For enthusiasts and sports gamblers, viewing Thursday’s opening round of the Masters — the most awaited day of the year in golf, as Jim Gray notes — provided largely the same experience. Scottie Scheffler resembled a cyborg. Rory McIlroy, under the gaze of the golf community, continues to pursue that coveted Green Jacket, started strong but then faltered.
McIlroy aims to achieve a career Grand Slam. Englishman Justin Rose concluded with a 7-under 65, beginning with three consecutive birdies (totaling eight birdies). At the end of the day, he held a three-shot advantage over Scheffler, who is aiming for his third green jacket, Ludvig Aberg, and Canadian Corey Conners.
McIlroy remained competitive until the end of the day, but concluded with two double bogeys, finishing with a 72, marking the seventh consecutive occasion he didn't score below 70 in the Masters' opening round.
Casino.org interviewed Las Vegas bookmaker Johnny Avello regarding golf betting trends leading up to the Masters.
For Canadian players on DraftKings, McIlroy stands out as the top choice, capturing 17% of the overall handle and 10% of all wagers. Emerging talent Aberg isn't far behind, with 12% of the total handle coming in.
Rose holds a first-round lead for the fifth time in his career, more than anyone else, including Jack Nicklaus, who participated in a ceremonial tee-off earlier in the day along with fellow golfing legends Gary Player and Tom Watson. Rose has placed second twice at the Masters, and with numerous top 10 and top 25 finishes overall, appears to consistently be the bridesmaid but never the bride.
Conners, starting at +6000, is attracting consistent betting interest with 4% of the total handle.
Largest Golf Betting Event of the Year
Avello, the race and sportsbook director at DraftKings, states that although the odds are steep, Conners possesses the skills needed to secure a Masters victory.
Avello mentioned that one might assume the betting sector would experience a slowdown following the conclusion of the NCAA basketball tournament earlier this week. However, that hasn’t occurred – the Masters is the most wagered golf event of the year for DraftKings.
"A tournament like this – this is the Super Bowl. In-play wagering is huge now,” Avello said. “People don’t necessarily have to get in at the beginning. Or they may be in at the beginning, but they may find something else that they like that’s going on during the tournament or the way somebody’s playing, in a certain round, or they see something that shows that somebody has some promise to win a tournament.”
Avello mentioned that DraftKings provides hole-by-hole betting, which he claims has boosted the site’s in-game betting activity.
As the tournament approached, Avello mentioned that a significant portion of the money was wagered on amateur Noah Kent.
Look Out for the LIV Players
“Obviously, it doesn’t take much to get you to a pretty significant liability,” Avellow said, adding that golf bettors are savvy and know about players out there who are on the upswing.
Kent was at -2 after six holes on Thursday, ending the day with a score of +7. Akshay Bhatia is another rising star (-2 after the first hole in Round 2 Friday morning) that gamblers are watching closely.
However, Avello informed Casino.org that bettors are backing McIlroy (+1200 to win as of Friday morning). Absolutely, they did in Ontario.
“McIlroy is playing some of his best golf now,” he said.
Who possesses the greatest chance among the LIV tour golfers? Bryson DeChambeau, stated Avello. The strong player ended Thursday four strokes behind Rose.
“He hits the ball long and his game fits this course,” he said.
Tranquil Rose Leading the Tempo Up to Now
According to Avello, former champion Phil Mickelson, who is now 54, has also been accepting money.
“Who do they play to replace Tiger [Woods]?” he said. “Phil.”
"We take a lot of money on the tournament and there will be a lot more to come because of the end game and re-sets at the end of every day.”
Bettors may be overlooking LIV players such as DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka since LIV attracts fewer television viewers among golf fans. Attention has somewhat shifted away from those players due to their absence from the spotlight.
“[Jon] Rahm hasn’t been an interesting selection this week, and he always is,” Avello said. “Koepka has been taking money, but he doesn’t have us in red numbers. Maybe those guys aren’t getting the eyes on them on a daily basis, but people following the game are still in touch with the LIV players. They’re just not in the mainstream like they used to be.”
Avello stated that Scheffler is hitting well and escaping difficulties, so he’ll likely remain in contention throughout the weekend. DraftKings experienced significant betting activity on Colin Morikawa during the last 48 hours.
What About Corey Conners?
“I like [Collin] Morikawa’s game,” Avello said. “He’s a lot of left-to-right hitter, can’t hit that draw when he needs it, but he has such a great short game, so he should also be in the mix. [Russell] Henley has been solid in all categories all year, so he’s a guy [for bettors] to look at. [Hideki] Matsuyama has won here before. Speith has been struggling but he still has a good game. All of those guys would be in my top three.”
Next, there's Conners. Don't overlook the Canadian's appeal among gamblers as mere patriotism or sentiment.
Conners trails Rose by three shots as they approach Round 2. He starts his round at 12:22 p.m. EST on Friday.
“There’s maybe a little bit [of emotion among bettors], but the guy’s got good game,” Avello said. “He’s capable of winning the tournament. I think he’s a great golfer. He just hasn’t had his time yet.”
As of Friday, Conners has odds of +2000 at DraftKings to win the tournament.
The largest line changes at BetMGM Friday morning (from opening to current) are: Scheffler (+500 to +225), Aberg (+1400 to +600), and Rose (+10000 to +750).