2017 Masters Picks
Short Odds
Dustin Johnson, United States. Dustin Johnson makes practice swing at 2017 Masters. Fantasy Golf Podcast: Our Masters 2017 picks, predictions, and best value bets.
Dustin Johnson, 6/1
Ryan O’ Sullivan of Yahoo! Sports has made his pick and it is Jordan Spieth who he believes will win the Masters this week. The two-time major winner knows his way around the Augusta course as evidenced by his emphatic victory here in 2015. Spieth also has two other runner-up finishes in this tournament.
All of my picks are based on two statistical factors: Driving distance and greens in regulation percentage. Those are the two stats that correlate most with success at the Masters, and Dustin Johnson is quite good in both categories. While other top contenders (the Jordan Spieths and Jason Days of the world) may be better with their putters, that doesn’t seem to be too big of a factor for the Masters. If you are going to put money down on one big name, make it Johnson. — Steven Ruiz
Rickie Fowler, 18/1
Rickie Fowler has everything you’d look for in a short-odds candidate. He’s playing well — T-4, 1, T-16, 12, T-3 in his last five starts — but not so well that expectations have gone into overdrive. He’s a good driver of the golf ball whose game fits the course well, and despite a missed cut last year, he’s played well here in the past. T-5 and T-12 in 2014 and 2015. Really like Rickie this week. — Luke Kerr-Dineen
Hideki Matsuyama, 18/1
I like to bet on a favorite with a good resume and he’s got it: A fifth-place finish at Augusta in 2015, followed up by a T7 in 2016. And while he’s had a rough past three PGA appearances, a certain esteemed colleague pointed out that you can’t come in too hot to the Masters. Plus, 18/1 is a surprising amount of value for the No. 4 player in the world. — Charles Curtis
Medium Odds
Bubba Watson, 45/1
This is a pretty obvious pick, I’ll admit. Watson has won the thing twice, which makes his 45-to-1 odds difficult to pass up. Oh, and he also has a game that should serve him well at Augusta National. He blasts it off the tee and his greens in regulation percentage is pretty good. With those odds and Watson’s history at this tournament, it would be a wise move to throw some money down on Bubba. —
Steven Ruiz
Justin Rose, 25/1
Usually I look for a bit more meat in the medium odds section, but Justin Rose is too good a pick to pass up. He’s a former major winner (and Olympic gold medalist) who is among the best on tour from tee-to-green, he’s got six top-25s in his last six Masters starts including a T-2 in 2015, and as Golf Channel’s Justin Ray notes, no one has made more Masters birdies or eagles than Rose over the last five years. — Luke Kerr-Dineen
Matt Kuchar, 80/1
Okay, this might just be an emotional bet for me — I’ve always rooted for Kuchar throughout his career and been heartbroken to see him get thisclose to a major win. Beyond that, he’s finished in the top 10 at Augusta three times. Because of that, I’m willing to overlook an inconsistant 2017 in the hopes that he turns back the clock this week. — Charles Curtis
Long Odds
Hudson Swafford, 200/1
I’m making up for my first two picks by going with a legit long shot here. We’re talking 200-to-1. Swafford, like Johnson and Watson, drives it well and consistently gets the ball on the green in regulation. He’s also been hot to start the season with three top-10 finishes to his name already. This is his first appearance at the Masters, which is a little disconcerting, but if you’re looking for a longshot, this is your man. And while you’re at it, put some money on Swafford finishing as the top debutant at 16-to-1. — Steven Ruiz
Bill Haas, 100/1
There’s actually a few guys with fat odds I quite like. U.S. Open runner-up Shane Lowry at 150/1 and Charley Hoffman, who finished T-9 two years ago at 125/1, are the two notables. But as much as I like those, I can’t look past Bill Haas in this spot. He appears back to his best this season and remember, it was only two years ago that he lead the Masters after the first round en-route to a T-12 finish. — Luke Kerr-Dineen
William McGirt, 250/1
There are longshots and then there’s McGirt, who won his first PGA tournament in 2016. However, he’s solid in green in regulation and finished T10 at the 2016 PGA championship, so perhaps the pressure of a major isn’t a factor. Despite the lack of Masters experience, throwing a few bucks at those odds wouldn’t be the worst bet. — Charles Curtis
Prop Odds
Top Senior: Freddie Couples, 11/4
This is my pick for two reasons: (1) Couples still has some juice left in his driver and (2) who doesn’t want to root for Freddie Couples? He always seems to perform well at Augusta, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s lurking around the Top-20 come Sunday. — Steven Ruiz
Top Amateur: Stewart Hagestad, 14/1
My friend made it to the Masters — of course I’m going to tip him! Look, of course any Amateur at the Masters will face an uphill battle, and Mid-Ams don’t have a great track-record here. That said, you only need to look at the manner in which he won the Mid-Am to know not to count him out. — Luke Kerr-Dineen
Top Debutant: Thomas Pieters, 7/1
2017 Masters Scoreboard
The young Belgian putts pretty well and has a couple of top-5 finishes under his belt this year. I’m probably biased after he looked like a seasoned vet for Team Europe at the 2016 Ryder Cup, but the former college golfer has a seriously bright future that might be jump-started this week. — Charles Curtis
1. Dustin Johnson, United States
(UPDATE: Dustin Johnson sustained a back injury after an accident on a staircase, which put his Masters status in question. As of Thursday before his 2:03 ET tee-off time, Johnson will test his back and give it a shot at Augusta.)
Many people thought DJ was the best golfer in the world for a while now, and he has proved it by winning his last three starts, including two World Golf Championships. He has taken a firm hold on the No. 1 spots in the Official World Golf Rankings and the FedExCup standings by finishing sixth or better in five of his six starts on the PGA Tour this year. And Johnson finally got the major monkey off his back last year when he captured the U.S. Open at Oakmont by three strokes over Jim Furyk, Shane Lowry of Ireland and Scott Piercy, shrugging off a one-stroke penalty after his ball moved slightly on the ninth green and he did not place it back on the original spot. Johnson is making his seventh start in the Masters and recorded his best results the last two years, tying for sixth in 2015 before tying for fourth last year, two of his 13 finishes in the top 10 in the major championships.
2. Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland
Rory will make his third bid to become the sixth player to complete the Career Grand Slam this week in the Masters, and even though he has yet to win at Augusta National, he has proved that his game seems to be a good fit for the first major of the year by finishing in the top 10 each of the last three years. However, his most memorable Masters came when he took a four-stroke lead into the final round in 2011, only to implode with an 8-over-par 80 and skid to a tie for 15th. However, McIlroy showed his moxie when he bounced back to win the U.S. Open by eight strokes two months later at Congressional, the first of his four major championships. However, he hasn't won a major since claiming the PGA Championship for the second time in 2014, a month after winning the Open Championship. McIlroy is playing well, having tied for fourth in the WGC-HSBC Champions and the WGC-Mexico Championship, and tied for seventh in the Arnold Palmer Invitational in his three PGA Tour stroke-play events this year.
3. Jordan Spieth, United States
What Spieth needs this week is a case of amnesia after he blew a five-stroke lead on the back nine of his title defense last year in the Masters, closing with a 73 to tie for second, three strokes behind Danny Willett of England. Looking beyond that, Spieth is another player who makes it appear that Augusta National was made for him, as he has tied for second, claimed the Green Jacket and tied for second again in his three appearances in the first major of the year. Two months after he won the Masters in 2015, he captured his second major title by one stroke over Dustin Johnson and Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa in the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay, and he has six finishes in the top 10 at major championships in the last three years. Spieth has been in good form this year, winning the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and finishing in the top 10 in four other PGA Tour events, even though he missed the cut last week in the Shell Houston Open. It was the first time he missed the weekend since the Players Championship last May.
Masters Picks
4. Rickie Fowler, United States
In recent years, Fowler has joined the club of best players without a major championship, especially when he finished in the top five of all four of the Grand Slam events in 2014. Unfortunately, he has failed to crack the top 10 in the last eight majors, missing the cut three times, with his best result a tie for 12th in the 2015 Masters. Rickie is making his sixth start at Augusta National and his best result was a tie for fifth two years ago, when he was two shots out of the lead before finishing with a 73. He has to stay away from the big numbers, as he has carded 13 double bogeys in his six starts in the first major of the year. Fowler has four top-10 finishes this season, including his fourth PGA Tour victory by four strokes in the Honda Classic at the end of February, and he prepped for the Masters with a tie for third last week in the Houston Open.
5. Jason Day, Australia
At some point, Day figures to join Adam Scott as the only Aussies to claim the Green Jacket, but this week Day's concern over his mother's battle with cancer might prove to be too much of a distraction. That's what happened when he withdrew during his first-round match in the WGC-Dell Technologies Match play a few days before she was scheduled for surgery. Day did not pick up a club again until he went to Augusta National to practice last week, but who knows, this time the situation might inspire him since his mother seems to be better. This will be Day's seventh appearance in the Masters and he has been close, finishing two strokes behind winner Charles Schwartzel of South Africa in 2011 and winding up third, two strokes out of the playoff in which Scott beat Angel Cabrera of Argentina in 2013. He also tied for 10th last year in the Masters, one of 13 top-10 finish he has in the Grand Slam events, including his only major title in the 2015 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits.
6. Justin Rose, England
Since claiming his only major title in the 2013 U.S. Open by two strokes over Jason Day and Phil Mickelson at Merion, Rose has had several more chances and four of his 12 top 10s in the majors have come in the last two years. He is making his 12th start in the Masters and his best result was a tie for second two years ago, when Jordan Spieth beat him by four strokes. He also tied for fifth in 2007, tied for eighth in 2012 and tied for 10th last year at Augusta, among his seven consecutive finishes in the top 25 in the first major of the season. Rose claimed the Olympic gold medal last year at Rio de Janeiro in an event that felt like a major for those who were there, and he has played solid golf this season. After finishing second at the Sony Open in Hawaii, he tied for fourth in both the Farmers Insurance Open and the Genesis Open, and more recently he tied for 13th in the Arnold Palmer Invitational and tied for 15th in the Shell Houston Open.
7. Jon Rahm, Spain
The 22-year-old has been so impressive in his rookie season on the PGA Tour that he is given a solid chance to become the third player to win the Masters in his first attempt, joining Horton Smith (the first Masters), Gene Sarazen (the second) and Fuzzy Zoeller (1979). After earning his PGA Tour card last year in limited events after leaving Arizona State, he has five top-10 finishes this year (all in his last six starts), including his first victory on the circuit in the Farmers Insurance Open. He also lost to top-ranked Dustin Johnson in the final of the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, tied for third in the WGC-Mexico Championship, tied for fifth in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and tied for 10th last week in the Shell Houston Open. He was low amateur in the U.S. Open at Oakmont, tying for 23rd in his first major last year, and he tied for 59th in the Open Championship last July at Royal Troon after turning pro.
8. Phil Mickelson, United States
Lefty counts three Masters titles among his five major championships, and even though his game as shown some life this season, it might seem to be a long shot that he could win again this week at Augusta. However, Mickelson is 46, and that just happens to be the age Jack Nicklaus was when he claimed his 18th and final major championship is a stunning performance in 1986. Phil the Thrill claimed his Green Jackets in 2004, 2006 and 2010, and added the 2005 PGA Championship, but hasn't won any event since the 2013 Open Championship at Muirfield to claim a third leg of the Career Grand Slam. Mickelson played his best golf this year by tying for second in the WGC-Mexico Championship and tying for fifth in the Dell Technologies Match Play last month. He tied for 55th last week in the Shell Houston Open, but sometimes its difficult to tell if Lefty is playing the tournament or practicing for the upcoming major when he plays the week before.
9. Henrik Stenson, Sweden
One of four players who earned his first major championship last season, joining Danny Willett, Dustin Johnson and Jimmy Walker, Stenson will again try to figure out the mysteries of Augusta National. Although he would seem to have the game to contend in the first major of the season, he has never finished in the top 10 in the Masters, but he's too good for that to continue. His best result was a tie for 14th in 2014 and he has finished in the top 25 in six if his 11 appearances, including the last four in a row. Stenson outdueled Phil Mickelson to win the Open Championship at Royal Troon last July for his first major title and tied for seventh in the PGA a month later to give him 11 top-10 results in the majors. However, he is coming into the Masters after missing the cut in the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Shell Houston Open, but earlier this year he finished second in the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, tied for eighth in the Abu Dhabi HSBS Championship and tied for seventh in the Valspar Championship.
10. Bubba Watson, United States
Even though Bubba has been struggling for most of this season, Augusta National has brought out the best in him twice in the last five years. In 2012, he closed with a 4-under-par 68 to finish 72 holes even with Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa, and then claimed his first Green Jacket with a brilliant hook shot out of the trees that set up a winning par on the second playoff hole. Two years later, Watson was tied for the lead with 20-year-old Jordan Spieth, but shot 69 on the final day to win by three strokes over Spieth and Jonas Blixt of Sweden. Bubba's best result in six others Masters appearances was a tie for 20th in 2009, but it's hard to imagine any other two-time winner at Augusta coming in more under the radar this week. His only top-10 finish this year on the PGA Tour was a tie for ninth in the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in his last start, as he won his group with a 2-0-1 record before Ross Fisher of England knocked him out, 4 and 3.