Early Look at 2021 Masters Odds

For the second time in less than five months, Augusta National Golf Club will be hosting the Masters Tournament. The 2020 edition of what is usually the season’s first major championship was postponed from August to November due to Covid issues.

Dustin Johnson took complete control of the tournament with a seven-under-par 65 in Saturday’s third round, then followed it up with a 68 on Saturday to win by five shots over Sungjae Im and Cameron Smith. Johnson’s 20 under par 268 total was two strokes better than the previous record set by Tiger Woods in 1997 and matched by Jordan Spieth in 2015.

The change in the schedule set up what is being called a PGA Tour Super Season, with six major championships played during the 2020-2021 season, followed by the Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits. That assumes the Open Championship will be played as scheduled July 15-18 at Royal St. George’s.

Futures Betting Odds Favorites

Dustin Johnson, the top player in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR), FedEx Cup winner, and defending Masters champion, is a slim favorite at +850 odds with the tournament’s return to its traditional spring date. Reigning U.S. Open champion and leader in the FedEx Cup points standings, Bryson DeChambeau is next at +900. After an opening 66, DeChambeau failed to break 70 for the final three rounds, including a crippling 75 in round two.

Justin Thomas, with his impressive win at The Players Championship, signaled that he had dealt with his lack of judgment at the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January. He is second in both the OWGR and the FedEx Cup standings and finished in fourth place in November’s Masters. His odds are +1000 to win his second career major championship and 15th PGA Tour title.

With five career Tour wins, Jon Rahm appears poised to add a major championship to his resume. The third-ranked player in the OWGR doesn’t have a win in the 2021 season, but his seven top-ten finishes are very impressive. In November, he tied for seventh at Augusta National and is at +1100 to breakthrough with his first major title.

Past Masters champion and three-time major title winner Jordan Spieth has seen a two-year slump come to an end. He has four top-ten finishes in his last six events but hasn’t broken 70 in the final round of a stroke-play tournament since October. In the November Masters, he finished tied for 46th after shooting four rounds in the 70’s. If he is going to pay off on his +1200 odds, the 27-year-old out of the University of Texas will need to find a way to come through on Sunday.

Rory McIlroy’s frustrations at the Masters are well documented, including his opening 75 in November that all but eliminated him from contention. He responded with three rounds in the ’60s to finish in a tie for fifth, nine shots behind Johnson. His +1400 odds are clearly based on his immense talent, not on recent performance. Four top-ten finishes in 11 events might be great for other players; it’s not up to the standards of a four-time major champion and 18-time winner on Tour.

Other players of note are four-time major titleist Brooks Koepka at +2000, 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed at +2700, resurgent Lee Westwood at +2900, and two-time green jacket winner Bubba Watson at +3300.