Popular Tournament Favorites Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas Close Behind Heading into the Weekend at The Masters

Halfway through the 2021 Masters and it’s three longshots greater than 100/1 that lead the biggest bet tournament of the year. First round leader Justin Rose followed a sensational 65 Thursday with an even par 72 Friday, which included a poor start and four bogeys on his opening seven holes.

Right behind Rose at 6-under par are veteran lefty Brian Harman and PGA Tour rookie Will Zalatoris, who closed Friday with three straight birdies to get him in Saturday’s final group with Rose.

“I've wanted to be here my entire life,” the spindly Zalatoris said in Friday’s post round press conference. “There's no reason to feel intimidated now. I made it to here.”

His betting backers are pulling hard for the 24-year-old Zalatoris, who went off at 125/1 odds to win the 2021 Masters.

DraftKings Director of Sportsbook Operations Johnny Avello told me earlier this week that the “in-play market is going to be big for this year’s Masters.”

One better fired his shot on Justin Rose in Round 2. His in-play bet was in the balance, but won when Rose held onto the lead with three birdies in his final six holes Friday.

Rose had not played any competitive golf for a month prior to the Masters. He told the media after Friday’s round that “This place inspires me. It's a golf course I know how to play better than any other.”

Another pre tournament longshot and darkhorse was Marc Leishman, who is 5-under par and was 160/1 to win at FanDuel Sportsbook.

Jordan Spieth Odds and History at The Masters

Jordan Spieth is also 5-under par, and the 2015 Masters champ, who has three other top-3 finishes at Augusta, was the most popular golfer to bet this week.

“Spieth is by far the most bet golfer to win the Masters,” Avello told me earlier this week.

Spieth’s odds and history at the Masters make him a favorite heading into the weekend. He’s two shots behind, but Spieth is still the favorite to win the Masters in the adjusted odds market.

A victory by Spieth will be costly to many sportsbooks, including William Hill.

“We’re buried in Spieth futures,” William Hill Director of Trading Nick Bogdanovich emailed earlier this week.

Some notable Round 3 match-ups to bet at William Hill include:

Despite being the betting favorite to win at the halfway point, Spieth’s odds to be leading after Round 3 are +470, which still trails Justin Rose (+280) at FanDuel Sportsbook. Harman and Zalatoris are both +600 while Justin Thomas is +650 to be leading after Saturday’s third round.

If you’re looking for key stats and notes from Round 2 that might lead you to a few bets in Round 3 and the rest of the tournament, check out Justin Ray Golf.

There are 15 players within five shots of the lead. All but two of the last 30 major champions were within five of the lead through 36 holes.

Justin Rose has now been the leader or co-leader after a Masters round seven times - the most rounds led in tournament history by a player without a victory.

Will Zalatoris can make history as the first golfer since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979 to win the Masters in his debut at Augusta National. Zalatoris is already an elite ball striker on the PGA Tour, and his stats bear it out. He ranks No. 4 in this field over his last 36 rounds in Strokes Gained Ball Striking. More importantly this week at the Masters, Zalatoris ranks third in the field in Strokes Gained Putting, trailing only Rose and Harman. And Harman is the only player in the field to break 70 in both rounds, as he carded a pair of 69’s.

You won’t see some of the top ranked players and Masters favorites around for the weekend. Defending Masters champion, world No. 1 and pre-tournament favorite Dustin Johnson missed the cut. So did Patrick Cantlay, Brooks Koepka and Rory McIlroy. Only the top 50 players plus ties with a score of plus-3 or better will play at Augusta National this weekend. Past Masters champions Phil Mickelson and Adam Scott made the cut on the number (+3).

If you’re betting on the adjusted odds, know that 33 of the last 34 golfers to win the Masters and wear the green jacket were inside the top 10 (and ties) with two rounds to play. Seven of those 11 players heading into this weekend at Augusta had pre tournament odds to win between 100/1 and 300/1. Major champions Justin Rose, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas are inside the top-10 along with two-time Masters top-10 finishers Tony Finau and Hideki Matsuyama.

But rising star Will Zalatoris is poised in his play with elite golf skills to defy the odds, and be wearing the green jacket on Sunday.

You can bet on it.