The 2022 golf season is firmly underway, and now that spring has officially sprung, the prestigious Augusta National is back in full bloom and ready to host this week’s US Masters — which will take place at the Georgia-based course between 7-10 April.
The first of the sport’s four major competitions, every professional golfer dreams of being granted access to the Champions Locker Room to be fitted into an iconic green jacket when the final round concludes on Masters Sunday.
Of course, only one player can achieve that goal this year, but who is going to be the lucky recipient of the Augusta clubhouse trophy? Let’s try and find out by taking a look at the favourites in the golf betting odds. Read on to find out more.
Jon Rahm
The number two ranked golfer in the world, it was just a matter of time before Jon Rahm broke his major duck. It probably took a bit longer than expected, and he would have rued some missed chances along the way, but the Spaniard finally won his maiden major championship last year — birding the final two holes to overtake Louis Oosthuizen at the top of the leaderboard and win by a single stroke.
Now that Rahm is finally off the mark, he’ll be hoping to kick on this year and where better to start than at Augusta in the Masters? The 27-year-old will be disappointed with his recent results, finishing +2 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players. So, he needs to find his rhythm again over the next couple of weeks.
Collin Morikawa
25-year-old Collin Morikawa has burst onto the golf scene in recent years with great aplomb — similar in many ways to when Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth broke onto the tour but at a more mature age.
That has potentially helped the American though, as he won the PGA Championship in 2020 at the first time of asking, beating Paul Casey and Dustin Johnson by two strokes, before winning The Open on his debut last year — holding off Spieth by two shots at Royal St. George’s.
After finishing second at the Genesis Open last month, the world number two was cut from The Players — albeit in treacherous conditions. The Masters is the only tournament he hasn’t finished in the top 10 at yet, tying 44th and 18th in his two outings at Augusta, so it would be asking a lot for him to go and win in Georgia, but he has the ability.
Jordan Spieth
The resurgence of Spieth’s career has been admirable. The 28-year-old was dubbed golf’s next big thing when he arrived on tour and won the Masters and the US Open in 2015, followed by The Open two years later.
But with that comes a lot of weight on your shoulders at such a young age, just ask McIlroy, and Spieth’s form quickly spiralled out of control — dropping down to 92nd in the world and going with a victory in almost five years.
A win in last year’s Texas Open seemed to give him a new lease of life though, as he went on to finished third in the Masters and second at the Open. Back in the top 15, Augusta is a course that Spieth strives on.
He has finished in the top three on five of his eight attempts in the Masters, so it would be foolish to rule him out. At 12/1, he might even be worth an each-way bet if you’re looking for golf betting tips.