Masters 2024 Picks & Predictions: Norwegian Undervalued at Augusta National

The first major championship of the golf season is here, and our 2024 Masters picks will have you covered throughout the tournament.

Augusta National Golf Course is steeped in tradition and it’s that familiarity with the track and shared memories of the triumphs and defeats that annually welcomes in spring and begins the true golf season for so many.

The Masters odds lists have World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler at the top with the 2022 winner followed by Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Xander Schauffele, and Brooks Koepka. Rahm will look to defend his 2023 title, while the other three will look to don the Green Jacket for the first time following their respective past close calls.

With golf futures picks for Brooks Koepka (+2,000) and Joaquin Niemann (+5,000) in my Masters portfolio already, there's still room to flush out my betting card from the entire golf odds lists.

Below, I bring you a favorite, a sleeper, and a longshot worth adding to your free golf picks. 

2024 Masters outright picks

• Favorite: Viktor Hovland (+3,500 at DraftKings)
• Sleeper: Patrick Reed (+7,500 at FanDuel)
• Longshot: Nick Taylor (+27,000 at FanDuel)

Picks were made on 4/8/2024 at 11:00 a.m. ET.

Best 2024 Masters outright picks

Among the favorites: Viktor Hovland (+3,500)

While there’s no sugarcoating that Viktor Hovland’s around-the-green play has fallen off the map this season, it’s also the only reason we’re receiving odds this long.

The world-class ball-striker skipped the Texas swing to focus solely on conquering Augusta National this week, and if his tee game and approach play are in top form, it’ll mitigate potential chipping woes.

Let’s not forget: the reigning FedEx Cup winner took down three stacked-field events and carded Top-20 results at all four majors, including a T7 at Augusta National last year. Hovland might not be able to flip a switch entirely to fend off his long-time kryptonite, but again, it might not even matter because the rest of his game is elite.

There’s already a gap in the available odds and I’m expecting Hovland’s price to shrink leading into Round 1. The difference in the +3,500 DraftKings price and the +2,200 Caesars odds is a positive expected value of 55%.

Pick: Viktor Hovland to win outright (+3,500 at DraftKings)
Pick: Viktor Hovland Top 20 (+110 at BetRivers)

Sleeper to watch: Patrick Reed (+7,500)

A lackluster start to the 2024 LIV Golf season has Patrick Reed carrying an inflated price heading into the season's first major.

The 2018 Masters winner has carded another three Top-10 results since, including last year’s T4 when he finished third in true strokes gained around-the-green, sixth in true strokes tee-to-green, and 11th in true strokes gained putting.

It's also encouraging that he gained strokes on the field in medium and short approaches and on the greens during his T9 showing at LIV Miami this weekend, and he also finished T4 at the Asian Tour’s Macau event in March. His elite short game, ability to play difficult tracks, and course history aren’t priced correctly as of Monday morning.

There is also a nice edge in the available odds. Reed is trading at +6,500 through DraftKings, so we’re landing a positive expected value of 14% with the +7,500 FanDuel price.

Pick: Patrick Reed to win outright (+7,500 at FanDuel, 0.25 units)
Pick: Patrick Reed Top 30 (-105 at DraftKings)

Longshot worth a look: Nick Taylor (+27,000)

There's a gigantic gap in the available odds for Nick Taylor, with FanDuel hanging a monster +27,000 number compared to the +15,000 bet365 price. The four-time PGA Tour winner finished T29 in his lone Masters appearance during the 2020 fall event and his career trajectory has been straight up since.

Because this is more of a value bet based on the numbers, I’m recommending a small wager (0.1 units) in the outright market accompanied by betting Taylor to finish Top 40 at +100 through DraftKings with a 0.5 unit bet.

While Taylor is the definition of a flier ahead of the 2024 Masters, he’s still doing a lot right heading into the event with true strokes gained on approach in each tournament this season and true strokes gained putting in seven of nine.

And for good measure, the difference in the +27,000 FanDuel odds and +15,000 bet365 price is a titanic positive expected value of 90%.

Pick: Nick Taylor to win outright (+27,000 at FanDuel, 0.1 units)
Pick: Nick Taylor Top 40 (+100 at DraftKings, 0.5 units)

2024 Masters live odds

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