Brooks Koepka is currently on the mend, and he won’t tee it up this week at the winners-only Sentry Tournament of Champions. But the world No. 1 will still carry the title of Masters betting favorite into the new year.
Koepka has won four of the last 11 majors played, and last year he was a runner-up at Augusta National behind Tiger Woods. Despite the fact that Koepka hasn’t played since injuring his knee at the CJ Cup in October, he is currently listed as a 9/1 favorite to slip into a green jacket in April, according to oddsmakers at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook.
Those odds are down significantly from April, when the Westgate opened Koepka at 16/1 to win the 2020 Masters. At that point those odds put him behind a group that included Jordan Spieth (14/1), though Koepka’s odds continued to drop as he completed a summer with top-4 finishes in all four majors.
Betting on the 2020 Masters began shortly after Woods finished off his improbable run to a fifth green jacket, so it’s not surprising that oddsmakers installed him as an 8/1 favorite to repeat at the time. But while Koepka’s number improved, Woods’ odds faded slightly as he struggled with form in the wake of a 15th major title. Entering the new year fresh off a win at the Zozo Championship and a successful stint as playing captain at the Presidents Cup, Woods is listed at 12/1 and behind only two players.
Those two players ahead of Woods would be Koepka and Rory McIlroy, who edged Koepka for PGA Tour Player of the Year honors and will once again attempt to round out the final leg of the career Grand Slam. McIlroy opened at 12/1 in April shortly after his win at The Players, and after adding three more victories including the FedExCup he’s now listed at 10/1.
Several other players have experienced noticeable improvements to their Masters odds over the last eight months. Jon Rahm has gone from 18/1 to 14/1, while Patrick Cantlay’s odds have been cut in half from 40/1 to 20/1. Viktor Hovland, who was low amateur last year at Augusta National, has gone from 100/1 to 60/1 despite the fact that he has not yet qualified for the event.
Of course, some players’ chances have gone in the opposite direction. Francesco Molinari nearly won his first Masters in 2019 but his odds have since doubled, going from 25/1 to 50/1. The same can be said for Matt Kuchar, who has drifted from 40/1 to 80/1, while 2017 champ Sergio Garcia has gone from 60/1 all the way to 100/1.
Here’s a look at some of the notable odds for the first major of the new year, which is now barely more than four months away:
9/1: Brooks Koepka
10/1: Rory McIlroy
12/1: Tiger Woods
14/1: Jon Rahm
18/1: Justin Thomas, Justin Rose, Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson
20/1: Jordan Spieth, Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele
30/1: Tommy Fleetwood
40/1: Bryson DeChambeau, Jason Day, Tony Finau, Adam Scott
50/1: Phil Mickelson, Francesco Molinari, Hideki Matsuyama, Bubba Watson
60/1: Gary Woodland, Webb Simpson, Patrick Reed, Louis Oosthuizen, Paul Casey, Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa
80/1: Matt Kuchar, Henrik Stenson, Marc Leishman
100/1: Sergio Garcia, Danny Willett, Shane Lowry, Sungjae Im, Cameron Champ, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Kevin Kisner, Matthew Wolff