With the start of May nearly upon us, we're closing in on being six months away -- yes, you read that right -- from the 2020 Masters Tournament.
What is traditionally the first men's major of four in the calendar year is now scheduled to be the last of three men's majors played in a year unlike any other. Augusta National Golf Club will host a field of 96 players from Nov. 12-15, and the event will be played on the back end of what is tentatively set to be a very busy summer and early fall.
Before players drive down Magnolia Lane, they will have potentially played in the PGA Championship, which is scheduled for August in San Francisco; the FedEx Cup playoffs, which end on Labor Day in Atlanta; and the US Open in September at Winged Foot in New York.
This conceivably means players will be in the end phase of their season. Players could either be finding their way into form just in the nick of time or be so tired from several months of non-stop golf that they will wilt under Masters pressure.
Right now, though, 2020 Masters betting odds are looking at a market that's largely representative of how the odds would have looked earlier in the month were the Masters played on its originally planned dates. With a break in the PGA Tour schedule of at least three months, it makes sense to default betting odds based on what was showed in 2020 on the PGA Tour and in recent memory at Masters past.
The good news, in our view, is that our picks and golf betting tips from other reputable sources can clue you in now to some potential values with higher odds who may -- may -- be a great long-shot play come November.
Here are some names in particular that we like with how the odds stand now.
Sungjae Im is getting 50-to-1 to win the Masters in November. He is a Masters rookie, and no Augusta National debutante has won since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979, but there are a few things working in Im's favor. First, he's already won on the PGA Tour this year, taking The Honda Classic on difficult conditions as a follow-up to his Rookie of the Year campaign in the season prior. He's also an absolute machine, playing 35 events last season. While he slowed down some in the current season, he should have the stamina to keep playing high-pressure tournaments in a condensed schedule.
Tyrrell Hatton is an English bloke who isn't getting nearly enough respect for his game. He won the Arnold Palmer Invitational back in March for his biggest win to date, but he's been putting up great finishes in the majors for the last four years. He has five top-10 finishes in his last 14 major starts. Taking out four missed cuts in a bizarre 2017, he's been in the top 10 in half of his recent major starts. Getting 66-to-1 on a top-25 player is a great opportunity.
Webb Simpson has taken his time in figuring out how to play Augusta National, but last year he notched a career-best T-5 finish. He now has back-to-back top-20 finishes in the event. Meanwhile, Simpson has been in the midst of the best run of his career over the last 18 competitive months. He's a major winner and a Players champion. He can win another major.
