PGA Betting Guide to Specials and Props: The Masters
Picking winners for a golf tournament is incredibly difficult and requires -- we hate to say it -- tons of luck to get it right.
One wayward drive, one plugged bunker shot, or one shanked approach is all it takes to turn your magical big money payout into a stone-cold zero. Fortunately, we can play the prop market on FanDuel Sportsbook for The Masters and find a few other ways to wager on this week's tournament without that all-or-nothing downside.
Whereas outright bets only pay out if the golfer wins the event, specials and props can keep bettors interested all the way through the end of the tournament. So let's focus on some of those opportunities: finishing position, matchup betting, and a pick to miss the cut.
Finishing Position
Rory McIlroy (+175 for a Top 10 Finish) - McIlroy has been inside the top 10 in six of the past seven Masters. His strength is, of course, the driver, and despite losing 2.5 strokes off the tee at THE PLAYERS, there are indicators that he can bounce back with a strong finish. It's just the sixth time he's lost strokes off the tee on the PGA Tour over the past three years, and in the first five instances, his finishes in the immediate next event were 8th, 12th, 1st, 5th, and 12th.
Louis Oosthuizen (+550 for a Top 10 Finish) - Like Rory, Oosthuizen earned a nod for an outright bet as well, and we can confidently hedge with a nice return on a top 10 bet. Louis has finishes as the runner-up in all four majors, including here in 2012.
Paul Casey (+105 for a Top 20 Finish) - Casey's last five stroke play finishes read T5, T10, T5, T12, 1st, and T8. We've seen similar runs of consistency from Casey in the past, and he's managed to finish inside the top 20 eight times in his Augusta career, including four straight years from 2015 to 2018.
Tommy Fleetwood (+155 for a Top 20 Finish) - Fleetwood has two top 20s in the past three Masters, and another is in the cards this week. He is coming off a strong effort at the WGC Match Play, a missed cut at THE PLAYERS, and a T10 at Bay Hill. He's straightened his iron game out and gained in four straight PGA events for the first time since play resumed, according to Fantasy National Golf Club.
Tournament Match Betting
Webb Simpson (-102) over Scottie Scheffler (-126) - We'll grab Simpson at close to even money against Scheffler, a young player with just the November Masters to go off. We are mostly throwing out the record-setting fall edition, and Scheffler is simply not a good enough putter at this stage of his career to handle these greens. Enter Simpson, who has proven to be one of the most consistent golfers on the entire TOUR and who owns a recent record at the Masters of T10, T5, and T20 the past three years.
Xander Schauffele (+108) over Patrick Cantlay (-142) - Cantlay is a fine player and has shown good form at Augusta with finishes of 17th and 9th the last two times here. But Schauffele gets the edge given his history in smaller fields and in major championships. He was also T17 in November but was among those tied for runner up in 2019. All in all these two are relatively equal, so grabbing Xander at plus money is the clear value play in this matchup.
To Miss The Cut
Dylan Frittelli (+158) - Frittelli was 5th here in November and fired one of the five 65s of the week, a score that should be far from reach in ramped up conditions this time around. That leaves Frittelli to rely on his recent form, which includes six missed cuts in his eight events since The Masters.
