Tuesday 3 April 2018 15:23, UK
Unsure who to back for the opening men's major of the year at Augusta National? Ben Coley looks at some of the contenders to be challenging for victory at the Masters.
It promises to be one of the most compelling renewals of the Masters in memory, and that's reflected in a wide-open betting market with Jordan Spieth just about shading favouritism.
The 2015 winner returned to form at just the right time in Houston and is arguably the man to beat, with his approach play as good as ever and some indications that the putter is beginning to warm up.
However, Justin Thomas is considered a better bet having played the best golf in the world over the last 12 months.
Having watched best friend Spieth land The Open, Thomas produced a courageous display to win his first major championship at the US PGA and has continued to collect titles since.
His victory at the Honda Classic was another demonstration of his ruthless streak and while there's a small concern over his Augusta form, this is an improved player who is definitely suited to the layout.
Thomas is long off the tee, hits his irons as aggressively as anyone and is among the better putters on the PGA Tour, while his ability to gobble up par-fives could be huge given how important it is to do so here.
Seven wins in 34 starts worldwide is mind-blowing stuff and having broken through at the highest level, he's strongly fancied to contend here for the first time in his career.
Spieth, Justin Rose and Rory McIlroy are all considered big dangers, but it's Hideki Matsuyama who has been underestimated in the market.
Having been fifth, seventh and 11th on his last three Augusta starts, the Japanese ace has the perfect game for this course and it's only a minor wrist injury earlier this year which has harmed his prospects.
However, that appears behind him now and sneaking under the radar will suit a quiet man who is always in the media spotlight back home, where the wait for a first major winner is an impatient one.
Matsuyama seems near certain to be the first from Japan to do so and Augusta would be the ideal place having gone so close in both the US PGA and US Open last year.
Another man used to contending at this level is Louis Oosthuizen, who famously lost a Masters play-off to Bubba Watson in 2012.
The South African did very little wrong in that renewal and has played well at the course several times since, particularly from tee-to-green.
He's a big price owing to a relatively low-key season to date, but Oosthuizen has shown up well on a couple of occasions and is totally focused on peaking for majors.
We know he's good at that as he's been runner-up in all of them to go with that Open Championship win in 2010, so at the odds it's worth trusting him to find his game when he needs it yet again.
Finally in terms of outright bets, Kevin Chappell is worth the risk at 100/1 or bigger.
Seventh here last year, he's played consistently good golf throughout 2018 and rates a big threat to the fancied players if able to get the putts to drop.
Moving to the specials and I like Adam Scott to be top Australian.
The 2013 Masters champion has finished ahead of Jason Day four times from seven attempts here and has never been behind Marc Leishman, so prices in the 4/1 region look good with Cameron Smith completing the quartet from Down Under.
Ryan Moore isn't the most fashionable of names in golf, despite his dapper dress sense, but what he is is rock-solid and worth a bet for a top-20 finish.
Moore, whose iron play has been strong lately, has been inside the top 20 here four times already and can add another at around the 3/1 mark.
Finally, Russell Henley and Jimmy Walker are worthy of support for the first-round lead.
Henley is a Georgia native who arrives in form and was placed in this market a year ago, while Walker has been getting off to hot starts lately, has never missed a Masters cut and is perfectly capable of going low on Thursday.
