One of the most anticipated rounds of golf — today's opening round at the Masters — is officially in the books.
Sungjae Im leads the way at 5-under with Cameron Smith, Dustin Johnson, and others a shot or two behind on a leaderboard that looks eerily similar to that of the 2020 November Masters.
Now, we turn our heads to Friday's second round and give you a three-ball's worth of best plays.
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2022 Masters Round 2 picks
Picks were made on 4/7/2022 at 9:00 p.m. ET.
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Best 2022 Masters Round 2 picks
Justin Thomas (-120) over Hideki Matsuyama/James Piot
Tiger Woods notwithstanding, few golfers came into the week with more pressure and expectations than Justin Thomas.
But those expectations came to a screeching halt after his opening-round 4-over 76. His putter was surprisingly good, but JT struck the ball about as poorly as he could have, losing more than 2.5 strokes to the field on approach — only six guys were worse on Thursday.
Now — at risk of missing the cut — Thomas has a bit of a mountain to climb to get back into the mix for the weekend and I expect him to answer the call.
Normally one of the Tour's most dominant and consistent iron players, JT will have a much better ball-striking day that will lead to much better birdie opportunities. It will just be a matter of cashing in.
Hideki did shoot an even-par 72 Thursday but did a ton of that work scrambling. No other area of his game appeared in form as he still nurses the neck injury that forced him to withdraw from last week's Valero Texas Open. The third man in this group, American amateur James Piot, shot a 9-over 81 and most likely won't be a factor.
Back Thomas to bounceback on Friday in what is essentially a two-man race.
Best odds: -120 at Betway
Patrick Cantlay Outright (+1,300)
With most of the late-evening eyes on Sungjae Im, Dustin Johnson, and Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay managed to fly a little under the radar — as he often does.
After being just 1-over through 12 holes, Cantlay reeled off three birdies in his last six, moving himself to 2-under and well within striking distance of Sungjae Im at the top of the leaderboard.
He ranked eighth on approach and eighth tee-to-green Thursday but was just average on and around the greens — two areas he often thrives in (21st in putting, 16th around the greens on Tour this season).
He's only three shots back entering Round 2 and when you account for his putter that can get hot at a moment's notice, these 13/1 odds start to look rather appetizing.
Best odds: +1,300 at FanDuel
Corey Conners (-120) over Bubba Watson
The Canadian Corey Conners is proving once again why he's a threat at Augusta National.
He's finished inside the Top 10 in his two Masters tries and is on pace to do so once again after carding a 2-under 70 on Thursday.
For Round 2, DraftKings has him matched up with two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson and while Bubba actually posted a solid 1-over 73 in his opening round, this matchup should still lean heavily in the Canadian's favor, even more than the -120 odds suggests.
Conners lead the field Thursday in strokes gained around the green and ranked fourth tee-to-green. While Bubba was solid himself (28th tee-to-green), he can't be trusted to duplicate that type of ball-striking at this stage of his career — even at Augusta. And if he does, he still lost this matchup today by three shots.
Not only will Conners generate better birdie chances, but he'll also do it much more often. Back him to keep rolling on Friday.
Best odds: -120 at DraftKings
2022 Masters odds
This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks in your region. Odds are best used between rounds. When available, our fair line is updated once per hour between 6 a.m. ET and 11 p.m. ET.
