2023 Masters Preview
2023 Masters Preview
The most prestigious golf tournament in the world begins on Thursday. That’s the 2023 Masters from Augusta, which is the first major tournament of the season. But this year will be a little different thanks to the new LIV Tour, with their golfers dueling against the PGA Tour.
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(odds from Draft Kings)
Last year’s Masters' champ was Scottie Scheffler, who shot a 278 (-10) to win his first-ever Major. Scheffler then missed the cut at the PGA Championship, finished tied for second at the U.S. Open and tied for 21st at The Open (British) from St. Andrews. This season, Scheffler won the Phoenix Open and unofficial fifth major, The Players Championship from TPC Sawgrass in early March for a $4.5 million paycheck. Scheffler is considered a top favorite a +650 to win, +150 to earn Top 5 and -150 to reach the top 10. Before last year, he had solid finishes of tied for 18th and tied for 19th.
Rory McIlroy has never won the Masters, but he’s second-favorite here at +750. He has won 23 PGA Tour wins and four majors, but hasn’t won a major since 2014 at the PGA Championship. He missed the cut at the TPC and finished tied for second at the Arnold Palmer. He also started the season in late October with a win at The CJ Cup in South Carolina. He also finished first at the Dubai Desert Classic in late January. McIlroy is listed as a +165 to finish in the Top 5 and -125 to finish in the top 10. Last year at the Masters, was his best performance as he finished second after shooting a 54 in the final round.
Jon Rahm (+850) is one of the world’s greatest golfers. The former US Open Champ in 2021 has 13 wins overall. His best finish at the Master came in 2019 when he finished fourth with a -11. This year, he has a win at The Genesis Invitational and a third at the Phoenix Open. He withdrew from the TPC due to a stomach illness after shooting 1-under 71 in the first round. He’s +200 to finish in the top 5 and -110 to finish in the top 10.
Tony Finau (+1800) finished tied for 35th at the Masters last year. His best finish was in 2019, when he finished tied for fifth. The 33-year old native of Salt Lake City finished tied for 19th at the TPC. His best finish this season was a tied for ninth spot at the Farmers in late January. Finau has six tour wins, including three in 2022. His last came in November when he won the Houston Open by four strokes. He’s +400 to finish in the Top 5 and +180 to finish in the top 10.
Jordan Spieth (+1800) won the Masters back in 2016 and has a tied for second, with two third-place finishes. Last year, he missed the cut for the first time. This season, Spieth finished tied for 19th at the TPC and finished tied for third at the Valspar Championship in mid-March. Spieth has four major wins with the last coming at The Open Championship in 2017. He’s +360 to finish in the Top 5 and +170 to finish in the Top 10.
As far as top LIV golfers, Dustin Johnson (+2200) is the favorite amongst them. He’s +360 to finish in the Top 5 and +1200 to finish in the Top 10. Johnson won the Masters in 2020 and finished tied for fourth in 2016 and tied for sixth in 2015. Last year, he finished tied for 12th. His top finish this season was seventh at the LIV Golf Invitational from Orlando. Last season, he won a LIV Golf Invitational from Boston and finished second in a LIV Invitational from Chicago.
Then there’s 47-year old Tiger Woods. He’s +9000 to win the tournament, +1400 to finish in the top five and +600 to finish in the top 10. Woods has played in just one tournament this season and finished tied for 45th at The Genesis Invitational. Last year, he played in just three tournaments and all three were majors. The only time he made the cut or didn’t withdraw was at the Masters, where he finished 47th. Woods won the Masters in 2019, 2005, 2002, 2001 and 1997. He has 14 top-10 finishes and 17 top-20 finishes.
(stats from ESPN.com and augusta.com/masters)