The U.S. Masters

The U.S. Masters in the only major to be played at the same venue every year. Augusta is a magnificent course which plays very fast and this favours some players more than others.

To encourage players to play at the Houston open which is the event before the Masters they have tailored the course to play in a very similar way that Augusta plays, so you can expect the players who have performed well at the Houston Open to also perform well at the Masters.

Charl Schwartzel won the Masters last year however he has not played well since winning the Masters and did not even manage to make the cut in this year’s Houston Open, so while he may have won last year I do not expect him to repeat this year.

The U.S. Masters is especially interesting because in the case of this event, statistics play an even more crucial role than they do when reviewing other events because it is more likely that a golfer who has played well in this event historically will continue to do so.

With that in mind I must mention the record that Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson have in this event. Both players combined have won six out of the last ten tournaments and both have only finished outside the top ten twice in the last ten years. With Tiger returning to his previous glory and winning the Arnold Palmer invitational it is clear to see why he is favourite for the Masters at 9/2.

However, Mickelson is also playing well this year; he won the AT&T at Pebble Beach and as of today he has put in another good performance at the Houston Open. Surprisingly you can still get Mickelson at 10/1 with most bookmakers and it is hard to imagine that he will finish outside the top ten so an each way bet at 10/1 certainly seems like good value.

Two outsiders to consider might be Hunter Mahan and Webb Simpson. Hunter Mahan has performed fantastically this year making the cut in all six tournaments he has played in; not only that he is also performing excellently in the Houston Open which will work in his favour next week.

Like Mahan, Simpson has also been very consistent making the cut in all seven tournaments he has played in and, while he is yet to win a tournament this season, you can expect him to put in another solid performance next week.

Whomever you choose to bet on it should certainly be one of the most entertaining Masters in years, so enjoy the event!