Masters Favorites 2021: Updated Vegas Odds for Golf's Elite Talent

Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau are the two of the most recent major champions in men's golf, but their pre-Masters buzz has been put on the backburner a bit by Jordan Spieth.

Spieth, who is tied for the third-best odds with Justin Thomas to win behind Johnson and DeChambeau, is coming off his first PGA Tour victory in four years at the Valero Texas Open. 

Although Spieth enters Augusta National Golf Club with plenty of promise, he has struggled to put things together at major tournaments since he captured the 2017 Open Championship. 

While Johnson and DeChambeau were busy occupying the top of major leaderboards in 2020, Spieth failed to finish inside the top 40 at the PGA Championship, U.S. Open and the Masters. 

While this appears to be a better version of the Spieth than we saw in previous years, it still feels like the safer bets among the favorites are two golfers with recent major-winning experience. 

Every golfer on tour should be envious of Johnson's recent run at majors. 

The reigning Masters champion has six top-10 finishes in his last eight major starts, and he landed in the top two in his last two trips to Augusta. 

At the Masters and PGA Championship last season, Johnson carded seven rounds in the 60s. The lone exception was a second-round 70 at Augusta. He did not have low scores at the U.S. Open due to the difficulty of the course. 

In his last three Masters appearances, Johnson has an average round score of 68.8. Four rounds of scores similar to that would place him near the top of the leaderboard come Sunday. 

Johnson did not play the best golf in his previous two PGA Tour starts. He finished in a tie for 48th at The Players Championship and was outside the top 50 at the WGC-Workday Championship. 

Those results are more outliers to Johnson's typical form rather than indicators of struggles at Augusta. The 36-year-old typically shows up in the biggest tournament and that should be expected from him again.

At +950 (bet $100 to win $950), Johnson is the pre-tournament favorite. You can also get value for a golfer of his caliber to finish in the top 10 at +100. 

The top-10 bet may be the safest wager in the entire Masters field given his three-year run in majors. 

DeChambeau has the envy of the field because of the success he has achieved from bulking up and hitting 300-plus-yard drives on a constant basis. 

The 235-pounder's unique method paid off at the U.S. Open, as he outmatched the rough at Winged Foot Golf Club with his length off the tee. 

The next goal for DeChambeau is to have success at Augusta, where he has never finished in the top 20.

The SMU product recorded three rounds in the 70s in 2020 on his way to a tie for 34th. He finished in a tie for 29th and a tie for 38th in his other appearances as a professional. He was the low amateur in 2016. 

Despite the decent history at Augusta, the 27-year-old is viewed as a favorite to win at Augusta because of his recent form. 

DeChambeau won the Arnold Palmer Invitational at the start of March and took a tie for third at The Players Championship a week later. 

If he benefits from the confidence gained in March and uses his experience to have a better approach around Augusta, the California native could be in the mix for the win. 

Just like Johnson, the only way to profit off a positional bet with DeChambeau is through the top 10 (+125) or top five (+275) since he is -200 to finish in the top 20. 

Now to the golfer everyone in the galleries wants to talk about. 

Spieth got boosted up to +1150 to win the Masters after he won the Valero Open. 

The three-time major winner carries so much promise into Augusta because he was sniffing around the top of the leaderboard for most of February and March. Spieth has four top-five finishes and advanced to the round of 16 at the WGC Match Play event two weeks ago. 

However, the pressure of performing well on a weekly basis on the PGA Tour and over four rounds at a major is completely different.

Spieth has a single top-10 finish in his last seven major starts from the 2019 PGA Championship. He started that tournament with a 69-66 card and then cooled off with two rounds of 72-71. 

In his last three trips to Augusta, Spieth has more rounds in the 70s than he does in the 60s, but he does have a third-place finish from 2018 to brag about thanks to a final-round 64. 

If Spieth is more consistent over four rounds, he has a chance to contend for his second green jacket, but his recent major form makes you think about betting on him more than Johnson and DeChambeau do.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from PGATour.com.

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

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