Gambling

Masters 2021 picks: Our 8 favorite prop bets at Augusta National

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Jared C. Tilton

The Masters is Christmas for golf bettors, and this year we're getting two Christmases in a span of six months. You could say we've been spoiled rotten.

It only makes sense, then, to spoil our readers with more gambling content. We've given you our best bets and our favorite DFS plays already, so now it's time to move on to the fun stuff: prop bets.

As is the case every major week, there are a plethora of options in the props market. Top 10s, top 20s, top 10 and 20 at the end of the first round, nationality props, hole-in-one props, best left-handed finisher, top debutant, the list goes on and on. Below, we've listed our eight favorite props, each prop's odds and what sportsbook is offering it. Feel free to ride with us, die with us, fade us or choose your own adventure. Good luck, and as always, please bet responsibly.

Lee Westwood, top-10 finish (+260, boosted to +300 on William Hill) — I told myself I wasn't going to get suckered in, even after the consecutive runner-up finishes, but eventually I gave in. How could you not be on Lee Westwood in some capacity this week? He's in form, he's got the right mindset, and he absolutely owns Augusta National, as much as someone who has never actually won at Augusta National can own Augusta National. Since 2010, he's finished T-11 or better six times, and three of those were inside the top 3. You will be kicking yourself when he's in contention on Sunday and you decided to fade him. Don't be that guy. Join me in betting on Westy's Last Stand. -- Christopher Powers

Paul Casey over Tony Finau (+100, William Hill) — I’m a huge fan of Finau’s, but his recent performances—losing strokes across all areas of his game, is a concern. Casey has four consecutive top-10 finishes in the U.S., plus a win on the European Tour … that’s the kind of form you want leading into Augusta. -- Stephen Hennessey

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Jared C. Tilton

Bernhard Langer, top 20 after Round 1 (+600, DraftKings) — You know it's a major week when the books are offering T20AR1 odds, which are by far the most fun props you can bet. It gets you right into the action on Thursday, and you can be done with your guy after that, not having to worry about a weekend fade. For me, Langer at +600 could not be a more perfect T20AR1 wager. The 63-year-old, two-time Masters champ has made five of his last eight cuts at Augusta, and three times has finished in the top 30. All you need out of him for this bet, though, is a first-round 71 or 72, which is usually enough to fall inside the top 20 on Thursday night. He goes off in the morning at 8:48 a.m., when the conditions should be absolutely prime for a strong start from this German golfing machine. -- CP

Brian Harman, top 20 after Round 1 (+275, DraftKings) — They don’t call him the big-game hunter for nothing. Harman had top-five finishes at The Players and the WGC-Match Play. And he gets hot on Day 1 often—he ranks ninth in this field in Round 1 scoring this season. -- SH

Matt Kuchar, top-30 finish (+138, DraftKings) — I hate to use the word "lock," but holy moly do we have ourselves a lock right here folks. Kuchar had been playing some bad golf for the last year, but he finally seemed to figure something out at the Match Play and the momentum carried over to Valero, where he tied for 12th. He looks and feels like his old self, and he's playing a course this week that he's finished T-28 or better at nine times in his last 11 appearances. That is flat-out insane, and DK is giving it to you at plus odds. Take it and say thank you. -- CP

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Ben Walton

Justin Rose to miss the cut (+163, William Hill) — This is a little risky. J-Rose has missed only one cut in his career at Augusta (2019). But he’s really hobbled right now injury-wise. This is purely a bet on the state of his back, which led him to pull out of Bay Hill and then kept him out of the Players and the WGC-Match Play. Augusta is a TOUGH place to walk around with a bad back; I don’t think the books have his injury potential fully accounted for with these odds. -- SH

Corey Conners to be the first-round leader (+4500, William Hill) — The Canadian is playing the best golf of his career—gaining nearly 30 strokes on the field in his past three starts; a third-place at Bay Hill, seventh at The Players and 14th at Valero. And he had a T-10 to Augusta National in November, proving his elite ball-striking translates here. He has one of the earliest tee times on Thursday (9:12 a.m.), so conditions should be perfect for him to post a low number early on. -- SH

Jordan Spieth to be the first-round leader (+1600, William Hill) — The big running joke on Golf Twitter is that Charley Hoffman is always the first-round leader at the Masters. In reality, Jordan Spieth was the first-round leader in 2015, 2016 and 2018 (Hoffman did hold the solo first-round lead in 2017). With no Chuck Hoff in the field this week, it'll be Spieth's first-round lead for the taking once again. He's running hot right now, and when that happens he almost always gets out to a fast start, especially at Augusta. -- CP