It might not feel like spring across many parts of Canada, but golf season is about to kick into high gear with the 89th edition of the Masters being played later this week.
Ninety-five players will be teeing it up at Augusta National Golf Club this week for the first major championship of the 2025 season, but last year’s champion, Scottie Scheffler, is once again the betting favourite (around +450 odds) at online sportsbooks. Scheffler, currently No. 1 in the World Golf Rankings, is seeking his third green jacket and has never finished outside of the top 20 in his five starts at the event.
Scottie Scheffler to win the Masters
+450
Not far behind Scheffer in the outright betting markets is Rory McIlroy, who is desperate to complete his career grand slam of the golf majors with a win at Augusta this week. Most sportsbooks have the Irishman at +650 odds to finally claim a green jacket in his 17th Masters start. He finished T22 last year at Augusta and his best finish was second in 2022.
Here are a few Masters betting trends to consider before placing your wagers:
- Each of the past 10 winners had been in the top 30 in the World Golf Rankings.
- 15 of the past 16 winners had ranked inside the top 50 in driving distance.
- 12 of the past 14 winners had at least four professional wins worldwide.
- No first-timer has won the Masters since 1979 (Fuzzy Zoeller).
- 22 of the past 25 winners finished in the top 40 of the previous Masters.
- 21 of the past 26 winners had played in at least three previous Masters before their win at Augusta.
Notable Canadians in the field
Corey Conners (longest outright odds +5000 at Sports Interaction): Conners will be making his eighth Masters start after finishing T38 last year. He had a nice run at this course in 2022 and 2021, finishing T6 and T8, respectively. His form is solid right now, finishing in the top 18 in each of his last four events, including three top-10 results.
Taylor Pendrith (longest odds +12500 at bet365): Pendrith will be making his Masters debut, and he’s off to a solid start this season with four top-15 finishes. He’s also in fine recent form, posting a T5 result at the Texas Open at the end of March.
Nick Taylor (longest outright odds +25000 @ at Sports Interaction): Taylor will be making his third Masters start after missing the cut last year, but he did post a T29 result at Augusta in 2020, though. Taylor posted a win at the Sony Open in January but he’s missed the cut in back-to-back events heading into the Masters.
Mike Weir (longest odds +200000 at NorthStar Bets): It’s another victory lap for Weir at Augusta, and making the cut this year will be the goal of the 2003 champion, something he hasn’t done since 2020 when he finished T51.
Best outright odds
| Golfer | Sports Interaction odds | NorthStar Bets odds | bet365 odds |
| Scottie Scheffler | +450 | +450 | +450 |
| Rory McIlroy | +650 | +550 | +650 |
| Collin Morikawa | +1400 | +1200 | +1400 |
| Jon Rahm | +1400 | +1400 | +1400 |
| Bryson DeChambeau | +1600 | +1800 | +1600 |
| Ludvig Aberg | +2000 | +2000 | +1800 |
| Justin Thomas | +2200 | +2000 | +2200 |
| Xander Schauffele | +2200 | +2200 | +2000 |
| Joaquin Niemann | +2800 | +2800 | +2800 |
| Brooks Koepka | +3000 | +3500 | +3000 |
| Jordan Spieth | +3000 | +4000 | +3300 |
| Hideki Matsuyama | +3300 | +3000 | +2800 |
| Patrick Cantlay | +3300 | +3300 | +3300 |
| Shane Lowry | +3300 | +3300 | +3000 |
Three longshots to back
Russell Henley (+4500 to win at NorthStar Bets): I think we’re getting outstanding value on Henley here as a longshot at +4500. He’ll be making his ninth start at Augusta, with his best finish a T4 back in 2023. He’s made the cut in each of his last seven trips to Augusta, finishing in the top 15 in three of his last five starts there. Perhaps more importantly, Henley is off to a blistering start in 2025, notching a win last month at the Arnold Palmer and three other top-10 finishes. He’s also fitting the bill from an analytics perspective, ranking sixth in total strokes gained, 11th in driving accuracy, third in greens in regulation percentage, 10th in putting average, and fifth in scoring average on tour this season. Oh, and he’s a Georgia native that was born just two hours away from Augusta in Macon and played his collegiate golf at the University of Georgia.
Russell Henley to win the Masters
+4500
Will Zalatoris (+5500 to win at NorthStar Bets): Zalatoris will be making his fourth start at Augusta, and he’s finished inside the top 10 in all three of his previous appearances at the Masters, including a second-place finish in 2021. He’s been on the doorstep of winning a major championship for several years now, posting seven top-10 finishes in majors, including runner-up in both the PGA Championship and U.S. Open in 2022. He’s had a mediocre start to the 2025 season, but he’s made the cut in all seven events he’s played in, with his best result a T12 at The American Express in January. We like him as a longshot this week to win outright, but the better play might be on him to finish inside the top 10 at +400.
Sungjae Im (+12500 to win at NorthStar Bets). We’re going with Im for our deep sleeper pick this year. He’ll be making his sixth Masters start after posting three previous top-16 finishes at Augusta, including T8 in 2022 and T2 in 2020. The South Korean also has a pair of top-five finishes this season in addition to ranking very well in putting average (12th), putts per round (10th), and one-putt percentage (12th) on Tour. He hasn’t played particularly well lately, either missing the cut or finishing outside of the top 60 four times in his last five events, which is likely the reason he has such long odds this week. However, it’s not often you find a price this long on a player that’s had this much previous success at Augusta.