2009 Masters Picks & Betting Odds
In just a couple days the best golfers in the world will be putting their game to the test at the 2009 Masters. The Masters is the first of four majors played during each golf calendar year, but is the only major played at the same site every year. Augusta National Golf Club has been the home of the Masters for many years, and will likely be the home for many years to come. The past two Masters champions have come out of no where to win the event. Zach Johnson surprised everyone in 2007 and last year Trevor Immelman did the same. There was one very familiar face at the top of the leaderboard the past two years, and that was no other than Tiger Woods, who is coming off 3 straight top 3 finishes here at Augusta. Speaking of Tiger, this is going to be his first major championship appearance since winning the US Open last year, as he sat our most of last year and some of this year nursing a knee injury. To help you get going on the tournament this week, I have broken down the field into the contenders, pretenders, and a few sleepers I feel could follow in the foot steps of Johnson and Immelman.
Contenders: Tiger Woods +220, Phil Mickelson +800, Geoff Ogilvy +1000, Padraig Harrington +1500, Retief Goosen and Zach Johnson +3500
There is no question with what Woods and Mickelson bring to this event, as they combined to win this event 6 times in their brilliant careers, and really dominated through 2001-2006 winning 5 times in that 6 year period. Next you have to talk about Harrington and his quest to win all 4 majors in a row, and with a win at the Masters this week, he will be a win at the US Open from doing just that. Ogilvy has been so consistent to start the season, and for the 2nd time in his career he comes into the Masters with a win at the Accenture Match Play Championship. Both Goosen and Johnson have wins already this season, and both of these guys have played well here at Augusta. It would come to no surprise if any of these 6 guys were being handed the green jacket this weekend, and the more that are in contention the better the tournament will be
Pretenders: Ernie Els +3000, Sergio Garcia +2500, Kenny Perry +6000, Camilo Villegas +4000, Vijay Singh +6000, Trevor Immelman +10000
While there are some really good golfers in this group, things just don’t add up for a strong showing this weekend at Augusta. After playing well at the Masters from 2000-04 , Els has really struggled here lately and has failed to make the cut each of the last two years. Garcia will likely stay majorless this week, as he has failed to make the cut in 3 of the past four years here at Augusta. The same could be said for Villegas and Perry, and after that story book win last year, Immelman has been off the map, finishing in the top 10 just once. Singh is normally a solid pick to play well at Augusta, as he hasn’t finished worse than tied for 18th since winning the whole thing back in 2000, but he comes in banged up and no where near the form needed to play well here.
Sleepers: Paul Casey +2500, Rory Mcllroy +2500, and Brandt Snedeker +12500
I like all 3 of these guys to play well here this weekend, and it starts with Casey, who finally broke through with his first PGA Tour win last week at the Shell Houston Open. Casey has played well at the Masters in his brief career, finishing tied for 6th in 2004, tied for 10th in 2007 and a tie for 11th a year ago. Mcllroy will be making his Masters debut, and the youngster is something special. I would be completely shocked if this guy doesn’t have a couple green jackets before its all said and done. The real sleeper is Snedeker, in his 2nd ever start at Augusta last year he finished tied for 3rd and it just seems like his game fits well for this course. The 2007 Rookie of the Year has not had a great start to the 2009 season, but is coming off his best start of the season at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and I think he is ready for a big showing this weekend at the Masters.
