US Masters 2019 Golf Preview & Tips
The 2019 US Masters (April 11-14) is almost here, meaning golf punters will get another chance to see the best players compete for the famous Green Jacket around the stunning Augusta National Golf Club.
The Par 72 course officially measures 7,475 yards this year, after a 40-yard extension to the fifth hole, but the players will tell you it plays a lot longer as the fairways are mown towards the tees to limit how far drives will roll when they land. That means driving distance is often a key statistic.
That should suit market leader Rory McIlroy. The 2019 Players Champion has been a model of consistency in recent months, finishing in the top-six in his last five stroke-play events, whilst he was unlucky to bump into an inspired Tiger Woods in the last-16 of the WGC Matchplay. His recent Augusta form is also rock-solid, finishing in the top-10 in each of the last five years. 10 of the last 12 US Masters have also been players winning their first US Masters title.
However, the victories of those 10 players have also been their first major wins of any kind, whilst the other two were winning their second and third US Masters Titles. McIlroy isn’t a fit for either of those statistics so, at a best-priced 7/1, it could be worth looking elsewhere for value.
If that pattern continues this year, it’s could also be worth taking on other well-fancied major winners that haven’t won a US Masters. This list includes Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose, Justin Thomas, Francesco Molinari, Brooks Koepka, and Jason Day.
If you fancy that a former US Masters winner may add another Green Jacket to his wardrobe, you might want to consider betting on Jordan Spieth, Tiger Woods, Bubba Watson, Phil Mickelson, or Adam Scott. However, recent statistics suggest there looks to be more value in backing players that would be winning their first major. The 10 players winning the US Masters for the first time in the last 12 years have been priced at 200/1, 150/1, 150/1, 90/1, 55/1, 28/1, 12/1, 66/1, 50/1, and 70/1, so don’t be afraid of backing an outsider either.
John Rahm, Rickie Fowler, and Tommy Fleetwood all look worth backing towards the head of the market. Rahm finished fourth last year on just his second visit to Augusta, and everyone knows he’s a major winner waiting to happen. Fowler also has the talent and four top-12 finishes at Augusta in his last five visits suggests he shouldn’t be far away. Fleetwood is another world-class talent that showed he has what it takes to conquer Augusta when shooting 66 in round three on his way to finishing seventeenth last year.
Thorbjorn Olesen could also be worth backing at much bigger odds. The Dane finished sixth here on debut in 2013 and, whilst he’s not qualified for the last four editions, he knows how to win if he gets into contention.
US Masters 2019 Tips
- John Rahm (Each-Way)
- Rickie Fowler (Each-Way)
- Tommy Fleetwood (Each-Way)
- Thorbjorn Olesen (Each-Way)