Masters 2023: Live-betting advice, odds at Augusta National

The Masters begins Thursday at 8 a.m. ET, but that doesn’t mean all bets are off once the first grouping tees it up.

In fact, you’ll often find some of the best betting value this week (or at any golf tournament) in live-betting markets. 

Here are a couple of strategies to keep in mind over the next four days:

Have some patience

While the odds for some players — think the very top of the board like Scottie Scheffler or Jon Rahm — won’t budge much because a player with an earlier tee time gets off to a hot start, there is rarely any harm in seeing how things shake out in the morning session if you’re looking to back a trendy player with an afternoon tee time. 

For example, a lot of folks think of Tommy Fleetwood (66/1), Hideki Matsuyama (40/1) and Justin Rose (66/1) as potential value plays this week.

None of them tees off before 10:54 a.m. and Fleetwood will go off in the last group of the day at 2 p.m. ET.

In all likelihood, a few players from the earlier rounds — including a couple of favorites — will get off to a strong start and have their live odds slashed, while the rest of the field should drift, depending on how/if they’re playing. 

Thus, if you’re interested in a player such as Fleetwood, Matsuyama or Rose, you can probably be patient and wait until the morning to bet them at a better number. 

Find a slow-starting favorite

A similar strategy can work for a favorite who gets out of the gate slowly.

The Masters is a very difficult tournament and the leaderboard should shuffle plenty of times from Thursday morning until the final round.

A bad start is not a death sentence at Augusta National, meaning you may be able to find value on one of the elite players in the field if he finds himself a couple shots over par after his first few holes. 

This is especially true this year considering …

The weather

If you haven’t heard, Mother Nature is almost certain to play her part down in Augusta this weekend.

At the time of writing, forecasts call for plenty of rain on Friday and Saturday, which should throw off the rhythm of the tournament and change the course conditions. 

Bad weather adds to the volatility of any tournament and, if things get off the rails, could level the playing field quite a bit.

While Augusta is known as a second-shot golf course, it also features wide fairways and very little rough, so length off the tee is an advantage in normal conditions.

But we’ve seen shorter-hitters and grinder-type players such as Zach Johnson, Danny Willett and Patrick Reed win green jackets in years where weather was a factor, so if the 2023 Masters loses any semblance of rhythm, it won’t be a bad idea to grab a few long shots in the live market who are decent in tough conditions.

A few players to have in mind should that be the case are Fleetwood, Willett, Mackenzie Hughes, Patrick Reed, Shane Lowry, and Si Woo Kim.