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Prediction 1
Jordan Spieth
15/1 (16.00)
Prediction 2
Will Zalatoris
33/1 (34.00)
Prediction 3
Tom Hoge
99/1 (100.00)
With the first week of April looming, springtime is about to get into full swing. More importantly, for golf fans, the arrival of April means that it’s almost time for one of the biggest tournaments of the year. It’s the Masters.
Not only is the Masters Tournament, played annually at Augusta National Golf Course, one of the biggest golfing events on the calendar, it’s also one of the biggest sports betting events.
Even irregular bettors and those who don’t follow professional golf all that closely like a punt when it comes to Augusta. You know you’ll get some appealing odds, while with this being the only major that takes place at the same venue each year, there’s loads of form to get stuck into.
Few sporting events provide punters with the opportunity to get in on the each-way action like the Masters, which is why this tournament is so popular among each-way golf punters.
What is Each-Way Betting?
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For those who don’t know, an each-way bet, in golf, is two bets rolled into one. One bet goes on the golfer to win, the other bet goes on the golfer to finish in one of the places, allocated by the bookmaker, typically the first five, six, or seven. It’s important to check bookmaker place terms before placing your bet, and remember to shop around, as some bookmakers pay out on more places than others.
If the golfer you bet on wins, you’ll win both bets. If the golfer places, you will lose the win bet, but win the place bet, making a profit as long as the odds allow. Typically, the place bet pays out at one quarter of the full odds.
For example, a £10 each way bet means betting a total of £20. £10 to win, £10 to place. Now, let’s say you have £10 each way on Cameron Smith to win The Masters at 20/1. If he wins, you’ll be paid out on both bets. If he finishes in one of the allotted places, you’ll lose £10, but will be paid out £10 at a quarter of the odds, which in this case would be 5/1, leaving you with a £60 return (£10 @ 5/1 = £60).
Each-Way Betting Tips
Let’s get into those players who look to hold solid claims at the current prices and thus represent a shade of value. Here are our Masters golf each way tips, but you should also check our other Masters tips as well.
Jordan Spieth @ 15/1
Jordan Spieth hasn’t won a major for some years, though he is not to be discounted on that fact. After all, this is a player who not that long ago delivered one of the most decisive and convincing Masters wins of all time.
Coming into this event, Spieth has been in solid form. At the time of writing, just before the Valero Texas Open is scheduled to start, he finished T3 at the Valspar earlier this month, which followed a T19 at The Players Championship. The 29-year-old also finished T4 at the Arnold Palmer before that. From his last six events he has four top 20 finishes, three top 10’s and two 5’s. Such efforts suggest that his game is in good shape, which always bodes well ahead of this tournament.
The Par 5 holes carry great importance at Augusta. Those who score well on the Par 5’s will always have a chance, so it bodes well that Spieth comes into the tournament as the eighth best player on tour this season in terms Par 5 scoring. Previous Augusta form is usually somewhat indicative too, so another positive is that fact that Spieth has missed the cut in just one of his nine Masters, and he’s finished inside the top three in five of the other eight.
Spieth ticks lots of boxes, and as far as I’m concerned, there’s enough juice in odds of 18/1 for me to get involved.
Will Zalatoris @ 33/1
Each-way backers will be hard pushed to avoid having something on Will Zalatoris at Augusta. The youngster has looked like a major winner in waiting ever since bursting onto the scene a couple of years ago, and after finishing second and sixth in his first two events at the Georgia course, he should be capable of playing well.
Zalatoris’ major form in the last couple of seasons has been fantastic in general. Aside from two excellent finished at Augusta, he’s eighth and second at the PGA Championship, as well as sixth and second at the US Open.
Solid on approach, on tour right now, the 26-year-old ranks fourth for approach shots from 200-225 yards, fifth for approach shots from 175-200 yards, and 11th for approach shots from inside 100 yards. He also ranks 14th for strokes gained: off-the-tee, 29th for driving distance, sixth for birdies or better on Par 5’s and 11th for Par 5 scoring average. It’s fair to say that he has lots of encouraging stats.
Sure, he hasn’t been in red-hot form of late, but he did finish T4 at the genesis just over a month ago, and his major record speaks for itself, so don’t be surprised if you see his name near the top of that leader board on Sunday afternoon.
Tom Hoge @ 99/1
Those looking for a player with each-way possibilities at huge odds should look no further than Tom Hoge, who is one of the best Masters sleeper picks.
The 33-year-old may only have one PGA Tour victory to his name, but in the last couple of season, he has performed as though a big win may not be far away. For starters, he made the cut and finished in a respectable 38th in his first ever appearance at Augusta last time out. He wasn’t fazed by the big occasion, and bar a few mistakes, he took to the course well. With that experience under his belt, I wouldn’t be surprised if he came forward and did much better this season.
After all, he looked every inch a player capable of tussling with the best in big tournaments when finishing T3 at TPC Sawgrass in The Players Championship just a few weeks ago.
What I really like about Hoge is his approach game. Anyone whose watched much of the action at Augusta over the years, knows that gaining strokes on approach is critical. This season, nobody has gained more strokes on approach than Hoge, who currently ranks as the number one player on the PGA Tour for stroke gained: approach. He’s far from a one-trick pony, though, ranking 13th for strokes gained: total.
The man from North Carolina may be priced up at 125/1, but discount him at your peril. I’ll be playing him each-way, that’s for sure.
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