Consider a bet on these five golfers to win the Masters

Russell Henley shields his eyes while lining up a putt during the second round of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open Friday, Nov. 4, 2016, at TPC Summerlin. CREDIT: Sam Morris/Las Vegas News Bureau Photo by: Sam Morris/Las Vegas News Bureau

Rory McIlroy stands alone in having put together the strongest season on the PGA Tour so far this year. There’s a strong case to be made that fellow 35-year-old veteran Russell Henley has been better than everyone else.

Henley won the Tour’s most recent “signature event,” the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, and was in contention in another, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, before finishing fifth behind the winner McIlroy.

A Georgia native who grew up about two hours South of Augusta National, Henley is playing way too well to be as high as 55-to-1 to win the Masters in local sportsbooks.

He’s made the cut in his last seven appearances at the tournament and finished fourth in 2023.

One of the top handful of favorites has prevailed in the Masters in five of the last six years, but 2025 might be when the midrange of golfers strikes back.

That’s at least where bettors placing last-minute wagers should focus their action for now.

Other value contenders include Henley’s University of Georgia brethren Sepp Straka, available at as high as 75-to-1, and former Tour champion Viktor Hovland, who’s as high as 50-to-1 despite entering off a win in the Valspar Championship.

Closer to the top of the board, Ludvig Aberg at 22-to-1 and Justin Thomas at 25-to-1 may merit consideration.

The 31-year-old Thomas, a two-time major winner, hasn’t prevailed in a tournament since the 2022 PGA Championship but is quietly nearing his peak form. He’ll be in contention if he can avoid the one disaster round that has routinely haunted him lately.

The 25-year-old Aberg meanwhile fits the ideal well-profile to conquer Augusta National — as a long-off-the-tee, well-rounded riser in his prime — as seen last year when he finished second to Scottie Scheffler.

The 28-year-old Scheffler remains the best player in the world and a true threat to match Jack Nicklaus this year as the second golfer to ever win the Masters three times in four years.

But he was available at as high as 40-to-1 in the months before his first Masters victory in 2022 and as high as 10-to-1 in the months before last year’s triumph. Scheffler’s price of as low as 4-to-1 this year is too prohibitive even though he remains the likeliest winner.

Somewhat similarly, McIlroy was widely available at 14-to-1 to win the Masters in January. Readers of the Talking Points column hopefully jumped on that price as recommended because it’s now long gone with McIlroy as low as 5-to-1 to complete the career grand slam with wins in each of the four majors.

McIlroy may finally pull off the feat he’s now been chasing for 11 years, but paying a premium on it is not shrewd strategy. Getting the worst of the odds will result in losing long term.

So, go with the slightly longer shots in this year’s Masters and enjoy the biggest golf betting week of the year.