Three of golf’s biggest superstars are on top of the leaderboard as the Masters enters the weekend. As Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau and Scottie Scheffler chase leader Justin Rose, there is plenty of golf ahead in what should be a memorable major championship weekend.
McIlroy is the current favorite despite being two strokes back of Rose. Trying to complete the career grand slam while winning his first major since 2014, McIlroy faces extraordinary pressure to win his first green jacket.
DeChambeau is attempting to claim his third major after two U.S. Open titles. For Scheffler, a win would make it back-to-back Masters wins and three green jackets in four years — the fastest in history to get to three.
With two days of the Masters left, here are the updated Masters odds to take home the green jacket — provided by FanDuel Sportsbook. Masters bettors can take advantage of FanDuel Sportsbook’s Daily Profit Boost Token promotion each day that can be used on any Masters wager.
Can Rory finally close it out at Augusta? Or will a talented leaderboard full of superstars and former major winners claim golf’s most coveted title?
Overall favorite
Rory McIlroy (+330)
All eyes will be on McIlroy this weekend when he attempts to make history.
Shaky down the stretch to end the first round, confidence was down on McIlroy when he made two double bogies on 15 and 17 to finish the day at even. After nearly reaching -5, only to fall outside of the top 10, McIlroy looked potentially defeated.
But Rory came to life on the second nine at Augusta during the second round. Firing a five-under 31 to close out the round, including a memorable eagle on 13 after a ridiculous approach off the pine straw, McIlroy is in his best spot entering the weekend in seven years.
When it comes to being in contention at the Masters after 36 holes, McIlroy was T4 after the second round in 2018 (T5) and second place after 36 holes in 2016 (T10). Although McIlroy put a scare into eventual champion Patrick Reed with a strong third round in 2018, McIlroy faltered during both weekends and fell out of contention.
Although McIlroy owns two top fives in the Masters this decade, both of those finishes came from poor starts and strong finishes — particularly Rory’s Sunday 64 to secure a solo second finish in 2022.
If McIlroy can maintain his confidence and improve some errant drives (61 percent fairways hit compared to 73 percent for the field) he should generate enough birdie looks to stay in the mix.
Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player both said they believe this is the year Rory finally wins the Masters. Will McIlroy finally get it done?
Longshot
Hideki Matsuyama (+4000)
If you’re looking for longer odds entering the weekend then the 2021 Masters champions presents an interesting case. Sitting five shots off the lead at -3, Matsuyama put together a very solid second round -4 after a sluggish opening day.
Hitting 86 percent of fairways and 82 percent of greens through two rounds, Matsuyama is beating the field by a healthy margin in both categories so far during a solid ball-striking start. The putter lets down Matsuyama at times, however, with consistent greens in regulation regularly ending in pars. Matsuyama only has six birdies and an eagle this week, with more scoring needed to make a weekend comeback.
Matsuyama can heat up quickly with flurries of birdies, which led to wins in the Sentry Tournament of Champions, FedEx St. Jude and the Genesis Invitational. A third-round 65 during the 2021 Masters gave Matsuyama a comfortable four-shot cushion on the way to his only major championship.
Although Matsuyama is playing from behind in this scenario, a hot second round, strong ball-striking and a recent win at Augusta makes Matsuyama a player worth watching.
