Hello Friends.

It's that time again. It's time for the best week of the year. The Magnolias and Dogwoods are blooming. The Azaleas are flourishing. It's a tradition unlike any other...it's time for The Masters.

Who's year will it be?



Tiger Woods (+900)

He's back, and the betting favorite. Can he overcome the first tee yips and stay out of the 9th fairway?



Rory McIlroy (+900)

He's hot. Coming off of a win at the 2018 Arnie Invitational, Rory could potentially finally conquer Augusta once and for all.



Justin Thomas (+1000)

Possibly the hottest golfer on the planet right now, Thomas has been in contention week after week for months. It will be shocking if he's not somewhere in the final few groups on Sunday.



Dustin Johnson (+1200)

He's the #1 ranked player in the world. T4 in 2016 and missed last year's tournament. He's going to be hungry for this one.



Jordan Spieth (+1200)

Nobody has dominated Augusta National in the last four years like Jordan Spieth. After a disappointing Sunday last year, Spieth will be ready to reclaim his position in the final group on Sunday and add another green jacket to his closet.



Justin Rose (+1400)

After a long history at Augusta, Rose has been closer than ever in the last three years. Last year, missed a putt on the 72nd hole that would have won the green jacket. He has two runner-up finishes, is now the time?



Bubba Watson (+1600)

Augusta National fits Bubba's eye and his two wins at Augusta are proof of that. Coming off a recent win at the match play, Bubba might join a super-elite club of people who have won 3 green jackets.



Phil Mickelson (+1600)

Phil has three jackets, so even though he is no longer in his prime, Augusta National is a place where he will be contending for years to come. And he's got a win in 2018, so we could see lefty with some Sunday magic this year.

And finally, my darkhorse pick for this year. This is where my betting money is going:



The Course

We all know the course, but I doubt I'll ever be sick of looking at it.









































Who knows what kind of magic and wonder awaits us this year?



Will Condoleezza Rice be selling pimento cheese sandwiches?



Will the spirit of Arnold Palmer make an appearance to drop a leaf in someone's line?



Will an announcer commit a faux pas and get himself banned from The Masters for life?

I can't wait to find out!

The 2018 Masters is officially underway! Have fun!

Is that Bubba's mother or wife?

daughter

Would chop of my little toe to play this course.

Charley Hoffman is the obvious correct answer at 80/1.

There is just something special about old courses with huge mature trees. Where sometimes you can't see another hole. When you get on a tee and it feels like you are driving out of a tunnel. Those courses are my favorites. Hard to find down here - but that is exactly why Augusta is so special.

What a great week

I like the Hoffman pick.

In for an epic Masters.

Where did you get your odds though? I don't see Tiger as the betting favorite or under +1000 nor have I at any point.

bovada

Nice work on the OP. Thanks.

Ton of great players rounding into form. Should be epic.

Swashbuckling lefties FTW.

Nice job OP.

It is so tough to pick a winner because these guys seem to turn on a dime, recent form doesn't seem to mean much. Rory looked terrible recently... then he won. DJ has looked mortal lately, but tough to bet against him. Spieth had a pretty good putting week in Houston but not ready to say he's back yet.

I like the Euros this week. Casey, Noren, and Rose are 3 of the steadiest players on tour. Kuchar is a solid pick also, always seems to be in contention most weeks, and like the 3 Euros he's mentally strong. Rarely has a meltdown or shoots himself out of it on Thursday.

My long-shot is Henley because he is streaky with the putter and putting wins the Masters.

I'm really liking the following guys this week:
Kuchar
Phil
Rahm
Perez

A Perez win would be interesting. That would have to be the Masters committee's worst nightmare. I like Hoffman for a dark horse pick though.

Speith was -3.2 strokes gained putting in houston. +13 tee to green. If he can put half ass decent I think he crushes again.

A+ OP!

One missing notable player though:

Masters YouTube has every final round broadcast since 68. Been watching some. I remember him being bad, but man venturi was just the worst. He almost ruins the telecasts.

OK - heres to Jason Day and Rickie Fowler running good!!!!!!!!!

Great OP

Masters so GOAT

Few good ones...

I was in Vegas for the first weekend of March Madness and I was able to get a few bets in:

Kuchar at 50/1
Stenson at 40/1
Rose at 20/1

I just want to have someone to cheer for coming down the stretch and these guys are getting into form at the right time

87 is the smallest Masters field since 1997 (86). We all remember what happened in 1997.

Here’s your full list of first round tee times. All times are ET.

8:30 a.m.: Austin Cook, Ted Potter Jr., Wesley Bryan
8:41 a.m.: Ian Woosnam, Ryan Moore, Jhonattan Vegas
8:52 a.m.: Mike Weir, Brendan Steele, Matt Parziale
9:03 a.m.: Jose Maria Olazabal, Kevin Chappell, Dylan Frittelli
9:14 a.m.: Bryson DeChambeau, Bernd Wiesberger, Matthew Fitzpatrick
9:25 a.m.: Mark O’Meara, Brian Harman, Harry Ellis
9:36 a.m.: Vijay Singh, Satoshi Kodaira, Daniel Berger
9:47 a.m.: Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Pat Perez, Francesco Molinari
9:58 a.m.: Danny Willett, Kyle Stanley, Jason Dufner
10:09 a.m.: Hideki Matsuyama, Patton Kizzire, Paul Casey
10:31 a.m.: Zach Johnson, Martin Kaymer, Branden Grace
10:42 a.m.: Tiger Woods, Marc Leishman, Tommy Fleetwood
10:53 a.m.: Sergio Garcia, Justin Thomas, Doc Redman
11:04 a.m.: Bubba Watson, Henrik Stenson, Jason Day
11:15 a.m.: Patrick Reed, Charley Hoffman, Adam Hadwin
11:26 a.m.: Billy Horschel, Chez Reavie, Cameron Smith
11:37 a.m.: Sandy Lyle, Si Woo Kim, Doug Ghim
11:48 a.m.: Trevor Immelman, Ian Poulter, Patrick Cantlay
11:59 a.m.: Angel Cabrera, Ross Fisher, Jimmy Walker
12:10 p.m.: Fred Couples, Hao Tong Li, Joaquin Niemann
12:32 p.m.: Larry Mize, Russell Henley, Shubhankar Sharma
12:43 p.m.: Bernhard Langer, Tony Finau, Yuta Ikeda
12:54 p.m.: Charl Schwartzel, Webb Simpson, Yuxin Lin
1:05 p.m.: Kevin Kisner, Thomas Pieters, Xander Schauffele
1:16 p.m.: Gary Woodland, Yusaku Miyazato, Tyrrell Hatton
1:27 p.m.: Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler, Matt Kuchar
1:38 p.m.: Adam Scott, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm
1:49 p.m.: Jordan Spieth, Alex Noren, Louis Oosthuizen
2 p.m.: Justin Rose, Dustin Johnson, Rafael Cabrera-Bello

Interesting pairings and time slots. I have always wondered if having a 10:30 to 12:00 start time on the first day was an advantage because you don't have much of a change for day two. Or does late the first day and early the second day have the advantage? I would think early first day and late day two would be the least optimal slot.

That's not how Thursday/Friday tee times work. Instead of inverting the tee times, the early wave Thursday goes off in the same order late on Friday, and vice versa. For example, on Friday: Billy Horschel will tee off first, Justin Rose will go off at 11:04, followed by Austin Cook at 11:15, and then Patrick Reed at 2:00 on Friday.

Just asked my mate tonight during our quiz-night outing to add a £1 each way bet for me on Poulter when he goes to the bookies in the morning.

I haven't ever made a bookies sports bet outside of fun bets on the Grand National before.

GL Poults!