The Masters Tournament is one of the four major championships offered in professional golf. In most years, the Masters takes place during the first full week of April, and it is the only major that always takes place at the same course — Augusta National Golf Club. The tournament dates back to 1934, on a course designed by pro golf legend Bobby Jones and architect Alister McKenzie. Today, the tournament serves as an official money event on the European Tour, the Japan Golf Tour and the PGA Tour. It is an invitational event and, as such, has a smaller field than the other three majors. If you’re considering including the 2020 Masters, rescheduled to November 12-15 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, in your fall sports betting, take a look at this overview of the tournament and our early thoughts so you can begin to plan ahead your bets against their PGA betting odds.
PGA Tour | Masters Tournament Betting Preview
Great moments have emerged from the Masters — starting almost at the beginning of the tournament’s history. In 1935, Gene Sarazen hit what would be called the “shot heard ‘round the world,” knocking a 4-wood shot from the fairway all the way into the hole for a double eagle on the par-5 15th hole. That ended up putting Sarazen in a tie with Craig Wood, and Sarazen ended up winning the 36-hole playoff by five strokes.
Several of golf’s biggest names earned the green jacket given to Masters champions. Byron Nelson won here twice, the first time in 1937. Sam Snead won three times. Ben Hogan won in 1951 and 1953 and was the runner-up four times. Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus kept trading the title back and forth in the 1960s and 1970s, combining for 11 wins during that time. Palmer won by one stroke in 1958 and then won by the same margin in 1960, posting birdies on 17 and 18 to pass Ken Venturi.
Nicklaus broke the course record in 1965, shooting a 17-under-par 271, and then he repeated as champion in 1966, beating Gay Brewer and Tommy Jacobs in an 18-hole playoff and becoming the first back-to-back tournament winner. Gary Player holds the record for the most Masters tournaments, having played in 52. The youngest winner of a Masters is Tiger Woods, who won in 1997 at the age of 21, breaking Nicklaus’ course record with a 270 (18 under par).
So who qualifies for the Masters each year?
All past Masters champions get an exemption. So does anyone who has won the U.S. Open, British Open (Open Championship), or the PGA Championship (the other three majors) in the last five years. If you won an Olympic gold medal in golf, you get in. So do the winners of The Players Championship from the last three years. Some other ways to qualify include: winning or finishing second in the most recent U.S. Amateur, winning the most recent Amateur Championship, Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, Latin America Amateur Championship, or U.S. Mid-Amateur. If you finished in the top twelve (including ties) at the last Masters, you get to come back, as do the top four finishers (including ties) at the last of each of the other three majors. Did you win a PGA Tour event that gives a full-point allocation for the FedEx Cup? You’re in. Also, if you’re in the Top 50 of the last Official World Golf Ranking from a year ago, or you are in the Top 50 as of March 15 of the present tournament year, you’re in. You’re also in if you qualified for last year’s PGA Tour Championship.
So who’s the favorite right now? It’s Rory McIlroy, looking to finish his career Grand Slam. Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Dustin Thomas and Brooks Koepka are right behind him, and then comes the defending champion, Tiger Woods. Keep an eye on the odds as the tour moves into the early fall and some players start to build momentum. I’ve got my eye on Collin Morikawa, who won the PGA Championship at Harding Park — but we’ll provide more detailed previews as the tournament gets closer.
