Masters 2023: Oddsmakers expect a rough week for LIV Golf players in Augusta
Among the many things LIV Golf does not have (TV viewers, reliable sponsorship deals, competitive tournaments, etc) the most notable by far is a lack of cuts.
The Saudi-backed league infamously eschewed the cut line and installed tournaments featuring just three rounds instead of the more traditional four. That could be trouble for the 18 LIV Golf players who qualified for the 2023 Masters and oddsmakers are already banking on it.
Masters Leaderboard: Live leaderboard, Schedule, Tee times
Only one representative of LIV Golf, Cameron Smith, is considered a favorite at Augusta National this week. He’ll begin play on Thursday at +2000 at BetMGM — tied for the fifth-best odds alongside Justin Thomas.
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The LIV golfers with the next-best odds are Dustin Johnson (+2500) and Brooks Koepka (+3300). In fact, BetMGM is offering LIV players (+500) vs. The Field.
Sportsbooks just aren’t that afraid of LIV Golf living up to the pressure of the moment this week. No one with outright odds of +6600 or worse to begin the week has won the Masters in more than a decade Among the 18 LIV players at Augusta, 13 have odds worse than +6600 while Patrick Reed and Joaquin Niemann are both right on that line.
So LIV Golf’s best chances to win this week come down to Johnson (who doesn’t like working hard anymore), Smith (who’s never won at Augusta) and Koepka (who admittedly doesn’t know if he’s good enough to play against PGA golfers anymore).
Another reason books are giving LIV players such long odds: No one ranked outside the OWGR Top 30 has won at Augusta in a decade. Smith is the current No. 6 in the world. Niemann is ranked 29th.
Oddsmakers aren’t leaving themselves much room to get crushed by the public betting against LIV players, either. Make/Miss props posted Tuesday morning show some solid hedging by the books.
Niemann is -360 to make the cut at FanDuel. He’s +260 to miss.
Koepka is -310 to make the cut and +225 to miss.
Bryson DeChambeau is -158 to make the cut and +124 to miss.
It sure looks like Greg Norman’s dream of LIV players storming the 18th green to celebrate a win will remain a fantasy.