (Jan 24)
• Last Win: ZOZO Championship (Oct 23)

19. Sam Burns (Age 27)

• Last 7 Events (best): T3 - Phoenix Open (Feb 24)
• Last Win: WGC Dell Match Play (Mar 23)

20. Tom Kim (Age 21) 

• Last 7 Events (best): T17 - Phoenix Open (Feb 24)
• Last Win: Shriners Children's Open (Oct 23)

21. Jason Day (Age 36)

• Last 7 Events (best): T6 - AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (Feb 24)
• Last Win: AT&T Byron Nelson (May 23)

22. Russell Henley (Age 34) 

• Last 7 Events (best): T4 - Arnold Palmer Invitational (Mar 24)
• Last Win: Mayakoba Championship (Nov 22)

23. Cameron Young (Age 26)

• Last 7 Events (best): 3rd - Dubai Desert Classic (Jan 24)
• Last Win: Evans Scholars Invitational (Korn Ferry, May 21)

24. Nick Taylor (Age 35)

• Last 7 Events (best): Won - Phoenix Open (Feb 24)
• Last Win: Phoenix Open (Feb 24)

25. Chris Kirk (Age 38)

• Last 7 Events (best): T18 - Sony Open Hawaii (Jan 24)
• Last Win: The Sentry (Jan 24)

For the full list of world rankings head over to the Official World Golf Rankings website.

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James Banting writes the words and maintains the data for this Masters Betting Preview, Trends & Analysis. As Tipster Competition assistant James works closely with our Golf Tipsters, settling bets and ensuring accuracy in all results which are also utilised in the updates for all the Golf Previews on OLBG

James Banting

Tipster competition assistant

James is a knowledgeable sports betting specialist with over 20 years of experience in the sports betting industry. Today James focuses on producing informative betting content on the major sporting events throughout the year in Horse Racing and Tennis, as well as contributing to our Cricket and Golf Content.