Things get off with a bang on Thursday with 2021 Masters opening round betting. It’s the second visit to Augusta National since November’s rescheduled event was won by Dustin Johnson with a tourney record -20. The Autumn weather made that Masters event one of the easiest ever, as Cameron Smith also became the first golfer to shoot under 70 in all four rounds.
Things are expected to be back to ‘normal’ for classic Spring version of the best tournament in golf. Weather has been warm and a steady Georgia breeze lately has made for some fast, firm greens. Building bankroll in Thursday’s opening round means finding golfers with familiarity and experience, as well as strong recent play. Let’s check out the 2021 Masters opening round betting guide.
Dustin Johnson 1st Round Wagers
DJ will probably be in the running come Saturday and Sunday, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him get out of the gates a bit slow. That has nothing to do with past performance (he shot a 65 in November and a 68 in the 2019 event), but moreso how he has played lately. Johnson finished 54th at WGC-Workday and 48th at the Players before being knocked out by Kevin Na in the Dell Technologies Match Play event.
Johnson is rested after taking the Valero Texas Open off last week. He is also -105 for a 1st round top 10 finish, which isn’t bad odds considering his familiarity and success at the course. The opening round three ball is Johnson (-165), Lee Westwood (+200), and Tyler Strafaci (+650). Don’t sleep on Westwood in that pairing, as the old-timer finally took a couple weeks off following a couple grueling runner-ups (Arnold Palmer Invitational, The Players) and a missed cut. This will be Westwood’s 20th Masters tourney, so he knows the course.
Pick: 3-Ball Lee Westwood +200 over Johnson and Strafaci
Scottie Scheffler 1st Round 3-Ball
Scottie Scheffler and Tommy Fleetwood are both +5000 to win on Sunday. They’ll be paired with Phil Mickelson the first two rounds which basically makes this a head to head wager. Mickelson finished +3 in November, the 5th worst score of anybody who made the cut.
Both Scheffler and Fleetwood finished tied for 19th at Augusta in November, but Scheffler led the two in driving accuracy and greens in regulation. They both missed the cut at THE PLAYERS, but Scheffler had a runner-up finish at Match Play in his last tournament.
Scheffler 1st Round 3-Ball +165 over Fleetwood and Mickelson.
Cameron Smith 1st Round Top 5 + 450
Smith has the distinction of being the first ever golfer to break 70 in all four rounds at the Masters. It wasn’t just a once-off in November either, as the Aussie has two top 5’s in his four tourneys at Augusta. Smith is averaging 1.49 putts per hole over the last month, tops in this field which makes him in play for the 2021 Masters opening round betting.
Abraham Ancer 1st Round Top 10 +290
Abraham Ancer is a lottery ticket this weekend at +10000 to be the outright winner. Don’t be surprised if Ancer makes some headlines this weekend, as he’s finished in the top 25 in three straight tournaments and his 69.6% driving accuracy over the last month is 7th in the field. That pairs well with 1st in the field over the last month on the course’s top stat indicators and 3rd over the season for those same stats.
