2023 Masters
April 6, 2023 7:00 am EDT
The PGA Tour will make it’s annual stop to Augusta National for the 2023 Masters in April.
Before I discuss my favorite early bet for the 2023 Masters let’s take a look at the betting odds of past champions of this tournament to see if we can find any historical trends.
Here is a list of the last five winners of the Masters including that golfer’s opening odds the week they won the event and the score that player posted to win:
Last Five Masters Tournament Winners
2022 Scottie Scheffler +3300 (-10)
2021 Hideki Matsuyama +5000 (-10)
2020 Dustin Johnson +900 (-20)
2019 Tiger Woods +1600 (-13)
2018 Patrick Reed +5500 (-15)
Now let’s shift our focus to my favorite early bet for the 2023 Masters!
Here is a golfer to consider placing on your card to win.
Rory McIlroy +900
Rory McIlroy will begin play in 2023 on the heels of six consecutive top four finishes (PGA and DP World Tours combined), including two wins at the Tour Championship in August and the CJ Cup in October.
Due to the fact that McIlroy played so well at the CJ Cup, I decided to take a hard look at his player statistics for the event relative to the field.
After four rounds of competitive golf played at the CJ Cup, in relation to the field, McIlroy ranked first in driving distance (349.6) fifth in putts per GIR (1.647), and fourth in total birdies made (21).
It should also be noted that Rory McIlroy has posted some outstanding results at the Masters in the past. Let me be more specific. Since 2014, Rory McIlroy has played the Masters eight times. In those eight tournaments just mentioned, McIlroy has accumulated seven top eight finishes, including an impressive second place result at the 2022 Masters.
