It’s been almost nine months since we’ve last had a major championship played in golf. After a jam-packed season with six majors played in 2021, that nine months has felt like a lifetime.

We return to Augusta National to play the Masters with excitement arguably at an all-time high. The first item that must be mentioned is the surprise inclusion of Tiger Woods in the field. Just a few weeks ago, most people would have thought the chances of the 15-time major champion playing this week would be slim to none. It will be captivating to see what Tiger can do at a course he loves when he hasn’t played professional golf in well over a year.

Another interesting factor this year is the fact that some changes have been made to the course for the 2022 Masters. One of the biggest changes has been made to the 11th hole. The 11th tee has been moved back and left by about 15 yards. The hole now measures 520 yards, which is longer than the par-5 13th.

The par-5 15th hole has also been altered. A new tee box was added to stretch the hole’s length to 550 yards.

Tiger Woods shared his thoughts on the changes to the course last week:

“Every green has been re-done, every green has gotten softer than it used to be when I first played it, just because of the fact that where the golf ball has changed, we’re hitting the same irons but not the same trajectory.

“We’re hitting 8-irons from where Jack (Nicklaus) was hitting 8-irons, but 8-irons are from 185 yards, so the angle of descent is slightly different from what Balata balls used to be.”

“Some of the greens have got more difficult. The 11th green, the Larry Mize shot is gone. There’s no bump and run over there, they’ve put a little mound there on the right-hand side and that’s the bailout, the bailout right away from the lake.”

Without further ado, let’s get into the outright bets for the 2022 Masters.

2022 Masters Outright Betting Picks

Brooks Koepka (+2000)

Brooks Koepka seems to be rounding into form at the right time to contend for another major championship.

With two top sixteen finishes in his past three stroke play events and a positive showing at the WGC-Dell Match Play, it could be argued that the four-time major champion has been gearing up to peak at Augusta National. Prior to last season when he played the course on basically one leg, he had consecutive finishes of 2nd and 7th at The Masters.

It’s no secret that the 31-year-old has another gear that he seemingly turns on when he arrives to major championships. What he’s done at majors compared to the rest of the field has been nothing short of remarkable. Since 2016, Koepka is 92 under par in majors, and no one else in the field is within 40 shots of him.

With distance off the tee being potentially even more of a factor this year than in years past, that should only add to Brooks’ advantage. I feel rather confident that he will be involved this week. If he can find a way to add a green jacket to his legacy, he will head to St. Andrews later in the year with eyes on a career grand slam.

Viktor Hovland (+2000)

Let’s get this out of the way. Viktor Hovland has a major weakness in his game, and it’s a weakness that isn’t conducive to success at Augusta National. His around the green game needs serious work, and the tight run-off areas here will be a real challenge for him.

While acknowledging the seemingly only flaw in his game, we must also acknowledge how good he is otherwise. The 24-year-old is an all world talent who does everything else required to contend at Augusta. In his last five starts, he’s gaining an average of 4.4 strokes on approach, which is always the most important factor here. He’s long and straight off the tee and can ball strike his way into contention.

Hovland has accomplished a great deal in a short amount of time as a professional, but lacks a signature win. We’ve seen younger players accomplish much more than we thought possible in years past. I’m willing to overlook the short game flaws in hopes that his prodigious talent will outweigh his potential fatal flaw.

Adam Scott (+5000)

It could be argued that Adam Scott’s entire season revolves around going into major championships in good form. At this stage in his career, the only thing that really impacts his legacy is finding a way to win another major. He is playing great golf at the moment and Augusta National is clearly a great fit for his skill set considering he’s won the event (2013) and has four additional top ten finishes at the Masters. He recently finished fourth at Riviera, which has been a strong indicator in the past of Augusta National success.

The 41-year-old did exactly what he needed to do in his most recent start at the WGC-Dell Match Play. He advanced out of his group before narrowly losing to Kevin Kisner in the round of 16. He showed he was in great form but didn’t need to play two or three more rounds to put additional wear and tear on his body.

Augusta National has been lengthened a bit this year, and with a lot of rain in March the fairways are likely to provide even less roll out than usual. Scott ranks 19th in the field in his past 36 rounds in Driving Distance, and his length will undoubtedly provide an advantage.

Scott has the current form, course history and knowledge, and ideal skill set to contend for his second green jacket this week.

Sergio Garcia (+8000)

There are 17 golfers in Masters History who have won the tournament more than once. There is little doubt that Augusta National is one of the courses on TOUR where the importance of course history is inarguable. Garcia’s recent history at The Masters has been shaky to say the least, as he’s missed the cut in each of his three starts since winning the green jacket back in 2017. However, in the outright market a missed cut pays the same as a top ten. The Spaniard is a golfer that I know is capable of taming Augusta National. His iron play this season hasn’t been what we are accustomed to with Sergio throughout his career, but he remains as good as ever off the tee.  He’s gaining 3.4 strokes on the field in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, and ranks 9th on TOUR this season in distance to apex, which is always an important factor at Augusta.

Props

Matt Fitzpatrick Top 5 (+900)

“Fitz” comes into the week playing some of the best PGA TOUR golf of his career. He’s been remarkable consistent in 2022 with four top ten finishes in his past five stroke play starts. He also was very impressive in the match play event and unfortunately ran into a red hot Scott Scheffler. He has some solid course history at The Masters and has made six consecutive cuts here including a 7th place finish as a 21-year-old. I question whether he can actually win because he hasn’t shown that he’s ready to win a major championship just yet, but a high finish is most definitely in play.

Tommy Fleetwood Top 5 (+1400)

Fleetwood has been a bit under the radar in both his recent form as well as his form at Augusta National.

In his past three starts, the Englishman has had finishes of 20th, 22nd, and 16th. He also had a solid showing at the WGC- Dell Match Play and was the only player to defeat eventual champion Scottie Scheffler.

Fleetwood has also had some very encouraging starts at The Masters. In his past four starts, he boasts two top 20 finishes.

The fan favorite has been runner up in both the U.S. Open (2018) and the Open Championship (2019). There’s a chance his strong recent play could propel Fleetwood into major championship contention once again.