The 2021 Masters has officially arrived, resuming in April after the 2020 tournament was pushed out to November at Augusta National Golf Club. Jordan Spieth is coming off a -18 win at the Valero Texas Open and could use the momentum to stay in the mix on Sunday at golf’s most storied and illustrious course. The 27-year old Texan did earn a green jacket at Augusta National back in 2015, scoring -18 to win The Masters at just 22 years old. This past tournament saw Dustin Johnson dominate the course, winning with an absurd -20 to obliterate the competition this past November.
Spieth and Johnson are frontrunners and can be inserted as the crown jewel in your lineup. Still, plenty of great golfers remain available at reduced salaries, creating good value opportunities through consistent production. Let’s target a few players who can make the cut and convert birdies consistently on the manicured, sloping Bermuda grasses of Augusta National.
Bet $1, Win $100 if Any Golfer Birdies at The Masters 
Previous Winners
- 2020: Dustin Johnson (-20)
- 2019: Tiger Woods (-13)
- 2018: Patrick Reed (-15)
- 2017: Sergio Garcia (-9)
- 2016: Danny Willett (-5)
Course Preview
The course at Augusta National Golf Club features long fairways covered in Bermuda grasses with unforgiving greens and tee boxes angled deceptively for the golfer. Experience is crucial at The Masters, as the course spans 7,435 yards with Par set at 72, demanding powerful and accurate shots to hit the green. Amen Corner covers an infamous stretch of shots across Holes 11 through 13, occurring roughly in the middle of the round to alter the momentum carried over from the front nine.
Totaling four Par 3s, most holes require accurate two-drive swings along narrow fairways lined with Azalea trees and freshwater creeks. Only the 440-yard Par 4 on Hole 14 challenges without a bunker, meaning the golfers you opt to add to the roster should have high sand save percentages and the ability to bounce back from bad performances on previous holes. Birdies are six times more valuable than par (+3/0.5), and bogeys are just three times less valuable (-1/0.5) than par, meaning you should target golfers with high birdie averages and overlook their tendency to sink a bogey. Precise, aggressive drives and chips will result in golfers sitting atop the leaderboard on Sunday.
Relevant Betting Stats
- Scoring Average
- Bounce Back Percentage
- Greens in Regulation (GIR)
- Fairway Percentage
Recommended Plays
Matt Kuchar ($8,800)
The 42-year old Floridian is a good filler add to your lineup based on a low salary and strong finishes in recent tournaments. Kuchar finished T12 (-7) at the Valero Texas Open last weekend, but his reduced salary reflects two missed cuts that befell him at The Players Championship and The Genesis Invitational. He is not expected to be atop the leaderboards on Sunday at Augusta National Golf Club, but the 66.7 sand save percentage he totaled during his T12 finish at Valero last weekend should translate well if his first and second swings pivot off the narrow fairways.
Another statistic to pay attention to is Kuchar’s scrambling percentage, which he finished sixth in last weekend at Valero. Scrambling percentage indicates how a golfer can maintain par or better despite missing greens in regulation, so Kuchar’s chipping and putting skills offset his occasional struggles off the tee. Kuchar missed the cut at The Masters in November, so he should be motivated to carry the momentum from Valero and make the cut to produce points in your lineup during all four rounds at Augusta National.
Jordan Spieth ($10,900)
Spieth won the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio last weekend to return to his winnings ways of the past. A former green jacket winner in 2015, Spieth has four top-five finishes in his last six tournaments played, making him a great addition to your lineup despite the high salary. The 27-year old Texan has an incredible 191:117 birdie-to-bogey ratio, creating immense value when paired with a low 1.5 GIR from last weekend. A low GIR (Greens In Range) indicates the golfer is accurate with his drive and ability to get onto the green with two putts to hit par. Experienced golfers tend to perform better at Augusta National, and Spieth is certainly a candidate to target, as he could find himself competing for a top-three finish this weekend.
Adam Scott ($9,600)
Scott is a consistent finisher and has made the last five cuts, making him a safe addition to your lineups heading into the 2021 Masters. The 40-year old Aussie had an extremely efficient GIR percentage (73.6%) in his last tournament at The Honda Classic last month, so he should be able to dominate the narrow and length fairways at Augusta National this weekend. Some slight cause for concern stems from the low sand save percentage (25%) Scott finished with during his last outing, as numerous bunkers flank most of the greens. He did finish T34 (-2) in November and should generate solid production if he maintains a 70+ GIR% as long as the weather cooperates with minimal wind gusts. The storied course is designed to incorporate weather as additional hazards, so be mindful of the conditions when deciding to roster Scott in your lineup.
Cameron Smith ($9,900)
The 27-year old Smith is flying under the radar, with Vegas Insider viewing the Australian as 39/1 odds to win The 2021 Masters despite having finished second overall (-15) at Augusta National this past November. He is a great value add to your lineups due to his previous success on the course and the consistent finishes he has placed across his last three tournaments, totaling -7 or lower to rank in the top-20 across this span. You will likely know the direction of success Smith is heading towards after his first round at Augusta, as he ranks sixth amongst golfers with first-round finishes (-32). He is also great out of the bunker, racking up an 81.8 sand save percentage during his -7 finish at TPC Sawgrass last month. This will be extremely important for Smith to succeed, as he didn’t have the best fairway percentage (42.1%), which could eat into his value if he is unable to keep his drives within range of the greens.
Webb Simpson ($10,500)
Despite missing the cut at his most recent outing at TPC Sawgrass for The Player’s Championship last month, Webb Simpson had two prior top-ten finishes. He has made nine of the last ten cuts and finished T10th (-9) during November’s tournament held at Augusta National. His value remains intact despite the high salary, as he has nearly 100 more birdies than bogeys so far in tournaments held throughout 2021. The 35-year old from North Carolina has a strong fairway percentage (66.7%) and GIR percentage (69.4%), which should translate well to overcoming the challenging angled fairways at Augusta National. Expect Simpson to bounce back from his last outing at TPC Sawgrass and make the cut while staying near the top of the leaderboard to provide great value and point production in your lineups.
Check out the FREE betting guide for The Masters at BettingPros
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Matthew MacKay is a featured writer for FantasyPros. For more from Matthew, check out his archive and follow him @Matt_MacKay_.
