The start of April has arrived quicker than ever it seems and so has our US Masters 2017 Preview and Predictions column!
You know the drill, the Masters is the holy grail of Golf and the first major on the USPGA calendar.
Jack Nicklaus, six-time Masters champion in 1963, 1965, 1966, 1972, 1975, and 1986 calls Augusta Country Club, 655 Milledge Rd, Augusta, GA 30904, USA his second home.
The US Masters 2017 field looks to be a strong one although there are some question marks surrounding a few of the world’s top players.
Looking over the winners from the past 20 years (below) there is a surprisingly low amount who are legitimate contenders this coming weekend.
The layout around Augusta is as breathtaking as it is iconic and the tournament itself is on our list of top sporting events on the calendar year.
It truly is an event within an event, steeped in history and the ultimate golf pressure cooker.
Nobody has ever won the Masters after trailing by more than seven shots after the first round indicating that it’s tough to make up ground and with only six winning scores over -10 since 2003 there is no doubt Augusta is a challenging setup.
The odds and markets for this coming weekends Masters are up on all the major bookmaker sites with a few of the props and outrights active and taking bets for many weeks now.
Defending US Open champion Dustin Johnson is a very deserving favorite for the 2017 US Masters after winning his last three PGA starts.
Jordan Spieth had last years Masters at his mercy before stumbling late to let Danny Willett in the back door.
McIlroy’s story remains pretty much the same. If he putts well, he’ll contend.
Despite dealing with the illness of his Mother it appears Jason Day will take his place in the field.
The Masters website reported that Jason Day spent Friday and Saturday practicing at Augusta with caddie Col Swatton by his side and sounded upbeat:
“Obviously, we still have to wait to see (about) chemo,” Day said, “but we feel much better about things.”
Fellow Aussie Adam Scott missed the cut at the Houston Open and will need to turn things around with the putter quickly to compete.
With some question marks up the top and some highly competitive bookmaking going on we anticipate plenty of bets to come up later in the week once the groups are announced and props are finalized.
Looking at the current odds grid above, we can see some value in both Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth EW first six or seven while Rahm and Thomas look too short given the quality and experience around them.
Aussie Marc Leishman is putting very well and has a recent win to his name. He gets an EW ticket @ $70 as well!
Our 2017 US Masters predicted Champion: Jordan Spieth
All of our Punting Stars bets for the weekend will be summarized and added to an article later in the week (likely Wednesday).
Who’s your tip for this years Masters? Let us know on either Twitter or Facebook!