The Masters Tournament Predictions: Matsuyama Can Score Second Win

• This will be the 88th edition of the Masters Tournament 

• Augusta National is perhaps the most revered course on the planet

• World No.1 Scottie Scheffler is the clear betting favorite    

The Masters Tournament Odds

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The Masters Tournament Predictions

• Hideki Matsuyama to win at +2000 with BetMGM

• Russell Henley to beat Tyrrell Hatton over 72 holes at -110 with bet365

• Patrick Reed for Top 10 at +500 with bet365

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The Masters Tournament Intro

It’s here again!

For many golf fans, the Masters Tournament at Augusta National is the pinnacle of the sport.

The only major to be played at the same course each year, it’s the one most etched in our memories.

And what a course. Augusta National is a spectacular piece of property, 7,555 yards of golfing heaven that tests every ounce of skill and creativity

Jon Rahm returns to defend his title and that adds to the intrigue given that the Spaniard moved over to LIV golf earlier this year.

Rahm shot 12-under to win by four from two other LIV players, Brooks Koepka and triple Augusta champion Phil Mickelson, in 2023.

Dustin Johnson (2020) may have triumphed with 20-under when the tournament was held in November due to the pandemic but only the winner has managed to reach double digits under par in five of the last seven Masters held in its traditional Spring slot. 

That said, spectacular bursts of scoring can still occur, especially on the famous back nine with the two gettable par-5s at 13 and 15. 

With every past winner earning an invite for life, Tiger Woods will be back to make his first appearance of 2024.

Woods won the fifth of his green jackets in 2019, 22 years on from his astonishing 12-shot victory in 1997.   

Last 5 Winners of the Masters Tournament

Course Notes

• Augusta National is a par 72 and measures 7,555 yards this year

• The course was designed by Bobby Jones and Alister MacKenzie 

• The bentgrass greens run at a super-quick 14+ on the Stimp

• Dustin Johnson holds the 72-hole record of 268 in 2020

• Nick Price (1986) and Greg Norman (1996) hold the 18-hole record of 63

• The weather forecast looks mixed on Thursday but will be clear Friday-Sunday   

Favorites to Win the Masters Tournament

Scottie Scheffler (+400) at BetMGM

Scheffler should be a Masters contender for years to come and he’s already slipped his arms into the green jacket once thanks to a win in 2022. Yet to finish outside the top 20 in his four starts at Augusta National, Scheffler is the red-hot favorite this year after a brilliant run of form on the Florida Swing that saw him stretch his lead at the top of the world rankings with back-to-back victories at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and THE PLAYERS Championship. Quite clearly the man to beat.      

Rory McIlroy (+1000) at BetMGM

If Rory had converted a four-shot 54-hole lead in 2011, how many green jackets might he have by now? Instead, the search for a first Masters title continues to taunt and frustrate the Northern Irishman. His latest form at Augusta from 2020 to 2023 shows T5-MC-2-MC so it’s been feast or famine. A third place in Sunday’s Valero Texas Open means he’ll arrive with some confidence following a rather modest run riddled with inconsistency      

Jon Rahm (+1200) at BetMGM

Rahm has one big piece of history against him. No player has defended the Masters crown since Tiger Woods in 2002 and only three have ever won back-to-back: Woods, Nick Faldo, and Jack Nicklaus. Rahm has the talent and heart to join those legends and will surely relish this chance to take on familiar foes again having moved to LIV. His finishes on the rival tour? Five straight top eights, the latest in Miami last week where he posted fourth.    

Back Matsuyama for the Win

Hideki Matsuyama first played Augusta National in 2011 and performed strongly to finish 27th and finish as Low Amateur.

That was the start of a love affair with the tournament which reached its ultimate high when he won the green jacket in 2021.

Also fifth and seventh here, Matsuyama has finished 16th or better in eight of the last nine Masters so he has one of the tournament’s very best modern-day records.

He’ll return this year in fantastic form so a second win beckons.

The Japanese star fired a blistering final-round 62 to land February’s Genesis Invitational at Riviera, a course where plenty of other previous Masters winners have won.

And since that victory in California, he’s finished 12th, sixth, and seventh on the PGA Tour. 

With plenty of the leading names showing mixed form and Scheffler perhaps a little distracted by the impending arrival of his first baby (wife Meredith won’t be on-site at Augusta), Matsuyama has a golden chance to take victory at +2000 with BetMGM.    

Henley to Beat Hatton

This week’s best match bet is based on a simple premise - Augusta form.

In one corner, a player who has a strong Masters record, lives locally and absolutely loves this tournament.

In the other, a player totally bamboozled and frustrated by Augusta National and the unwanted owner of a poor Masters record.

The duo in question: Russell Henley and Tyrrell Hatton and it looks like a straightforward choice to back the American to beat the Brit.

Henley was fourth last year, also has an 11th and a 15th, and hasn’t been outside the top 31 in his last six Masters.

Hatton, by contrast, has managed just one top 30 (an 18th) in seven visits.

Both have shown some good recent form (Hatton’s on the LIV Tour) but, at this course, it looks a no-brainer to back Henley over 72 holes at -110 with bet365.      

Reed to Land Top 10

Patrick Reed, like Matsuyama, is a former Masters winner with an excellent body of work at Augusta National.

The American won the green jacket in 2018 and has added top 10s in 2020, 2021 and 2023.

A couple of good recent performances on the LIV Tour should set him up well for another strong show so back Reed for a top 10 at an eyecatching 5/1 with bet365. 

How to Watch the Masters Tournament

• Tournament: The Masters

• Location: Augusta, GA

• Date: Thursday, April 11 - Sunday, April 14

• How to Watch: Thursday-Friday 3 p.m.-7.30 p.m. ET (ESPN), Saturday 3 p.m.-7 p.m. (CBS), Sunday 2 p.m.-7 p.m. (CBS). And all four days on Sky Sports.