Ohioans who have taken up legal online sports betting since Jan. 1 have already noticed how before the Super Bowl and during March Madness, the sportsbooks are ready with plenty of promotional offers tied to the biggest events.
Savvy customers know that the odds boosts and bonus bet offers don’t guarantee they will win money, but that making use of them can cut into the standard house advantage by which the sportsbooks stay in business.
And that’s where The Masters comes into play this week, as the biggest betting event on the golf calendar. Eighty-eight of the world’s top players tee off starting Thursday morning at Augusta National Golf Club, seeking the green jacket given to the winner of the year’s first golf major.
FanDuel listed defending champion Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy Wednesday morning with the top odds to win the tournament at +700 each, followed by Jon Rahm at +950, Jordan Spieth at +1700, and Patrick Cantlay at +1800.
But picking a tournament winner is only one of a myriad of betting opportunities. You can get odds on whether players finish top five or top 20, whether they make the cut, how they do head-to-head in pairings, whether there will be a playoff, whether there will be a hole in one, the best finish by a European or lefty or senior or first-timer, and much, much more.
And because of the wide interest in him, many of the sportsbooks have special bet offers oriented around Tiger Woods, playing in just his second tournament of 2023 after tying for 45th in February’s Genesis Invitational.
As Bob Harig writes, while the impending weather conditions will test Tiger’s physical fitness, he feels confident leading into the 2023 Masters Tournament. #themasters https://t.co/JfCbaLeyFw
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 5, 2023
Outlining the different promotions
FanDuel is one of the sites with Tiger specials, though one should deliberate carefully before seizing upon any.
Aside from questions about Woods’ durability and performance after injuries, there are comparative odds to weigh — such as FanDuel offering +380 for him to have a bogey-free round, whereas DraftKings makes the same bet a far more lucrative +700. And perhaps needless to say, it’s hard for anyone to have a bogey-free round on the slick and slopy greens of Augusta.
Woods is also part of a group of FanDuel options called the “Ringer Masters Specials,” where it’s advertising what it says is a 50% profit boost from normal odds. As one example, it boosts odds from -125 to +120 for any two of Woods, Spieth, or Collin Morikawa to finish in the top 20. We’re not recommending that bet, but at least +120 is better than -125 for those who think so.
With a more general promotion that’s hard to question, FanDuel also has “Augusta Winner Insurance,” where a pre-tournament bet on the winner will result in a refund of up to $25 in bonus bets if the player loses but finishes in the top 20.
BetRivers has a similar bonus bet reward, except the player chosen has to finish in the top 10 instead of top 20 to trigger the bonus bets.
Barstool Sportsbook has a variation of that with its “Round 1 Best Score Bonus,” where you pick (for $25 or more) who will lead after the first round, and if you’re wrong, a $10 bonus bet is awarded so long as the player is under par on Thursday.
DraftKings is advertising a +300 “odds surge” on any golfer to win, at a maximum bet of $25. For instance, the sportsbook’s normal odds on Justin Thomas sit at +2200, but if you bet him before the tournament starts, the return will be boosted to +2500.
A few sportsbooks are still more generous, rewarding you just for taking the time (and money) to place a wager with them. BetMGM entices anyone to just bet $20 on The Masters in order to receive a $10 bonus bet.
MVGBet, meanwhile, offers a $10 bonus bet to anyone who bets at least $25 before the tournament on who will win, and that $10 bet is awarded “win or lose.”
Almost any prop bet imaginable
Similar to how the prop bet opportunities on the Super Bowl get multiplied exponentially compared to regular football games, The Masters carries that same status among golf tourneys.
It’s always fun to see a hole in one in any golf tournament, and the par 3 16th at Augusta gets a lot more attention than most par 3 holes. At FanDuel, you can bet that the hole will see an ace at some point in the tournament by any golfer at -122.
Alternatively, you can pick a certain golfer to get an ace on any hole, such as Hideki Matsuyama at 80/1. (That’s another bet we’re not recommending, not because of him — because it’s so rare.)
You can bet on whether there will be a playoff. There have been 17 in the tournament’s history but none since 2017, and DraftKings prices it at +300 for one in 2023.
Many of the sites have playoff odds, but DraftKings may be unique with one option: Bet that either Scheffler, McIlroy, or Rahm will win — at a price of +190 for any to do so — or take “the field” at -280. There are plenty of good golfers, remember, among the 85 who aren’t one of the three favorites.
And because it’s 2023, there’s a type of bet that never existed before, taking into account the participation of high-level golfers who defected in the past year from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf. There are 18 competitors who fit that category, including top names such as Cameron Smith, Dustin Johnson, and Patrick Reed.
At FanDuel, you can take all the LIV golfers for +500, or everyone else in the field for -850.
Photo: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
