2023 Masters Preview: Favorites, Contenders & Sleeper Picks

Our best 2023 Masters bets for the first major of the PGA Tour season, from the favorites to the top sleeper picks.

The first of golf’s four majors tees off on Thursday, April 6.

Since 1934, Augusta National Golf Club has hosted the annual tournament created by legendary golfer Bobby Jones. The field consists of 90-100 golfers, the smallest of any major. But the Tournament extends invitations to anyone in the Top 50 of the Official World Golf Rankings.

This year marks the 75^th time the winner will receive the famed green jacket, which was first awarded to the winner in 1949. At the conclusion of the tournament, last year’s champion will place the ceremonial jacket on the 2023 champion.

(Little-known fact: winners keep the green jacket until the next year’s tournament, then return it to the Augusta National Golf Club. After the year of their victory, former champions only wear that jacket if they are present on club grounds.)

Speaking of last year’s champion, let’s take a look at some of this year’s betting favorites. Three names stand out above the others, and the 2022 winner is right at the top of the list.

2023 Masters Favorites

Let’s dive into the favorites for this year’s tournament. You probably won’t be surprised by the names.

Scottie Scheffler (+800 to win 2023 Masters at Caesars – BET HERE)

The world’s current number-one player will arrive at Augusta in top form, not only as defending Masters champion but having already captured two premier events early in the 2023 campaign.

Scheffler captured the Waste Management Phoenix Open in February and followed up the victory with another top spot at THE PLAYERS Championship.

It’s an encouraging sign, as Scheffler captured three events – including the 2022 Waste Management Phoenix Open – in the lead up to his 2022 Masters victory.

Jon Rahm (+800 to win 2023 Masters at FanDuel – BET HERE)

The Spanish superstar might be Scheffler’s only competition in terms of who’s playing the best coming into The Masters.

Rahm has three tournament victories to his credit already in 2023, winning the Sentry Tournament of Champions and The Desert Classic (currently known as the American Express) just two weeks later. Rahm compiled identical – and impressive – -27 under par finishes in each event.

For good measure, he claimed the Genesis Invitational in Southern California a month later.

Rahm’s only career Major championship came in the 2021 U.S. Open. His best finish to date in Augusta is 4^th place in 2018. But he has finished in the Top 10 four times.

Rory McIlroy (+850 to win 2023 Masters at DraftKings – BET HERE)

The four-time major champion from Northern Ireland needs only a green jacket to complete the “career Grand Slam” of a win at the Masters, the U.S. Open, the Open Championship (British Open), and the PGA Championship.

Last year’s second-place finish behind Scheffler was McIlroy’s best showing to date at Augusta. And McIlroy gained a small measure of revenge this past weekend, topping Scheffler in a head-to-head third-place playoff at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play.

2023 Masters Contenders

Now, time for some names who are certainly in with a shout at Augusta.

Jordan Spieth (+1300 to win 2023 Masters at BetMGM – BET HERE)

Nine career starts at Augusta have yielded five top-3 finishes for Spieth, including a victory in 2015.

Lately, the 29-year-old has had trouble closing out tournaments with only two victories to his credit since his last major win at the 2017 Open Championship.

Spieth missed the cut at the Masters last year, but his odds started at +1800 indicating some sharp players think he’s a good choice to don another green jacket this year.

Max Homa (+2200 to win 2022 Masters at FanDuel – BET HERE)

After starting the year in 17^th place in the Official World Golf Rankings, a hot start in 2023 has Homa all the way up to the 6^th spot. The highlight was a come-from-behind victory at the Farmers Insurance Open in January.

What better way to break into the top five than his first Major victory at the Masters? He’s one of the best players on the planet, and unlike the others on this list has the motivation of still awaiting his breakthrough victory.

Cameron Smith (+1200 to win 2023 Masters at DraftKings – BET HERE)

Dustin Johnson (+2500 to win 2023 Masters at BetMGM – BET HERE)

We’ll talk about these two as a package, since they have more in common than a chance to win next week in Augusta.

LIV Golf professionals are still permitted to compete at Augusta, and these are two of the best. Smith holds the unofficial title of “best putter alive” for the moment. Always a key at Augusta. His odds started as high as +2000 but have already fallen to +1200.

As for Johnson, he doesn’t have any LIV Golf wins to his credit in 2023, but five career Top-10 finishes at the Masters are highlighted by his 2020 victory in which he set the course record with a -20 under par finish.

2023 Masters Longshot Bet

Ok, it’s a longshot. But it doesn’t mean this bet won’t have a chance…

Tiger Woods (+5500 to win 2023 Masters at FanDuel – BET HERE)

Who thought we’d see the day when Tiger was in the longshot category?

Woods is widely considered the best golfer of all-time – definitely tops in his era – but that era is coming to an end.

Tiger’s 47 years old now. One year older than Jack Nicklaus was for his famous Masters victory in 1986. Since his 2021 car accident, Woods has commented on how much of a physical toll it is just walking the course some days.

His 2019 victory at Augusta was a turn-back-the-clock performance, but it also felt like a last hurrah for the five-time green jacket winner. He returned to competitive golf one year ago at The Masters, but his recent performances make it hard to recommend a wager on Tiger this year.

Still, if you want another reason to root for Woods to tie Nicklaus with six career victories at The Masters, +5500 odds on one of the greatest players ever isn’t a bad deal.

What Other Masters Bets Can You Place?

There are other wagers you can place on the Tournament aside from the winner.

Top 5, 10 & 20

Top 5, Top 10, and even Top 20 wagers are popular when betting longshots, This way, if your golfer stays in contention through the Masters but falls short on Sunday, you don’t walk away empty handed.

Prop Bets

Prop bets are also enjoyable, and these come primarily in the form of “nationality bets”.

As the Masters approaches, different sportsbooks will likely offer wagers on “which American will have the best finish?” or “What nationality will this year’s winner be?”

Among the golfers listed above, we have multiple Americans, but also an Irish, Spanish, and Australian professional.

Prop bets can be another fun way to enjoy the 2023 Masters.

Grand Slam

Finally, this prop bet will not ask you to pick a winner, but rather to project whether that winner can turn a title at Augusta into a legendary year.

The prop, simply, is “Will a Player Win the Grand Slam in 2023?” This means winning not only the Masters, but the U.S. Open, Open Championship, and PGA Championship.

Odds are usually upwards of 30:1, which may not even reflect the difficulty of a feat accomplished only once by Bobby Jones in 1930 (when the Grand Slam consisted of the Amateur and Open Championship in both the U.S. and Great Britain.)

Again, it’s hard to recommend a wager on something that’s never occurred in the modern era. But it will give you another reason to tune in for future Major championships regardless who wins the 2023 Masters!