Tomorrow, The Masters tournament will begin. A host of top golf stars, from all the different tours, will begin their quest to win the first of the four Majors of the year.
Last year, it was Scottie Scheffler who continued his fine form to win the tournament and land his first green jacket and the talented American is amongst the front-runners to win this tournament in the early betting with bet365 Sport.
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However, the form of European duo Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm have also seen them well-backed to win the event for the first time.
That said, all of the 88 players that will tee it up on Thursday will have hopes of landing the win which would see their name written into golfing folklore.
There has been just one change to the course for the 2023 Masters with the famous 13th hole, Azalea, being increased by 35 yards from 510 yards to 545 yards.
The hole, a famous dog-leg to the left, is the easiest hole on the back nine traditionally, and is famous for shots such as Phil Mickelson’s shot from the pine straw onto the green when he held off Lee Westwood’s challenge to win The Masters in 2010.
The changes will make it a more difficult choice for players to go for the green in two, with Rae’s Creek running across the front of the green. Tee shots will therefore need to be more accurate and in position for players to take on that green in two more comfortably.
Of course, another change to the standard US PGA Tour field, the Masters will have 88 players and amongst them will be the invited LIV Golf Tour players.
If you are wondering which players to back in the tournament, then check out our list below for some tips on who is in form heading into this event.
After winning The Masters last year, Scottie Scheffler didn’t land another tournament win until he recaptured the Waste Management Phoenix Open for the second year in succession in February.
He then followed that up with a five-shot win over Tyrrell Hatton at The Players Championship at Sawgrass in Florida in March, a win which moved him back to the top of the world golf rankings.
He also finished second at last year’s US Open and has been one of the most consistent players on your over the past 18 months.
His win last year was his first Major win and he will no doubt be ready to try and become the first back-to-back winner of The Masters since Tiger Woods in 2001 and 2002.
The Irishman has been in good form of late without winning a USPGA Tour event in 2023, although he did win the Dubai Desert Classic on the 30th January on the European Tour.
His last USPGA win came in October 2022 when he won the CJ Cup, but he did win the FedEx Cup for the third time, as well as finishing top of the DP World Tour rankings.
It is strange to think that McIlroy has not won a major since winning The Open and the USPGA Championship back-to-back in 2014 and he is certainly long overdue a success in one of the four biggest tournaments of the year.
With the Masters being the only Major McIlroy hasn’t won, the Irishman would love to complete a career grand slam with a win here and he has certainly been building up towards this tournament with some impressive performances in the last few weeks.
Since winning the Sentry Tournament of Champions back in January, Jon Rahm has added. Two more victories to his resume on the USPGA Tour, with a win at the American Express just two weeks later followed by another victory at the Genesis Invitational in February.
He is the first player to register three tournament wins on the USPGA Tour before March since Johnny Miller achieved the feat back in 1975.
In 9 events this year, he has made eight cuts, finished inside the top 10 six times and has one third place finish to add to his three wins.
Furthermore, the only cut he missed was at The Players Championship, when he was forced to withdraw after one round through illness.
A former US Open winner, Rahm’s exceptional form over the start of the season has made him one of the trio of shorter priced options for punters to consider.
You can make a case for any of these three golfers to win the event and I would expect at least two of the three to finish inside the top ten on Sunday evening.
However, if I was going to back one to win the event, it would be McIlroy, although I feel there are some intriguing longer odds options which are perfect choices for an each-way bet.
A controversial figure who played his practice rounds alone, Reed may not have too many fans in the world of golf but he is a former Masters Champion and he has shown good form on the LIV Tour and also in the Dubai Desert Classic when he duelled with Rory McIlroy for the title.
Reed is also someone who tends to thrive when the crowd and opponents are against him and while the decorum at The Masters will mean he won’t be barracked by fans, you can bet Reed will use this to motivate him to play well.
He is long overdue a good show at a Major tournament and the signs are he is peaking at the right time for Augusta and at 66/1, he is a great value each way bet when you consider he has had two top ten finishes in the event in the past three years.
Remember bet365 Sport is offering 1/5 of the odds payout on the top eight finishers and ties for each way bets on The Masters this year, so these extra places make your each way punt stand a better chance of success with bet365.
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