Top Five US Masters Betting Tips

Once the cold starts to thaw and the Azaleas start to bloom at Augusta National you know that spring is back and we all start to wait for the first golf major of the year – The Masters Tournament.

Although the PGA Tour has been teeing off since late last year the Masters is the first tournament of the year that the casual golf fans will turn on and start to pay attention to golf again.

Why is that? Well because the office Masters Pools starts to be emailed out and if you know nothing about golf you need learn how to bet on the Masters either for the local office pool or to lay down a few bets yourself at an online golf betting site.

Side Note - we are laying most of our Masters bets at Bovada because we are finding better value with their current golf odds over other sites.

If you are looking for picks to win the Masters Tournament, you may want to check out some of our other pages, here we aren’t giving you any picks to win. Instead we are giving you Betting Tips for the Masters that will help you come up with a list of players that you think will put on the green jacket on that final Sunday at Augusta.

When you are looking at trying to pick a winner for the Masters or decide how to bet on it becomes a bit of an elimination of players that helps you narrow down your choices each year. Remember, The Masters is an invitation only tournament with criteria for that invitation which includes categories such as the Top 50 OWGR, previous Masters Champions, the previous 5 years majors winners, last year’s Top 30 in the FedEx Cup Tour Championship, winners of a PGA Tour event within a year of the Masters…the list does go on but in the end the number of players invited usually sits between 95-100.

So that list of 95-100 players makes it seem like a daunting task to try and nail down who might win the Masters but that's where using the following top five list of betting tips will guide you in narrowing down the field and hopefully make you some profit this year at Augusta.

Top Five Masters Betting Tips

1) Don't Bet Last Year's Champion

There have only ever been 3 back-to-back Masters Champions so take the golfer that comes in wearing the shiny new green jacket and strike them off the list. Until the numbers flip on this stat then don't waste your money.

2) Forget The Newbies and Amateurs

Only one golfer has ever won the Masters their first time playing it (Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979) in the history of the Masters. The course has its challenges and even if the first time golfer can keep their emotions in check playing at the famous course, then they have to overcome some of the sneaky pitfalls that players that have never played Augusta run into. Any new golfer playing the tournament the first time – strike them off your list. There are also about 6 amateurs from around the world that get an invite to the Masters – Strike them off the list too!

3) Check Last Year's Cut Line

Any players that missed last year’s cut at the Masters you can strike them off your list. The only player that missed the cut the previous year and won the next year was Tiger Woods in 1996.

4) Avoid Golfers Older Than 40

Only a handful of golfers have won the Masters after the age of 40 and the last one was Mark O’Meara in 1998. I’m not suggesting you completely avoid players over 40 or close to it but the odds are against it happening. If you are going to play guys over 40, look for past champions like Phil Mickelson who are still playing great golf and have historically played well at Augusta.

5) Watch The Par 3 Contest

The Par 3 contest is a lot of fun to watch on the Wednesday. Golfers get their wives and kids involved and eventually someone is crowned the winner. Never has the winner of the Par 3 contest won the Masters so find out who wins…and strike them off your list!

Once you’ve cut down your list from the tips above you should have a list of about 30-35 golfers now to pick from and focus on. Then when it’s time to make your bet on the Masters, keep an eye on the following criteria:

Bonus Masters Betting Tips

Bet Early - Don’t wait until the week of the Masters to make a bet, the odds will continue to drop as the tournament gets closer. Look at the golf futures at Bovada months in advance and start to narrow down players using the list above to help you take advantage of the higher odds to win.
The Greens - Look for Golfers that putt well on Bentgrass putting surfaces
Masters Key Stats - Stats to look for this week are golfers with solid Ball Striking Stats, Good Putting Avg. and Driving Accuracy.
Horses For Courses – Some players just play Augusta well. Even if you don’t pick them to win, they may be a solid bet in a head to head matchup against a newbie to the Masters or a player with a poor record there.
Weather Report - The weather can be a factor and occasionally the winds kick up or the rains hit. Look to see what the weather is going to be like the first two days and what times are going to face the better weather. Golfers that tee off Thursday Morning may have an advantage on the afternoon golfers and the Friday weather may also favor a particular time of day too. As for the rain if the course is wet it will favor the longer hitters and you may want to rule out some shorter ones.
In Play Betting - Take advantage of in play betting if your site offers it – Augusta is set up in a way that the front 9 is pretty average, Amen Corner holes 10-12 are tough and then 13-18 have some good birdie opportunities with the 13th and 15th usually the easiest holes on the course. That’s not to say that it’s a cake walk on the back 9 but you may be able to make a bet that takes advantage of the scoring holes to close out the round.
Bet on a Hole in One – It’s not a given that there will be a hole in one at the Masters but they do happen. The best chance for one is on the 16^th Hole on the Sunday where the pin placement has had some famous shots. It’s usually an even money bet whether you pick Yes or No to a Hole in One but it does make watching the final round on Sunday a bit more interesting.