You’re looking ‘live’!

The Masters officially gets underway at 8 a.m. Thursday, but that is just the beginning of the fun for punters.

In fact, you’ll often find some of the best betting value this week (or at any golf tournament) in live-betting markets.

Here are some strategies to keep in your pocket for live-betting the 2024 Masters:

Be patient with afternoon starters

One thing always worth remembering when you’re betting a golf tournament is that you can afford to be patient if you’re looking to back someone (outside of the favorites) who has a late tee time.

For the purposes of this exercise, let’s say I want to bet Brian Harman at 60/1. There’s almost no situation that will see Harman’s number shorten from where he is at when the Masters gets underway, but there is a decent chance that his number will actually get longer before he hits a ball. Here’s how:

In all likelihood, a few of the players that tee off before Harman will get hot and storm up the leaderboard. That will cause their live-odds to get slashed, while the rest of the field should drift, depending on how/if they’re playing.

So while the odds for the headliners — think Brooks Koepka or Scottie Scheffler — likely won’t budge much just because a player with an earlier start time gets off to a hot start, there is almost never any harm in seeing how things play out in the morning session if you’re interested in backing a sleeper with a later tee time.

Back a slow-starting favorite

Let’s call this one a lesson from Jon Rahm. The Spaniard started his 2023 Masters with a shocker. Rahm four-putted his way to a double-bogey on Hole No. 1, and it felt like he was just going to have one of those days.

And Rahm did end up having one of those days — one of those days where everything went right. The Arizona State alum would end up making seven birdies and an eagle over his next 17 holes to shoot 7-under on Thursday. Three days later, he was wearing the green jacket.

The point is that if you see one of the favorites, like Rahm or Rory McIlroy or Xander Schauffele, get off to a slow star, that doesn’t mean they’re dead in the water. In fact, that could be a great opportunity to bet them as their number lengthens thanks to a stumble out of the gates.

That said ...

Don’t get too crazy

It’s always fun to make a case for a live long shot to come back in a golf tournament, and you’ll often find some long numbers on some of the game’s best players if they’re a ways back. But as tempting as it may be to bet someone like Jordan Spieth or Tony Finau at 200/1 when they’re a bunch of shots back after Round 2, you may want to reconsider.

We rarely see big comebacks at Augusta National.

According to Justin Ray of the Twenty First Group, 36 of the past 37 Masters champions have been inside the top 10 through two rounds, and the average 36hole deficit of the past 20 Masters winners is 1.9 strokes.

WAITING GAME: If you wait until after the action starts at the Masters, live betting lines can sometimes tilt in your favor, like how Jon Rahm recorded a double-bogey on hole No. 1 last year yet ended up wearing the green jacket.