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US Masters 2022 Preview
The world’s finest golfers will descend upon Augusta in a bid to seize the famous green jacket on April 7. These are the leading contenders for the first major of the year:
The Favourites
World number one Jon Rahm has been installed as the favourite to win the Masters, and you could pick up winnings at these top betting sites. The Spaniard finally landed his first major when he finished one stroke clear of Louis Oosthuizen in last year’s US Open. He was named PGA Player of the Year and he also claimed the Vardon Trophy as the leader in scoring average. Rahm has made a relatively slow start to the year, but he often thrives at major tournaments, and he has finished in the top 10 at the Masters in each of the last four years.
Four players – Collin Morikawa, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy – are next in the betting, with very similar odds. Morikawa is second in the world rankings, having won the 2021 Open Championship and the Race to Dubai last year. He is now bidding for a third major, but his best finish at Augusta is T18. Spieth won the Masters as a youngster in 2015. He endured a few years in the wilderness, but he is at the top of his game once more, and he could be dangerous this year.
Thomas finished fourth at the Masters in 2020, but he ended up T21 last year. Augusta has not been a happy hunting ground for him over the years. It is also the only major that McIlory has never won. He was fourth in 2015, but he has never bettered that performance. Last year, he missed the cut, so he will need to generate a huge improvement to clinch that elusive green jacket.
Former world number one Dustin Johnson is next in the betting. He has slipped down to 10th in the world rankings after struggling for form, but he won the Masters in 2020 and you cannot write him off for this year’s tournament.
The Dark Horses
Australian Cameron Smith is a serious contender after his impressive victory at the Players Championship last week. The world’s elite lined up for the tournament, but none could get the better of a fired-up Smith. He is a former runner-up at the Masters, which should stand him in good stead.
Norwegian prodigy Victor Hovland is a relative long shot, despite storming up to third in the world rankings after making a strong start to 2022. He has not yet had much luck in majors, so he will bid to change all that in Augusta.
Patrick Cantlay, Victor Schauffele, Scottie Scheffler and Will Zalatoris are also among the high-quality players aiming for a first major this year. Zalatoris was the runner-up at last year’s Masters, finishing one shot off the lead. Schauffele, a perennial contender, finished T2 in 2019.
The Famous Rivals
Fierce rivals Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau will also be in contention for the green jacket. The former tends to reserve his best performances for the majors, while the latter has emerged as a big-hitting, crowd-pleasing superstar over the past couple of years.
Koepka is a four-time major winner, but his best finish at Augusta was T2 back in 2019. He is now down to 21st in the world rankings, and many pundits have written him off, but he now says he is healthy for the first time in five years.
DeChambeau has never finished inside the top 15 at the Masters, with some arguing he lacks the finesse to thrive at such a demanding course. Yet he has always relished the opportunity to prove his critics wrong. Six months ago, Koepka beat DeChambeau in The Match, but who will come out on top at Augusta?
The Defending Champion
Hideki Matsuyama is the current green jacket holder. He delivered a masterful performance to finish one shot clear of Zalatoris last year.
It was a surprising result, as the once promising Japanese golfer had faded somewhat into obscurity following a string of underwhelming finishes. Yet he came roaring back to form when it mattered the most.
Since then, Matsuyama has won the Zozo Championship and the Sony Open, leaving him 11th in the world rankings. He will now aim to become the first back-to-back winner since Tiger Woods in 2002.
The Hall of Famer
Speaking of Woods, he has just been inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. The 15-time major winner rolled back the years to win a fifth Masters in 2019 – his first major in 12 years.
He is currently injured, but reports suggest Woods could be fit again in time to play in this tournament. Could he make yet another fairy-tale comeback? Or will young guns like Morikawa and Hovland seize the day?
Bettors certainly favour the younger players. Rahm has been the most popular selection, followed by Hovland, Morikawa and Smith. The action gets underway on April 7, so we will soon find out.
