The Masters betting: A star-studded field gets brighter

Maybe you weren't that stoked about this year's Masters Tournament. Two of the game's modern-day legends - with eight green jackets between them - weren't going to be in the field Thursday. You'd have been relying on the tradition, comforting familiarity of the course, and an incredibly deep field to get you jacked up about the annual rite of spring.

Then things were turned up to 11.

Tiger Woods stepped onto the grounds of Augusta National with the prowling intent of a jungle cat, and his somewhat wistfully humorous inclusion on Masters oddsboards became all too real - for both bettors and his competitors.

As we dig into who to back and who to avoid for the season's first major, we'll wait one more day to deal with the Tiger issue. A bet on Woods to execute the most incredible feat in golf history may seem somewhat foolhardy, but no more so than fading the greatest to ever play the game at his home away from home.

Three draws

Dustin Johnson (+1600)

Maybe it was just the difference in conditions that suited Johnson so well when he lapped the field in the autumn edition of the Masters in 2020, but it's hard to imagine him getting amped up for the early-season PGA TOUR events at this point of his career. DJ played stateside just once each in January and February. When March came around, though, he got serious about his schedule.

Despite a third-round 76 at The Players Championship, Johnson still managed a top-10 result. After a decent showing at Innisbrook, he left his opponents shaking their heads over his play on the way to the semifinals at the WGC-Match Play.

Johnson missed the cut last year, just a few months after his dominant 2020 win. This time, his preparation will likely put him back in the top 10 (-140) - where he spent five straight Masters from 2016-20 - and trump the lack of focus that's hindered one of this generation's most talented players.

Brooks Koepka (+2000)

Speaking of surprise cuts, Koepka also missed the weekend last year after 10 straight rounds under par at Augusta. While his scores were akin to Johnson's, the reasoning was vastly different. Koepka went out of his way to play the 2020 Masters, coming back early from knee surgery and a six-week layoff. He missed the 2018 tournament due to injury but finished T2 and T7 in the events in between when healthy.

Koepka got caught on the wrong side of the draw at a weather-plagued Players Championship, but his results in the Florida Swing were otherwise good, and we'll give him a break for not pulling off wins over both Jon Rahm and Johnson on the same day in Austin. -120 is a very reasonable price for a top 20.

Will Zalatoris (+3300)

Zalatoris made his Augusta debut last year, and all he did was finish second and introduce himself to the golf world at large. His short putting is the reason he hasn't broken through for a win in his short career, but reports out of the Match Play - after a solid week with the flatstick - were that he made a tweak to the weighting in his putter. Whether a matter of confidence augmentation or a small physics adjustment, that could mean upward of three-to-four strokes for a player whose ball-striking is as good as there is. Plus-money for a top 20 is a good bet.

Three slices

Bryson DeChambeau

Augusta National is a bad course fit for DeChambeau at the best of times, but at a self-proclaimed 80% condition after missing time with injuries, we'll keep him on our list of fades for the third straight week.

Scottie Scheffler

With such a small field - and many there for ceremonial reasons - it's hard to justify a bet in the miss-the-cut market. So this is less about fading Scheffler and more a warning about pricing. Scheffler's three wins this season vaulted him to the top of the Official World Golf Ranking, and that's resulted in a move from 50-1 down to 16-1. If you've already grabbed him at the longer number, you're set. Otherwise, you're too late for a valuable bet on Scheffler.

Jon Rahm

Like Scheffler, we're not fading Rahm here either, per se, but we'll instead use this space to recommend a wait-and-see approach. As a 10-1 favorite with four top 10 finishes in a row at Augusta National, it'd be foolish to think Rahm won't win. However, in three of those four tournaments - all spring-time editions - his best rounds came on the weekend. With such a strong field, there'll be a chance to get Rahm at a better price in live-betting markets before moving day Saturday.

Matt Russell is a betting writer for theScore. If there’s a bad beat to be had, Matt will find it. Find him on Twitter @mrussauthentic.