The Daily Sweat: Everyone settle in and enjoy the Masters
The Masters has a special place in the sporting calendar, and a lot of that has to do with familiarity.
The other majors might rotate locations, but we know that in early April we’ll see Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler playing the same course in Augusta as Jack Nicklaus did decades ago. It’s the unofficial start of spring for many.
As legal sports betting expands, so does betting on golf. Those who haven’t thought about the PGA since the last major ended put down money on Masters first-round leaders, top-10 finishers and who will win the green jacket at the end.
There has been plenty of betting analysis on the Masters this week at Yahoo Sportsbook. Nick Bromberg looked at prop bets to take and avoid this week. There's a breakdown of whether Tiger Woods will make the cut. Pamela Maldonado had her three golfers to bet and how to handle the LIV golfers in the field. And, of course, you can just bet on the winner of the Masters. Here were the favorites before the tournament started at BetMGM:
Rory McIlroy +700
Scottie Scheffler +700
Jon Rahm +900
Jordan Spieth +1800
Patrick Cantlay +1800
Justin Thomas +2200
Tony Finau +2200
Cameron Smith +2500
Collin Morikawa +2500
Dustin Johnson +2500
Jason Day +2500
Xander Schauffele +2500
If you missed the first tee time that’s OK; BetMGM has live odds throughout the tournament.
Here’s the first look at the sports betting slate for Thursday:
Nuggets-Suns highlight NBA
In a few weeks, a Denver Nuggets-Phoenix Suns game would be appointment viewing. It’s harder to get excited about it with the regular season winding down.
The Nuggets have been on cruise control for a while, since it was clear they would get the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. Along the way they’ve taken some bad losses, including one Tuesday to the Houston Rockets, but did clinch that top seed Wednesday. That’s a reason the Suns are 7.5-point favorites. It’s a decent game for Thursday night, but hopefully we get a rematch in a few weeks.
That’s one of five games in the NBA, including the Cleveland Cavaliers at Orlando Magic (-7.5) and Miami Heat at Philadelphia 76ers (-2.5).
MLB has some afternoon action
As is often the case early in the baseball season, there are plenty of afternoon games Thursday. Eight of the 10 games on the schedule were scheduled during the day, though four were postponed due to weather.
The best game happens at night. The San Diego Padres take on the Atlanta Braves, with San Diego’s Blake Snell against Spencer Strider of the Braves. That’s a strong pitching matchup that would fit just fine in Game 2 of the NLDS in a few months. The Braves are hefty -160 favorites, which might mean there's value on a good Padres team.
NHL has 14 games
It’s a big night on the ice with some strong matchups. It starts with the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Boston Bruins. Boston is a -150 favorite.
Near the end of the night, the Los Angeles Kings are at the Vegas Golden Knights. Vegas is a -130 favorite.
What’s the best bet?
Jon Rahm was the hottest golfer in the world just a few weeks ago, but he’s not the favorite in the Masters after cooling off just a bit. That’s fine, because it means a little better odds on Rahm. I'll take him at +900 to win his first Masters.
