Chronicles of a Pro Bettor: Masters Tournament Futures

This week’s Pro Bettor Series sees our pro punter switching back to his preferred golf after building a strong futures NFL book for the coming months.

The 2025 Masters Tournament futures prices have piqued his interest, and he discusses the market along with adding a second futures selection for the event before betting on it at top-rated sportsbooks.

The Masters 2025 Main Players

This week on my Pro Bettor Series, I switch back to golf futures and have an updated look at the Masters of 2025. Previously, we had a brief look at the Masters Tournament next year and added a player grabbing some CLV (Closing Line Value). Now, I’ll look to build our futures position further.

Hideki Matsuyama

Straight off the bat, I have been impressed by the year that Hideki Matsuyama is building for himself. It seems the undermining run of neck, shoulder, and back injuries have been managed perfectly by the Japanese superstar. Last week, at the BMW Championship, he was playing it cautiously again when he withdrew after round 1, saying;

“I am disappointed to have to withdraw from the BMW Championship after experiencing lower back discomfort while warming up this morning, which made it impossible to play.”

Those sorts of injuries have affected Matsuyama since he won the 2021 Masters and have not allowed the thirty-two-year-old to build on that triumph.

However, 2024 has seen that all change after an early win at the Riviera Country Club in the Genesis Invitational, followed by another five top 10 finishes, one of those the bronze medal position at the Paris Olympics.

The following week, Matsuyama pretty much led wire to wire at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Despite a late final-round blip, he pulled himself together in the nick of time to birdie the final two holes for a two-shot victory in Memphis.

Before last week’s BMW Championship, Matsuyama was ranked #3 in the FedEx standings with only Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele in front of him.

Some of our online sportsbooks have Hideki Matsuyama’s price between (+2500) and (+2800) and that rates a bet, because he may win this week’s Tour Championship or go on to finish 2024 strong.

Masters Golf Pick: Hideki Matsuyama ML (+2800) at BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review to learn more)

Cameron Smith

Cameron Smith has gone a little under the radar in 2024. However, he still managed three runner-up finishes in the LIV Golf League and also managed a 6th place finish at Augusta in April.

That was no surprise for the thirty-one-year-old Aussie who has a growing affinity with the Masters Tournament, which is illustrated by his runner-up finish in 2020 and 3rd place in 2022. It looks like Augusta National suits Smith’s eye perfectly, which makes total sense given Smith is one of the best putters in golf, and on those slick surfaces in Georgia that is a huge asset.

Smith also has one major championship to his name, the 2022 Open Championship at the iconic St. Andrews. However, unlike Matsuyama, there will be no guaranteed CLV at his current price of (+2800).

That could change during the final few weeks of the LIV Golf League season, and if I feel the need to step in, I will let readers know. But for now, we have a serious watching brief on Cameron Smith’s current form and price for next year’s Masters.

Other Players To Follow

The other two players to follow for next year’s Masters Tournament are both also LIV Golf League players and hence, the CLV we have locked in with Matsuyama does not apply but could change. Both players are double Masters champion Jon Rahm and five-time major championship winner Brooks Koepka.

At the current prices, Koepka is the one closest to a bet having won the latest event in Greenbrier. I will be keeping an eye on LIV Golf in the coming weeks.

Next Week on the Pro Bettor Series

With week 1 of the NFL season upon us, next week, I will discuss how historically there are more underdog wins during week 1 of an NFL season than most other weeks. We’ll be discussing other trends as well and pinpointing some action on the money lines of the opening week of Super Bowl 2025.