Davis Riley and Patton Kizzire will officially get the 2025 Masters underway at 7:40 a.m. on Thursday, but that is just the beginning of the fun for those of us who like to have a flutter on the golf.
In fact, you’ll often find the best buying opportunities at Augusta National in live-betting markets.
Here are some strategies to keep in mind to help you succeed with live-betting the 2025 Masters.
Be patient if you like an afternoon starter
One way to squeeze a little bit of extra value at the Masters — or any tournament — is to wait for play to begin if you are interested in backing someone who has a later tee time, barring any of the big favorites.
That’s because bookmakers will be quick to react to the goings-on in the first few hours, and odds will adjust accordingly.
For example, let’s say I want to bet Russell Henley at 55/1.
There is almost no way that Henley’s number will shorten from that point before his tee time at 12:50 p.m. Nevertheless, there is a realistic chance it will lengthen.
More than 70 players will tee off by the time Henley gets his day going, and the chances are that a few of those competitors will get hot and storm up the leaderboard.
The bookies will chop those odds quickly, which should allow some room for a later starter like Henley’s odds to drift.
Buy in on a slow-starting favorite
We can thank Jon Rahm and his four-putt on Hole No. 1 in 2023 for the inspiration for this one.
Rahm started that Masters with a thud. He four-putted his way around the green and carded a double bogey.
Famously hot-headed, it looked as if Rahm was giving serious consideration to launching his bag into Rae’s Creek and storming off the course.
Instead, the Spaniard collected himself and made seven birdies plus an eagle to shoot 7-under for the round.
Three days later, Rahm was donning the green jacket.
The lesson here is that if you see one of the elite players in this field, such as Rahm, Scottie Scheffler, or Rory McIlroy, stumble through the first handful of holes, don’t write them off.
Instead, take a peek at their live odds and see if they drift into a range that makes them worth backing, even if they’ve got some catching up to do.
Get the lowdown on the Best USA Sports Betting Sites and Apps
Stay away from lost causes
The other side of that coin is to not get too carried away and keep adding golfers to your betting card.
It can be quite tempting to see Bryson DeChambeau or Xander Schauffele at 200/1 with three rounds of golf left to play, but large comebacks are quite rare at Augusta National.
According to Justin Ray of the Twenty First Group, the average number of shots off the lead after Round 1 for the last 10 Masters winners is 3.8, and the average first-round position of the eventual victor in the last 20 years is 5.6.
