2023 Golf Masters: Expert Picks, Betting Odds, Predictions

Golf Masters 2023: Expert Picks, Betting Odds, Predictions

By Blake Roberts Founder & Editor in Chief Updated: 04 April 2023

Blake Roberts Founder & Editor in Chief

Blake Roberts is the founder of Betting.US and is currently heading the creative team as Editor in Chief. Born and raised in Morgantown, West Virginia, Blake is a great sports fan, with football and basketball being his favorite. He’s our trusted voice for all betting-related matters.

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Golf Masters 2023: The Masters Field

Since the Augusta National Masters participation is only confirmed via invitations, there are no qualifying rounds to finalize the player field. The top 50 ranked golfers in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), including the defending champion, are invited. The rest of the field is made up of players who receive their invites after meeting specific criteria set forth by the tournament. The player field does not exceed 100 players, making it the smallest on the entire tour.

The tournament has a purse of $15 million and is one of the most prestigious tournaments on the calendar. This will be the first Masters tournament that takes place after the beginning of the LIV Golf League, as there are a few big names who are set to miss the year’s first Major because of the new league. However, six LIV Golf players are on the Masters Field because they have won the tournament in the past.

Bubba Watson, Charl Schwartzel, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Phil Mickelson, and Sergio Garcia were invited under that criteria. In addition to that, six more LIV Golf players will be at the Augusta National Golf Club because they were in the top 50 of the OWGR at the end of last year. Abraham Ancer, Harold Varner III, Jason Kokrak, Kevin Na, Louis Oosthuizen, and Thomas Pieters are eligible to play under that criteria.

Golf Masters 2023: Notable Absentees

From the current field of 89 players, only 88 will tee it up on Thursday as Aaron Wise is expected to withdraw to concentrate on his mental health. Paul Casey will miss the Masters for a second successive year after he opted to join the LIV Golf League in July last year when he was World Number 30.

Ian Poulter will also miss his second consecutive Masters tournament. The 47-year-old is also a LIV Golf League player and could go the entire season without appearing in all Majors in 2023 for the first time since 1999. Marc Leishman is facing a similar fate after crashing out of the top 100, missing his first Masters since 2015.

Two-time Augusta National Masters runner-up and former World Number 1, Lee Westwood, will also endure a Major-less season as he is out of the top 250 in the rankings. Webb Simpson has featured in the last 11 Masters tournaments but will miss the 87th edition after he fell out of the top 130.

Gold Masters 2023: The Debutants

Seven Amateurs will make the Masters debut when they step on the green at the Augusta National Golf Club on Thursday. The second youngest winner of the Amateur Championship in June last year, Aldrich Potgeiter, is amongst the Amateurs who are set to experience a Major for the first time in their career.

2022 U.S. Amateur Finalist Ben Carr will also make his first appearance with Gordon Sargent, Harrison Crowe, Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira, Matthew McClean, and Sam Bennett. Apart from the Amateurs, nine Professionals will make their Masters debut. Three-time European Tour winner Ryan Fox will play in his first Masters with two-time PGA Tour winner Tom Kim.

Two-time European Tour winners Kurt Kitayama and Adrian Meronk will be looking to pose a new threat at the Masters on their respective debuts. 2023 Valspar Championship winner Taylor Moore will also be one of the debutants at the 87th edition of the Masters. The other names on the debut list include Adam Svensson, Kazuki Higa, Mito Pereira, and Sahith Theegala.

Gold Masters 2023: The Favorites

Defending champion and current World Number 1 is one of the frontrunners to wrap the coveted green jacket around his torso this year. However, the 26-year-old will face intense competition from Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy. Approaching the first Major of the year, the trio got off to excellent starts this season and have already nabbed a few titles.

Scheffler is in fiery form and if he manages to go all the way and beat World Number 3 Rahm and World Number 2 McIlroy in Augusta, he could become the first player after more than 20 years to successfully defend their Masters title. Tiger Woods was the last player to achieve this feat when he defended his title in 2002.

There is a lot at stake for Rahm and McIlroy as well. A win for the former could make him only the fifth Spanish golfer to win the Masters, while the latter could complete the Career Grand Slam with a win.