While it may seem odd to be talking about Masters picks in November, there have been much stranger things in 2020. The Masters 2020 is set to tee off on Thursday, Nov. 12.
Here are the best Masters picks to place, along with an overview for many of the biggest names in the tournament.
Masters 2020 Schedule
Thursday, Nov. 12: 1-5:30 p.m. on ESPN
Friday, Nov. 13: 1-5:30 p.m. on ESPN
Saturday, Nov. 14: 1-5 p.m. on CBS
Sunday, Nov. 15: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. on CBS
Dustin Johnson (#1 Rank in World) – +850 to Win
What can you say about Dustin Johnson that even the casual fan doesn’t know?
He has risen to stardom in the last handful of seasons, but may be playing the best golf of his entire career in this shortened and jumbled season.
DJ’s 2020 resume is very impressive. In just 17 tournaments played, he has finished in the top 10 ten different times, and has made the cut 14 times.
What’s even more impressive is the fact he has finished no worse than 6th place in his last six tournaments, dating all the way back to August 6th.
During those six tournaments, he accumulated two 1st place finishes (including the TOUR Championship) and three 2nd place finishes. He also won the Travelers Championship back in June.
Johnsons most recent tournament was just last week at the Vivint Houston Open where he placed 2nd after not competing for nearly two months due to Covid and simply taking some time off.
A key component to watch with DJ is his first round score. In all three of his tournament victories this season, he shot sub 70 in round one. The exact opposite is true with all of his other top 10 finishes, shooting above 70 on the first day in all but one of them.
As the current number one golfer in the world he is the second favorite to win the Masters at +850 odds.
Dustin Johnson Masters Picks: Top 5 (+200) / Top 10 (even) / Partial Unit to Win (+850)
Justin Thomas (#3 Rank in World) – +1300 to Win
Thomas is an absolute stud, and one of my favorite golfers to watch.
Though he has only held the top ranked position for a total of five weeks in his career, he is always near the top and has the chance to win any tournament he plays in.
The scariest part about Thomas might be the fact that he is only 27 years old and continues to grow as a golfer while finding more success with each passing season. Many believe the best is yet to come for JT, and I agree with them.
Much like his world golf ranking, he has only ever won a major one time, back in 2017, but he is always near the top.
Following the theme of getting better every season, he earned his best finish in the US Open this year, placing 8th, and will be looking to top his personal best 12th place finish at the Masters in 2019.
Thomas has played more golf in 2020 than most other names you will see in this article. In 22 tournaments he has 13 top 10 finishes, and has made the cut 19 times.
His only victory on the season was at the WGC – FedEx St. Jude Invitational in July. However, he does have three 2nd place finishes.
His most recent tournament result was a 2nd place finish at the ZOZO Championship on October 22nd.
Rust should not be an issue here. It is actually a good thing that he has taken a couple weeks off. As previously stated, he has played a lot of golf this season, and has a hot hand coming into the week, with three top 10s in his last four tournaments.
Thomas is a very strong starter, so you can expect a first round in the mid 60’s this weekend. Keep that in mind for any prop bets or first round match ups you may be interested in betting involving JT.
Justin Thomas Masters Picks: Top 10 (+150) / Top 20 After Round 1 (+110)
Rory McIlroy (#5 Rank in World) – +1300 to Win
McIlroy is a polarizing figure in the world of golf, and has been since bursting onto the scene and winning the US Open by eight strokes as a 22 year old in 2011. It was just his second tournament victory ever at the time.
Since then he has been a fan favorite for some, and someone you love to hate for others.
There is no doubt he possesses the talent, but things have not always come easy for him thus far in the second half of his career. Over a three year period from 2016 to 2019 he only won one single tournament.
2019 itself, however, brought Rory levels of success he had not seen in years as he was able to win four tournaments that season.
He is still searching for his first victory of the 2020 season, but admittedly has played well. In 18 appearances he has tallied eight top 10 finishes, and has not missed the cut even once.
Though he has played well the last two seasons, the biggest knock on Rory and his career still reigns true. He has trouble winning majors.
I’ve never seen a golfer be favored in so many tournaments and then put up the type of stinker performances we have grown accustomed to seeing out of Rory in Major Tournaments.
To find his last Major victory, you have to go all the way back to August 10th, 2014 when he just barley bested Phil Mickelson to take home the PGA Championship.
All four of McIlroy’s Majors came in a three year time span at the beginning of his career, and none of them took place at Augusta.
His best finish at the Masters was a 4th place finish in 2015.
With the vast amount of talent competing in this year’s field, I don’t expect Rory to change his tune and actually contend come Sunday.
I will not be betting on Rory at all this weekend.
Jon Rahm (#2 Rank in World) – +1050 to Win
Rahm is a name you might not know if you are reading this as a very casual golf fan – but it certainly should be.
The Spaniard has shot up the World Golf Rankings the last few years, and occupied the top spot for a total of 4 weeks at the beginning of the 2020 season.
He has been my pick to win the Masters each of the last two years, and I plan to run it back again.
Though he quickly fell from the top spot with some poor finishes early in the year, he has figured things out and been at the top of his game since July.
He won the Memorial Tournament on July 16th and has not looked back, posting four other top 10 performances since then. They include another victory and a 2nd place finish in his most recent tournament – the ZOZO Championship on October 22nd.
Rahm always gets up for big tournaments, and has started off hot in each of his last four appearances, shooting an average of 67.25 in round one.
Like they say, the third time is the charm. Jon Rahm is my pick to win the 2020 Masters Tournament.
Jon Rahm Masters Picks: To Win (+1050) / Top 5 (+240) / Top 10 (+120) / Top 20 After Round 1 (even)
Brooks Koepka (#12 Rank in World) – +1700 to Win
Koepka has had a very strange year.
He has only participated in ten tournaments since the Covid restart and has either done very well, or very poorly.
This has been a common theme throughout Koepka’s short career. He’s either at the peak, or way down in the valley. The evidence is right there in his list of 2020 finishes.
He has not won a tournament this year, and has only placed in the top 10 three times.
Lucky for Koepka fans and bettors, one of those three times just happened last week at the Vivint Houston Open.
It’s no secret that Brooks does his best work in Major tournaments. He is even on record saying he never practices golf, and never really prepares for tournaments outside of Majors.
He relies heavily on his own pure talent, and seems to be ignited when there is a significant trophy on the line. Koepka only has seven career wins on the PGA Tour, and four of them have been Majors.
He has only appeared in one Major this year, where he took 29th at the PGA Championship.
However, he did place 2nd in the 2019 Masters, finishing just one shot off the lead. If he is going to win any tournament this season, it would be fitting, and very likely, that it is this one.
He has not been good in the opening rounds all season. In his 10 post Covid restart appearances he has shot above 70 six times and above 72 five of those six times.
Maybe consider fading Koepka in day one match ups, and looking to him in the following days.
Brooks Koepka Masters Picks: Partial Unit to Win (+1700) / Top 10 (+200) / Top 20 (-125)
Tiger Woods (#33 Rank in World) – +4500 to Win
There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that golf fans around the world will be pulling hard and betting big in the favor of Tiger Woods this year.
Is there a chance he can repeat as Masters Champion, or really even be competitive this year? Reluctantly, I am going to say no.
It may be disappointing for fans to hear, but to think we get a repeat of the awe inspiring and miraculous weekend we saw out of Tiger last April is foolish. It just is not going to happen again.
Even with that said, Tiger fans should keep the faith because I have been known to be wrong about him before.
Last year during Masters week, I went on live TV and radio and proclaimed there was only a 1% chance Tiger ever wins another Masters Tournament. Just days later, the kick back came flying in as he made me eat my words and won in an incredibly memorable fashion.
I encourage all of you to cheer for him the same way you did then, just don’t waste your money while you do it.
Tiger has seen a very sporadic 2020 season, often taking long breaks between appearances. He has not had a single top 10 finish since the Covid restart, and in fact, has not even been close.
His best finish in his last four tournaments was 51st, and his most recent finish was 72nd in the ZOZO Championship.
I hate to say it, but there is just no value in Woods this year, and he does not stand much of a chance given the way he has played, and the elite competition he will be facing.
Tiger Woods Masters Picks: To Miss Cut (+200)
Phil Mickelson (#64 Rank in World) – +12500 to Win
Mickelson has had an incredibly average season.
To his credit, he has actually played quite a bit of golf this year, unlike some of the other guys who he will be competing against.
He participated in The Match with Tiger Woods, Tom Brady, and Peyton Manning back in May, and has played in quite a few tournaments since the Covid restart.
He has only had three top 10 finishes, and two of them came very early on in the year.
Two of his three most recent tournaments saw him finish outside the top 100.
These stats do not sound very encouraging, and while they definitely aren’t great, this is actually a spot where I really like Phil.
He always plays well in the Masters. This is proven by the fact that he has only 5 Major Championship wins, and three green jackets in the closet.
Don’t expect him to be in contention on Sunday, but don’t expect him to be at the back of the pack either.
If you want to bet on Phil this weekend, you’re going to have to be willing to lay some juice.
Phil Mickelson Masters Picks: Top 40 (-136) / To Make Cut (-186) / Top 20 After Round 1 (+275)
Rickie Fowler (#46 Rank in World) – +7000 to Win
Fowler is a fan favorite and a very talented golfer.
Since Sergio Garcia won the Masters a few years ago, Fowler has taken over the title of “best golfer without a major” which is not something he wants to don for long.
Fowlers biggest problem has always been not being able to finish on Sundays. He has had the lead going into the weekend many times, and is often in contention, but has never been able to find a way to finish.
Fowler has finished 2nd in the Masters, US Open, and The Open Championship. He also owns a 3rd place finish in the PGA Championship.
Because of that fact, I would recommend fading him in any Sunday player match ups you may be looking at.
He is a strong starter, so look for him to have success prior to the cut. But this is simply not the weekend he will take home his first Major victory.
Rickie Fowler Masters Picks: Top 30 (-110) / Top 20 After Round 1 (+225)
Bryson DeChambeau (#6 Rank in World) – +750 to Win
DeChambeau is the odds on favorite to win the Masters, though I can’t exactly tell you why.
He started the season absolutely on fire with seven consecutive top 10 finishes, but has not been impressive since.
In the past few months he has posted multiple finishes in the 80s, to go along with some other poor finishes.
He has come back around recently, posting an 8th place finish in his last appearance, preluded by a very impressive victory at the US Open where he won by six strokes, and was the only competitor in the field to finish under par.
Still, having only played in two tournamnts since September worries me, and definitely does not make me confident in him to win, even as the favorite.
There is so much more value out there amongst other golfers, I would not waste your time here with DeChambeau other than maybe a very safe bet.
Bryson DeChambeau Masters Picks: Top 10 (even)
Jordan Spieth (#80 Rank in World) – +7000 to Win
Spieth has had a fall from grace unlike anyone we have seen in years.
He went from a top tier golfer to consistently being cut in what seemed like the blink of an eye.
There was a time not so long ago that he sat atop the world rankings. In fact, he managed to stay there for 26 weeks, but those days are long gone.
For Spieth, the Masters brings with it an extra unique set of feelings, and probably nerves.
How can he not be haunted by what happened on the back nine in 2016?
For those of you who don’t know – he had a wire to wire lead going into the back nine on Championship Sunday to win back to back Masters and ended up putting three balls in the water to ultimately finish three shots off the lead.
He is still young, and obviously have the prowess to compete at the highest level, but he has a lot of work to do in order to get back to the player he once was.
His season struggles are likely to continue this weekend.
Jordan Spieth Masters Picks: To Miss Cut (+180)
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