Cal Sports Report

Masters Betting Odds Suggest Collin Morikawa Is a Good Bet

Former Cal standout is not the favorite but some experts pick him to win in Augusta this week

Jake Curtis

Masters Betting Odds Suggest Collin Morikawa Is a Good Bet
Masters Betting Odds Suggest Collin Morikawa Is a Good Bet /

Former Cal star Collin Morikawa is not the betting favorite in the Masters, which starts Thursday in Augusta, Ga., but several “experts” see him as a good bet at odds of 28-to-1 to 30-to-1

The favorites on most betting sites is Dustin Johnson, with Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Bryson Dechambeau close behind. All four are in the 9-to-1 to 11-to-1 range. (See Masters betting odds below).

Morikawa is lingering on the edge of the top 10 in terms of betting odds, while another former Cal golfer, Max Homa, is among the long shots, anywhere from 80-to-1 to 100-to-1.

At 30-to-1, Morikawa is singled out as the best bet by Rick Gehman, which CBS Sports describes a “Sportsline data-driven scientist.”

And here is an excerpt from a CBS Sports story posted Monday:

We'll share one of Gehman's top selections to win the 2021 Masters: He is backing Collin Morikawa to make a strong run at the green jacket at 30-1 odds.

Morikawa began his professional career with 22 consecutive made cuts, which only was bettered by Tiger Woods' 25-cut streak. He already has four PGA Tour victories and two European Tour wins. The standout from Cal, who is just 24, ended 2020 at seventh in the Official World Golf Ranking and has already risen even further to No. 4.

Although he tied for 44th at last November's Masters, Morikawa has found himself in elite company after winning the 2020 PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park. He continues to be among the most accurate golfers on tour and is fifth in greens in regulation percentage at 72.53.

Look for Morikawa to be even better as he makes his second Masters appearance.

(Click here for tee times at the Masters.)

What may be more interesting are the picks made four weeks ago by ESPN golf and sports-betting experts. Four of them picked Morikawa. No other golfer was picked by more than three of ESPN’s experts:

Here is the assessment of the four who picked Morikawa:

Curts Starnage, ESPN

Winner: Collin Morikawa

Why he'll win:

Because position off of the tee to set up best angles to those tricky greens is the priority for the week. He is a smart, intelligent, and patient player who is playing extremely well.

Tom VanHaaren, ESPN.com

Winner: Collin Morikawa

Why he'll win:

Morikawa is going to ride the momentum from a win at WGC and win The Players. It seems like he's gaining more confidence and he's finished top-seven, including a win, in three of the last four tournaments played this calendar year.

Anita Marks, ESPN Sports Betting

Winner: Collin Morikawa

Why he'll win:

Morikawa continues his hot Florida swing, fresh off a win at the WGC. He is dialed in with his short game and his new "saw" putting grip, courtesy of

Mark O'Meara

. It will keep him at the the top of the leaderboard on Sunday. He checks all the metric boxes needed to win at TPC Sawgrass -- first in strokes gained on approach, fourth in greens in regulation, third in strokes gained tee to green, 14th in par-4 scoring birdie or better and 13th in driving accuracy this season.

Matt Barrie, ESPN

Winner: Collin Morikawa

Why he'll win:

When Morikawa won the PGA Championship last year, he gave notice to the golf world that the discussion about this brilliant ball striker from Cal was true. Then he backed it up with a WGC win this year, joining

Tiger Woods

as the only player to win a major and a WGC event before age 25. I really believe he will be a consistent force in 2021, with multiple wins. His distance is long enough, and his irons are perfect for Pete Dye's Sawgrass challenges. You can add Players champion before age 25 to Morikawa's resume. This is his week.

For a bit of perspective, the Sportsbookwire site lists Homa No. 23 in its fantasy power rankings, with Morikawa at No. 13.

Here are Masters odds, as f Monday morning, at three betting sites: BetOnline.ag, William Hill (via CBS Sports) and Vegas Insider:

.

BetOnline.ag

Odds to Win The Masters

Dustin Johnson -- 9/1

Jordan Spieth -- 10/1

Bryson DeChambeau -- 11/1

Justin Thomas -- 11/1

Jon Rahm -- 12/1

Rory McIlroy -- 18/1

Patrick Cantlay -- 22/1

Xander Schauffele -- 25/1

Brooks Koepka -- 28/1

Collin Morikawa -- 30/1

Patrick Reed -- 35/1

Tony Finau -- 35/1

Viktor Hovland -- 35/1

Daniel Berger -- 40/1

Paul Casey -- 40/1

Sungjae Im -- 40/1

Webb Simpson -- 40/1

Cameron Smith -- 45/1

Lee Westwood -- 45/1

Scottie Scheffler -- 50/1

Tyrrell Hatton -- 50/1

Hideki Matsuyama -- 55/1

Matthew Fitzpatrick -- 55/1

Sergio Garcia -- 55/1

Tommy Fleetwood -- 55/1

Jason Day -- 60/1

Joaquin Niemann -- 70/1

Adam Scott -- 80/1

Bubba Watson -- 80/1

Also

Max Homa 135/1

.

William Hill Sportsbook via CBS Sports.com

2021 Masters odds

Dustin Johnson 9-1

Jordan Spieth 10-1

Justin Thomas 10-1

Bryson DeChambeau 11-1

Jon Rahm 12-1

Rory McIlroy 14-1

Xander Schauffele 22-1

Patrick Cantlay 22-1

Brooks Koepka 25-1

Patrick Reed 28-1

Collin Morikawa 30-1

Lee Westwood 30-1

Tony Finau 33-1

Daniel Berger 33-1

Viktor Hovland 33-1

Webb Simpson 35-1

Hideki Matsuyama 35-1

Cameron Smith 35-1

Sung-Jae Im 35-1

Scottie Scheffler 35-1

Tyrrell Hatton 35-1

Paul Casey 40-1

Tommy Fleetwood 45-1

Matthew Fitzpatrick 45-1

Jason Day 45-1

Sergio Garcia 45-1

Joaquin Niemann 50-1

Bubba Watson 50-1

Adam Scott 66-1

Will Zalatoris 66-1

Louis Oosthuizen 66-1

Justin Rose 70-1

Abraham Ancer 70-1

Max Homa 80-1

Harris English 80-1

Corey Conners 80-1

Billy Horschel 80-1

Jason Kokrak 80-1

Matt Kuchar 80-1

Matt Wallace 80-1

.

Vegas Insider

Odds to win 2021 Masters

Dustin Johnson 10-1

Bryson DeChambeau 10-1

Jordan Spieth 11-1

Justin Thomas 11-1

Jon Rahm 13-1

Rory McIlroy 19-1

Patrick Cantlay 20-1

Xander Schauffele 25-1

Brooks Koepka 28-1

Collin Morikawa 29-1

Patrick Reed 32-1

Tony Finau 35-1

Viktor Hovland 35-1

Lee Westwood 36-1

Paul Casey 36-1

Daniel Berger 39-1

Cameron Smith 39-1

Sung-Jae Im 39-1

Hideki Matsuyama 40-1

Scottie Scheffler 40-1

Webb Simpson 43-1

Matthew Fitzpatrick 46-1

Tyrrell Hatton 47-1

Adam Scott 49-1

Tommy Fleetwood 49-1

Sergio Garcia 49-1

Jason Day 6-1

Joaquin Niemann 60-1

Bubba Watson 85-1

Also:

Max Homa 100-1

.

Morikawa on the Pat McAfee show after winning the WGC-Workday event six weeks ago and his plan to wear a red shirt:

.

Cover photo of Collin Morikawa during Monday's practice round is by Michael Madrid, USA TODAY Sports

.

Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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