Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy plays a shot on the 7th hole during a practice round. REUTERS Now that the monkey is off Rory McIlroy’s back, the world No. 2 can arrive at Augusta without his lingering completion of a Grand Slam headlining the Masters.
The reigning champion of the Green Jacket opened with 13/1 odds to go back-to-back as opposed to his +650 price last year.
McIlroy’s price has stretched since last year, when he opened with a +650 tag despite a history of struggling through Thursday and Friday rounds in years past.
The world’s No. 1 player, Scottie Scheffler, opened as the outright favorite to win for the fifth consecutive year, reflecting +550 odds at FanDuel Sportsbook.
For as much chalk as Scheffler brings every week, if you bet on golf even moderately, you know he’s a threat to pocket the purse on most Sundays.
Scheffler followed through with that billing when he won the Masters in 2022 and 2024.
So, three of the last four Green Jackets have been donned by the top-two players in golf. The Masters is the biggest golf betting event of the year, and books are going to charge a pretty penny for names that the public is most comfortable with investing its money in.
It’s been a chalky tournament recently, with the winner closing at 16/1 or shorter before Thursday in seven straight years. Either player presents reasonable arguments as an outright target again.
But if you’re looking to include Scheffler and McIlroy in your Masters wagering this week, there are some more value-driven routes to wagering on them.
All eyes will be on how much verve McIlroy’s game brings now that the final frontier has been conquered.
Last year was a busy one for the latest of six Grand Slam winners: He also won THE PLAYERS, AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, and Irish Open, along with leading Europe to a Ryder Cup victory.
McIlroy has made 14 of 17 Masters cuts and in all four of the events he’s played in this year.
That doesn’t mean the hangover from last year’s triumph can’t still influence his return to the blooming azaleas.
McIlroy’s last cut was in the RBC Canadian Open last June. In the PGA Championship — the event he played before that — McIlroy spoke about how finding motivation was difficult following “climbing his Everest” after finishing T47.
He followed that Major Championship disappointment with a top-20 and top-10 finish at the U.S. Open and the British Open, respectively, but after all, Augusta is historically McIlroy’s most vexing challenge of the four events.
McIlroy hasn’t played since a T47 finish in THE PLAYERS one month ago, so for a price this lucrative, it’s worth punting on a lethargic start from the Irishman with a small wager.
I find it amusing that people are calling Scheffler’s start to 2026 “slow” despite already notching one win and another pair of top-five finishes under his belt. He hasn’t finished outside of the top 25 in six starts.
Scottie Scheffler of the United States plays a shot from the 11th hole tee box during a practice round prior to the 2026 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 06, 2026 in Augusta, Georgia. Getty Images He’s the Tour’s sixth-ranked player in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green in 2026, the number to look for in bogey shaving. Thursday greens are generally more receptive, and pin placement can be more accessible — at least as opposed to Sunday.
There’s a reason this guy has won two Green Jackets in six Masters starts, and it’s always hitting the gas pedal with stellar first rounds.
Scheffler hasn’t recorded a bogey in the first round of the Masters since 2023, and he’s only carded seven total.
He’s 17 under throughout all of his career first rounds at Augusta.
Sean Treppedi handicaps the NFL, NHL, MLB and college football for the New York Post. He primarily focuses on picks that reflect market value while tracking trends to mitigate risk.
