Reed Wins First Major Title at 2018 Masters

The Masters streak of first-time champions continued Sunday, as Patrick Reed won his first green jacket and major title in a drama-filled day at Augusta National.

Reed, who was +5500 to win the prestigious tournament at Bovada before the tournament began, shot a relatively pedestrian 71 (-1) in the final round but finished the event at 15 under in an impressive showing. Rickie Fowler (-14), Jordan Spieth (-13), Jon Rahm (-11), Rory McIlroy (-9), Cameron Smith (-9), Henrik Stenson (-9) and Bubba Watson (-9) placed behind the Texan.

McIlroy began the day three strokes off of Reed but couldn’t hold a candle to him in the final pairing, as the native of Northern Ireland shot a 74, his highest score of the 2018 Masters. Spieth, the 2015 champion, gave Reed a run for his money by going into the clubhouse with a final score of 13 under after putting forth a near flawless 64 (-8) on the day. Fowler’s great effort on the back nine wasn’t enough, but his closing score of 67 certainly made things interesting.

In light of Reed’s triumph, the Masters has now gone to first-time champions in four straight years (Spieth in 2015, Danny Willett in 2016 and Sergio Garcia in 2017). Next up on the PGA Tour major docket is the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, New York on June 14-17. For more betting info on the links, visit our golf page.

Archived Articles

The third round of the 2018 Masters featured wet conditions and corresponding high scores at Augusta National. Heading into the final day in Georgia, Patrick Reed remains the undisputed favorite to win his first major tournament.

At Bovada, Reed is the +120 front-runner to receive the green jacket from defending champion Sergio Garcia, with Rory McIlroy (+185), Rickie Fowler (+700), Jon Rahm (+1400), Henrik Stenson (+2500), Tommy Fleetwood (+4000), Bubba Watson (+5000), Jordan Spieth (+5000), Marc Leishman (+6600), Justin Thomas (+8000), Dustin Johnson (+10000), Justin Rose (+40000), Louis Oosthuizen (+50000) and Cameron Smith (+50000) filling out the betting field.

Is Reed due for his first major title?

Reed continued his red-hot play in the place where he played his college golf, as the American shot a 5-under 67 to maintain his lead at 14 under for the tournament. McIlroy (-11), Fowler (-9), Rahm (-8), Stenson (-7), Fleetwood (-6), Watson (-6), Leishman (-6), Spieth (-5) and Johnson (-4) remain in striking distance ahead of what’s shaping up to be a dramatic finish at the vaunted course on Sunday.

Reed, who’s never finished better than 22nd at the Masters, buried two eagles on No. 13 and No. 15 to put on yet another show in the brightest spotlight of the PGA Tour. McIlroy put together a brilliant performance in a 7-under showing and is in a great position to challenge Reed and collect the only major he’s missing from his resume. Fowler and Rahm also recorded 7-under rounds on Saturday as golf’s youth movement continues to impress year in and year out.

Too late for Tiger to make a run

Tiger Woods was lucky to make the cut but performed much better on Saturday by finishing at an even-par 72. The legendary golfer, who hasn’t won a major since the U.S. Open in 2008, is well back of the field (T-40) at 4 over.

Reed and McIlroy are set to make up the final pairing, and sharp bettors need to take note of past success players have had in that position. Twenty-two of the last 27 Masters champions have come from the final pairing on the final day, and each of the previous 21 winners was at or within four strokes of the lead entering Sunday.

2018 Masters Tournament Odds

Odds as of April 8 at Bovada

• Patrick Reed +120
• Rory McIlroy +185
• Rickie Fowler +700
• Jon Rahm +1400
• Henrik Stenson +2500
• Tommy Fleetwood +4000
• Bubba Watson +5000
• Jordan Spieth +5000
• Marc Leishman +6600
• Justin Thomas +8000
• Dustin Johnson +10000
• Justin Rose +40000
• Louis Oosthuizen +50000
• Cameron Smith +50000

Archived Articles

The 2018 edition of the Masters got off to a hot start on Thursday and didn’t slow down in round two on Friday. In the sports betting world, a new man emerged as the favorite to win golf’s biggest tournament.

Patrick Reed, who started the day three strokes off the lead at 3-under, birdied six times on the front nine to record a score of 66 on the day and head into the clubhouse with the lead. The Texan has only made the cut twice in his past four trips to the Masters and has never entered the third round of the event in a better position than 19th.

At Bovada, Reed is the new +300 favorite, with Rory McIlroy (+600), Jordan Spieth (+600), Marc Leishman (+700), Henrik Stenson (+900), Dustin Johnson (+1000), Justin Thomas (+1000), Justin Rose (+2200), Bubba Watson (+2200) and Rickie Fowler (+2800) behind him on the odds board.

Reed sits two strokes ahead of the second-place Leishman (-5 on Friday, -7 in total). Stenson (-5), McIlroy (-4), Spieth (-4), Johnson (-3), Thomas (-3), Tony Finau (-2), Fowler (-2), Charley Hoffman (-2), Louis Oosthuizen (-2), Rose (-2) and Watson (-2) are all within striking distance ahead of moving day.

Can Spieth regain his opening round form?

Spieth, who carried a two-stroke lead over the next closest competitions after the opening round, got off to a terrible start yesterday by recording a double-bogey on the first hole and lost a stroke on No. 2 and No. 7. The 2015 Masters champion finished with a 72 (+2) - well off from the 66 he shot on Thursday - and will need to make up ground quickly today to get back in the hunt.

Tough day for Tiger

Tiger Woods barely managed to make the cut after enduring another tough day at Augusta National, and the 10-year major drought for the legendary golfer will likely remain intact after he fired a score of 75 (+3). Woods had an up-and-down day to say the least, as he sits tied with five others in 40th place at 4-over.

2018 Masters Tournament Odds

Odds as of April 7 at Bovada

• Patrick Reed +300
• Rory McIlroy +600
• Jordan Spieth +600
• Marc Leishman +700
• Henrik Stenson +900
• Dustin Johnson +1000
• Justin Thomas +1000
• Justin Rose +2200
• Bubba Watson +2200
• Rickie Fowler +2800
• Louis Oosthuizen +5000
• Jon Rahm +5000
• Hideki Matsuyama +8000
• Charley Hoffman +10000
• Matt Kuchar +10000
• Tony Finau +12500
• Cameron Smith +15000
• Tommy Fleetwood +15000
• Jason Day +15000
• Zach Johnson +20000
• Bernd Wiesberger +20000
• Adam Hadwin +25000
• Tiger Woods +20000
• Jimmy Walker +30000
• Rafa Cabrera-Bello +30000
• Russell Henley +40000
• Paul Casey +40000
• Kyle Stanley +50000
• Ryan Moore +50000
• Francesco Molinari +50000
• Phil Mickelson +50000
• Brian Harman +50000
• Hao Tong Li +50000
• Adam Scott +50000
• Satoshi Kodaira +50000
• Branden Grace +50000
• Vijay Singh +50000
• Ian Poulter +50000
• Pat Perez +50000
• Daniel Berger +50000
• Martin Kaymer +50000
• Webb Simpson +50000

Archived Articles

After the opening day of the 2018 Masters, a familiar face tops the leaderboard in Georgia.

Jordan Spieth came out hot by firing a 6-under round of 66. The 2015 Masters champion looked right at home at Augusta National, and after yesterday he’s now led in nine of his career 17 rounds at the vaunted course. Tony Finau (-4), Matt Kuchar (-4), Henrik Stenson (-3), Adam Hadwin (-3), Charley Hoffman (-3), Patrick Reed (-3), Haotong Li (-3), Rory McIlroy (-3) and Rafa Cabrera Bello (-3) are keeping Spieth company at the top of the leaderboard.

At Bovada, Spieth is the undisputed +200 favorite, with McIlroy (+550), Phil Mickelson (+1400), Stenson (+1600), Kuchar (+1600), Rickie Fowler (+2000), Reed (+2800), Justin Rose (+2800), Dustin Johnson (+3300) and Finau (+3300) rounding out the top 10.

Can Tiger make a run?

Tiger Woods, who entered the tournament with +1400 odds, finished the day with a 1-over-par 73 and has a +3500 shot of slipping on the green jacket. Woods endured an up-and-down day but managed to stay close to the pack and above the likely cut line at T-29. Eldrick has some major work to do to make his way up the leaderboard, but if you were waiting on betting him and believe he can have a big Friday, his current price is certainly appealing.

Finau battles through the pain

The fact that Finau fared as well as he did on Thursday is a minor miracle in itself. The young American nailed a hole-in-one in Wednesday’s par-3 contest and proceeded to run down the fairway and celebrate, but things took a turn for the worse when he dislocated his ankle and promptly popped it back into place.

Test results on Finau’s ankle were negative and doctors gave him the green light to play in the tournament, and the Utah native played some excellent golf in his impressive opening round. If you’re hesitant on backing him, I don’t blame you, however, as Finau appeared to be limping slightly at times and occasionally had an awkward stance while putting on the tough greens.

2018 Masters Tournament Odds

Odds as of April 6 at Bovada

• Jordan Spieth +200
• Rory McIlroy +550
• Phil Mickelson +1400
• Henrik Stenson +1600
• Matt Kuchar +1600
• Rickie Fowler +2000
• Patrick Reed +2800
• Justin Rose +2800
• Dustin Johnson +3300
• Tony Finau +3300
• Tiger Woods +3500
• Charley Hoffman +4000
• Marc Leishman +4000
• Rafa Cabrera-Bello +4000
• Justin Thomas +5000
• Bubba Watson +5000
• Haotong Li +5000
• Adam Hadwin +5000
• Louis Oosthuizen +5000
• Zach Johnson +6600
• Tommy Fleetwood +6600
• Hideki Matsuyama +6600
• Xander Schauffele +10000
• Paul Casey +12500
• Bernd Wiesberger +12500
• Cameron Smith +12500
• Jason Day +15000
• Charl Schwartzel +15000
• Thomas Pieters +20000
• Jon Rahm +20000
• Kevin Kisner +20000
• Alex Noren +20000
• Branden Grace +20000
• Francesco Molinari +20000
• Ian Poulter +20000
• Gary Woodland +25000
• Ross Fisher +25000
• Daniel Berger +25000
• Kyle Stanley +25000
• Brian Harman +25000
• Pat Perez +25000
• Tyrrell Hatton +30000
• Bryson DeChambeau +30000
• Adam Scott +30000
• Russell Henley +30000
• Satoshi Kodaira +30000
• Ryan Moore +30000
• Vijay Singh +30000
• Matthew Fitzpatrick +30000
• Fred Couples +30000
• Jimmy Walker +40000
• Patrick Cantlay +50000
• Jason Dufner +50000
• Dylan Frittelli +50000
• Brendan Steele +50000
• Martin Kaymer +50000
• Austin Cook +50000
• Billy Horschel +100000
• Kiradech Aphibarnrat +100000
• Si Woo Kim +100000
• Patton Kizzire +100000
• Ted Potter Jr. +100000
• Webb Simpson +100000
• Kevin Chappell +100000
• Angel Cabrera +100000
• Yusaku Miyazato +100000
• Danny Willett +100000
• Shubhankar Sharma +100000
• Chez Reavie +100000
• Wesley Bryan +100000
• Yuta Ikeda +100000
• Doug Ghim +100000
• Jose Maria Olazabal +100000
• Sandy Lyle +100000
• Joaquin Niemann +150000
• Yuxin Lin +150000
• Sergio Garcia +200000
• Mark O'Meara +200000
• Mike Weir +200000
• Larry Mize +300000
• Ian Woosnam +500000
• Harry Ellis +500000
• Matt Parziale +500000

Archived Articles

The Masters is a tradition unlike any other, and with the most prestigious major in professional golf only days away, sports bettors are eager to see the world’s best tee it up at Augusta National.

Since late February, Tiger Woods’ odds of winning the Masters have dropped from +2000 to +1400.

Oddsmakers are gearing up for the big event by offering a full list of odds on which man will slip on the green jacket in 2018. Bovada is dealing Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy as +1000 co-favorites, with Justin Thomas (+1100), Dustin Johnson (+1400), Tiger Woods (+1400), Justin Rose (+1400), Bubba Watson (+1600), Jason Day (+1800), Phil Mickelson (+1800) and Rickie Fowler (+2200) in the top 10. McIlroy jumped up the list after triumphing at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in mid-March. For more major odds, check out our new PGA Tour futures page.

Since late February, Woods’ odds have dropped from +2000 to +1400. Eldrick’s hot play hasn’t gone unnoticed at sportsbooks, as the legend came in 12th at the Honda Classic before finishing T-2 at the Valspar Championship and T-5 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. In the opening few days of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Woods was briefly the Masters fave. I recently took a look at Woods’ odds to win a major this year, which you can read here.

Sergio Garcia, who finally got the monkey off his back when he won the 2017 Masters, is +3000 to do it again. The triumph was the first major victory of Garcia’s career, as the Spaniard erased a litany of poor Sunday performances to win for the first time in 74 starts when he beat Rose in a playoff. Garcia had already finished in the top 10 at Augusta three times (2002, 2004, 2013) and now has the most career all-time top-10s in majors.

First-time winners are dominating major season

Over the last few years, first-time winners have been all the rage when it comes to claiming the biggest events on the PGA Tour. Since the 2015 PGA Championship, there have been eight first-time champions (Day, Danny Willett, Johnson, Henrik Stenson, Jimmy Walker, Garcia, Brooks Koepka and Thomas). Spieth, who won the 2017 Open Championship, is the only multiple major champion in that span.

Before Day’s win at the PGA Championship, there was a seven-tournament streak of multiple major champions dating back to 2014.

Take a look at the book’s full list of odds. Who do you think is going to go all the way in Georgia? Have your say in the comment section. To find out which three golfers I like to win the most, check out my Masters Expert Betting Picks article. For sleeper picks, click here.

2018 Masters Tournament Odds

Odds as of April 5 at Bovada

• Jordan Spieth +1000
• Rory McIlroy +1000
• Justin Thomas +1100
• Dustin Johnson +1400
• Tiger Woods +1400
• Justin Rose +1400
• Bubba Watson +1600
• Jason Day +1800
• Phil Mickelson +1800
• Rickie Fowler +2200
• Jon Rahm +2500
• Paul Casey +2500
• Sergio Garcia +3000
• Hideki Matsuyama +3300
• Henrik Stenson +4000
• Alex Noren +4500
• Tommy Fleetwood +4500
• Matt Kuchar +4000
• Patrick Reed +5500
• Adam Scott +5500
• Ian Poulter +5500
• Louis Oosthuizen +5500
• Marc Leishman +6000
• Thomas Pieters +6600
• Tyrrell Hatton +6600
• Patrick Cantlay +7500
• Bryson DeChambeau +8000
• Xander Schauffele +8000
• Brian Harman +8000
• Kiradech Aphibarnrat +9000
• Daniel Berger +9000
• Branden Grace +9000
• Tony Finau +9000
• Kevin Chappell +10000
• Charley Hoffman +10000
• Charl Schwartzel +10000
• Kevin Kisner +10000
• Ryan Moore +10000
• Russell Henley +10000
• Rafa Cabrera-Bello +10000
• Cameron Smith +10000
• Gary Woodland +12500
• Matthew Fitzpatrick +15000
• Zach Johnson +12500
• Adam Hadwin +12500
• Pat Perez +15000
• Brendan Steele +15000
• Francesco Molinari +15000
• Webb Simpson +15000
• Ross Fisher +15000
• Kyle Stanley +15000
• Jimmy Walker +16000
• Jason Dufner +16000
• Shubhankar Sharma +20000
• Patton Kizzire +20000
• Martin Kaymer +20000
• Dylan Frittelli +20000
• Hao Tong Li +20000
• Chez Reavie +20000
• Austin Cook +25000
• Si Woo Kim +25000
• Fred Couples +25000
• Bernd Wiesberger +30000
• Billy Horschel +30000
• Jhonattan Vegas +35000
• Danny Willett +25000
• Angel Cabrera +40000
• Wesley Bryan +40000
• Ted Potter Jr. +40000
• Satoshi Kodaira +40000
• Vijay Singh +40000
• Yusaku Miyazato +40000
• Bernhard Langer +50000
• Joaquin Niemann +50000
• Yuta Ikeda +60000
• Doc Redman +75000
• Doug Ghim +100000
• Harry Ellis +100000
• Trevor Immelman +100000
• Yuxin Lin +200000
• Jose Maria Olazabal +200000
• Matt Parziale +100000
• Mike Weir +200000
• Ian Woosnam +200000
• Larry Mize +200000
• Mark O'Meara +250000
• Sandy Lyle +250000