Scheffler opens Masters week as prohibitive favorite
Scottie Scheffler opened Masters week favored by oddsmakers to a degree not seen since Tiger Woods’ prime.
The 2022 champion has won two of his past three starts and came a short putt away from forcing a playoff in the third. Scheffler, 27, has a firm grip on the No. 1 spot in the Official World Golf Ranking – and as the favorite ahead of this year’s Masters.
He is the consensus +400 favorite at regulated sportsbooks on Monday, including BetMGM, BetRivers and DraftKings. His closest competition at all three is Rory McIlroy, who is +1100 at BetRivers and +1000 at the other two.
McIlroy is No. 2 in the world, but the four-time major champion is still seeking his first triumph at Augusta National and to snap a major drought that has reached a decade. Meanwhile, Scheffler has continue to put distance between the two at the top of the golf world.
He leads the field with 8.1 percent of the total winning bets and 18.7 percent of the total money since opening at +900 at BetMGM. That makes him the book’s third-biggest liability.
Topping that list is Brooks Koepka, who has spread his five major championships across the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship. Koepka, 33, finished second at Augusta last year after holding the 54-hole lead, and also was the runner-up in 2019. At +2000, Koepka has the fifth-shortest odds at BetMGM, where he is second to Scheffler with 8.0 percent of the bets and 11.8 percent of the money. The book’s second-biggest liability is the emotional favorite Tiger Woods, whose storyline this week will first be about being able to tee it up on Thursday, and then whether he can break the record with a 24th consecutive made cut at the Masters. Woods is a +15000 longshot to win a sixth green jacket this week.
Koepka is one of 13 LIV Golf players in this week’s field, which also includes defending champion Jon Rahm.
This is Rahm’s first major since signing with LIV in December, and he has the third-shortest odds at all three books.