When the Augusta National Golf Club welcomes the players for the 2023 Masters, there will be plenty of fans tuning in to see if they have backed the right player for this year’s tournament. Some of the most impressive golfers in the world will be heading to Augusta for the contest, some of whom have had good luck on this course in the past, and some with a score to settle.
Some of the biggest names ever to grace this exclusive golf course include:
- Tiger Woods
- Jimmy Demaret
- Sam Snead
- Gary Player
- Nick Faldo
- Phil Mickelson
- Arnold Palmer
- Jack Niklaus
This year will see the title go to a player who will be following in some pretty impressive footsteps. Fewer golfers are invited to the Masters than any other major tournament, so there are fewer than a hundred spots up for grabs.
Among the golfers with the best masters odds are:
Jon Rahm
One of the favorites to win this year, Jon Rahm made a name for himself when he topped the World Amateur Golf Rankings for a record-breaking sixty consecutive weeks. He went on to take the number one slot in the Official World Golf Ranking when he won the Memorial Tournament.
Rahm was also the first Spanish golfer to win the US Open, in 2021, proving himself once again, and in 2022 he won the Mexico Open, the acconia Open de Espagña, and the DP World Tour Championship. 2023 is already shaping up to be a promising year for Rahm who has already won The Sentry Tournament of Champions, The American Express, and the Genesis Invitational.
His excellent form and impressive record make Jon Rahm a top contender for this year’s Open.
Rory McIlroy
Having recently been heavily involved in the PGA Tour, McIlroy himself says that he is looking forward to playing in this year’s Masters, during which he will get the chance to play against some of the leading lights of the golfing world. McIlroy’s recent work has involved a lot of input into the way the PGA operates, so fans will be eager to see if he can achieve as much on the course as he does in the boardroom.
If he wins this tournament, he will be only the sixth champion to complete a grand slam, and his form on the course suggests that this could be a real possibility. McIlroy himself has said that he believes he can do his record justice by putting the administrative side of things on the back burner and focussing on his game.
Scottie Scheffler
Having played since he was three, Scottie Scheffler’s commitment to the sport saw him racking up victories as soon as he began playing, with seventy-five wins on the PGA Junior circuit. He won three state titles while attending high school, was a roaring success in a number of American Junior Golfing Association events, and took the top spot at the US Junior Amateur event in 2013.
He began playing on the PGA Tour in 2014, with his sister Callie caddying for him, and he made a hole-in-one in the third round, proving his ability to remain calm under pressure. Since then, he has played for the University of Texas and was a member of the US team at the 2017 Walker Cup.
All these achievements stood him in good stead to win the Masters in 2022 shortly after he reached the top of the World Golf Rankings and stayed there for thirty-one weeks. The odds of him winning this year are pretty favorable, although as defending champion he will be under considerable pressure to retain the title against objectively stiff competition.
Cameron Smith
He began playing when he was two, so it’s no surprise that Cameron Smith has become one of the most promising golfers in the tournament. Hailing from Australia, he spent his formative years at a country club to the north of Brisbane.
Smith has played at some of the world’s most prestigious events including:
- CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters
- CIMB Classic
- RBC Heritage
- 2015 US Open
- 2016 Masters Tournament
- Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship
- Zurich Classic of New Orleans
Recently, Cameron Smith has been attracting fans’ attention with his success at the 2022 Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii, breaking the PGA Tour record for the course and inching just one shot ahead of Jon Rahm. He won the 150th Open Championship in July and was declared PGA Player of the year, before taking first place in the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship for the third time.
With so many strong players in the competition, it may not be easy to pick a winner, but keeping an eye on the odds is a great way to get some insight into the players’ chances of winning.
