<
>

Books split on Masters favorite, but bettors back Scottie Scheffler

Sportsbooks are divided on the favorite to win the Masters, but the betting public is gravitating to the defending champion.

Scottie Scheffler, who won the green jacket last year at Augusta National, is the favorite to win at 5-1 at Caesars Sportsbook, followed by Rory McIlroy at 13-2 and Jon Rahm at 17-2. Those are the only golfers with single-digit odds at Caesars. McIlroy is the favorite at other sportsbooks including the SuperBook and Circa Sports, and co-favorite with Scheffler at FanDuel and BetMGM.

Anthony Salleroli, who oversees golf odds for Caesars Sportsbook, said public support for Scheffler and the defending champ's recent strong showings caused his odds to improve to 5-1 earlier this week. More bets have been placed on Scheffler to win the tournament than on any other golfer at most sportsbooks, and as of Tuesday he had attracted twice as much money to win the tournament as any other golfer at Caesars.

Rahm was the consensus Masters favorite in late February, but his odds have lengthened over the past month after he withdrew from the Players Championship with an illness and lost in the first round of the WGC-Dell Match Play event.

Patrick Cantlay is 16-1, followed by Jordan Spieth at 18-1 and Tony Finau at 20-1 at Caesars Sportsbook.

Tiger Woods is around 80-1 to win the tournament but has seen support. Only six players had attracted more bets to win than Woods at DraftKings.