Ben Coley golf tips for the Masters: Second-round three-ball match betting preview and tips
Golf betting tips: The Masters round two
1pt Cantlay & Lowry to win their three-balls at 4.34/1 (Sky Bet)
1pt Straka & Henley to win their three-balls at 6.13/1 (Sky Bet)
0.5pt four-fold Cantlay, Lowry, Straka & Henley at 37/1 (Sky Bet)
The Masters produced all kinds of fireworks on day one and a leaderboard as strong as you're ever likely to see, with only amateur Sam Bennett muscling on on the game's elite – a group Brooks Koepka suggested he might still belong to after matching the seven-under 65s of Viktor Hovland and Jon Rahm.
Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy were the main disappointments but in truth there weren't many of those on a day where only a departing Sandy Lyle failed to break 80. Augusta National was there for the taking and for the most part the game's best stepped up and obliged.
With the leaderboard as it is, it's almost unthinkable that an ailing Woods could play his way back into things. Not even the weather is likely to prove enough to save him in that respect and a Masters missed cut is now on the cards should he stumble on Friday afternoon.
The anticipated rain and wind which will follow should have a big impact on the tournament from here on in, so while conditions might not help Woods and still leave McIlroy plenty to do, they could yet see something less obvious emerge from a leaderboard that is currently headed by one of the world's best players, a four-time major winner, and a player in Hovland who has already done just about everything bar win one of these.
Hovland is the one with most to prove as he putted the lights out on Thursday and I still feel sure his short-game will cause problems at some stage. Perhaps rains-softened conditions will continue to be his friend but he'd be the least appealing of the current from three, although it should be noted that Friday's early starters could enjoy at least some kind of advantage before the storm arrives.
Shane Lowry, Justin Thomas, Tony Finau and Justin Rose all broke par for followers of Monday's outright preview and while none could be said to have got the most out of their rounds, all remain just about within shouting distance. Finau and Rose are among the earlier starters although the former is last out among that wave and that could mean he, along with Jordan Spieth and McIlroy just before them, has landed the worst of it.
Ultimately we just have to wait and see what the weather brings and hope that it doesn't interfere too much with a tournament set up so promisingly. Assessing the outright market now requires too much in the way of weather-related guesswork.
Best three-ball bets for Friday
It's that weather which also demands a degree caution when it comes to Friday's three-balls but PATRICK CANTLAY looks well worth supporting at odds-against despite the fact that Adam Scott outscored both him and Kurt Kitayama on Thursday.
The simple truth is that Cantlay hit his ball far better than Scott but got nothing back for it, his putting issues continuing and his usually sharp work around the green rather more blunt on this occasion.
Scott led the entire field in strokes-gained short-game and you may not need me to tell you that he's most unlikely to get close to doing so again on Friday. It was just one of those mornings where the chips threatened the hole and the putts dropped – one that tells us very little about what to expect in round two.
There's obviously a bit of a worry that Cantlay's short-game issues have been there for a month or so but his ball-striking was among the very best in the field and is far more sustainable. If he were to produce something similar I feel sure he'd take some beating here and the drift in price is very much the icing on the cake.
For the most part those who scored best in round one make little appeal to do so again, with Thursday's scores always likely to be overvalued somewhat, but SHANE LOWRY and Seamus Power look obvious exceptions.
Power was mentioned in my first-round preview as a bet at odds-against and won his three-ball convincingly. Sky Bet and BoyleSports are now best at even-money for round two but I wouldn't want to take anything shorter than that and he's left out of the staking plan accordingly.
Despite missing from inside three feet on the first having hit one of the approach shots of the day there, Lowry remained patient and got round in a four-under 68. No wonder he was pleased with himself, particularly having birdied the 18th following another missed chance at 17.
Thomas Pieters did little right in a two-over 74 which adds to a string of disappointing knocks since his debut top-five here, while Mackenzie Hughes was four-over and has never looked at ease at Augusta.
Lowry really does now and is well-set for a fourth straight top-25 finish, so he'd have looked solid here on a calm and clear day. The fact that he's the best-equipped of the trio to battle foul weather probably enhances his prospects a little, especially as he'll have something to fight for all day whereas his playing partners may not.
Possibly the best example of an overreaction to one round comes in the Fred Couples group, with the veteran now 2/1 from 4/1 in places to repeat the trick against RUSSELL HENLEY and Alex Noren.
Partly that reflects another bad day at Augusta for Noren, who beat only Lyle and Larry Mize, but Henley is solid here, knows how to cope with bad weather, and ought to be a warm order to make up for his failure to capitalise on a really solid start to the tournament.
We can't take for granted that Couples will struggle to put two rounds together because he's 63 but it's certainly possible, while it seems unlikely he's as neat and tidy on and around the greens. Couples scored really well but he's far too close to PGA Tour regular Henley in the revised betting.
Of the morning starters, it would be fair to expect Bennett to find things don't come so easily on his second go at Augusta which would leave Scottie Scheffler and Max Homa as a head-to-head. Scheffler, who putted badly but still scored well, must come into consideration against a player still feeling his way around this place.
Ryan Fox won't mind getting the rain gear out and could get the better of Harris English and Billy Horschel again, but the one who appeals most is SEPP STRAKA, who I'm surprised to see chalked up at 2/1.
The Austrian defied wind and generally poor weather to capture the Honda Classic title last year before going on to produce a solid Masters debut, which he built on with a two-under 70 on Thursday.
Straka did that without his approach play firing in the way we know it can and with Harold Varner reliant on his short-game, which doesn't usually bail him out, and KH Lee generally poor in his 74, the way looks clear for Straka to double-up.
Again, like Lowry he'd be the one of these who has fewest questions to answer in the anticipated conditions. Then again, we have to accept that wind and rain bring volatility which nobody is immune to, so it's a day for small stakes while eyes are glued to the action.
Posted at 0800 BST on 07/03/23
