The Loop
Cameron Champ on short list of Masters favorites by Vegas, even though he isn't in the Masters field (yet)
(Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
Cameron Champ has captured the attention of the golf world this fall—winning his first PGA Tour title in just the second start of his rookie season. The 23-year-old's effortless power (he averaged 328.4 yards off the tee this fall) has led many to declare him the next big thing in golf.
Vegas sportsbooks have apparently been watching Champ's ascent to the top, too, and they're equally impressed. In an update to their 2019 Masters odds, Jeff Sherman, one of the most respected golf oddsmakers in Vegas, has put Champ on the short list of Masters favorites, listing him in the top 20 of players with listed odds for the Masters—despite an important fact.
Here's the list:
That important fact? Champ isn't yet in the 2019 Masters field. His victory at the Sanderson Farms Championship in October does not give him an Augusta National invitation, which is the case with all fall season events. And yet by listing him with Masters odds, sportsbooks are making a statement about Champ's prospects to not just make the field of the first major of the year—but perhaps contend to win.
Champ has four months and a bunch of PGA Tour events to earn his way into the field. He's currently 97th in the world rankings, moving up significantly after his win at the Sanderson and then recording top-10s at the RSM Classic and the Mayakoba Classic to finish the fall campaign.
If Champ can keep up his hot play in 2019, you'd expect he has a good chance of rising to the coveted top 50 in the world rankings, which earns a Masters invite. And according to Vegas, those chances are pretty good.