The Masters 2024: Preview, betting tips & how to watch

The Masters is here and I hope you’re as excited as we are. 

With storylines galore, this year’s showpiece at Augusta National has all the ingredients of an absolute epic major championship.

Not that we didn’t already cherish the majors enough, but there is now added anticipation in this muddled new golf world as its one of the four weeks a year that the bona fide best players in the world compete against each other.

We’ve waited nine months for our last major fix after Brian Harman dominated The Open, and in that time, Scottie Scheffler has further established himself as the man to beat in men’s professional golf.

• The Masters: 6 long shots who could win Green Jacket

• How to watch The Masters

The Texan is the overwhelming favourite to win a second Green Jacket between the cathedral pines after stunning wins at The PLAYERS and the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. That Scheffler’s challenge will almost certainly be determined solely by his putting on those slippery Augusta greens shows just how imperious his ball-striking has become.

It would be fair for Scheffler’s rivals to assume that if they can outscore the world No.1 this week, there is a pretty good chance they’ll win The Masters. Rory McIlroy is one of those, chasing the career Grand Slam for the tenth time in Georgia.

Meanwhile, defending champion Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka and Joaquin Niemann lead the hopes for the LIV contingent.

This year’s Masters is not one to be missed.

So here’s everything you need to know, including betting tips and how to watch the action…

The Masters preview details 

Course: Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Georgia 

Course details: 7,510 yards, par 72 

Defending champion: Jon Rahm

Purse: TBC ($18,000,000 in 2023)

Winner’s Share: TBC ($3,240,000 in 2023)

The Masters betting tips

Here’s who the bookies fancy to slip into a Green Jacket come Sunday evening…

Scottie Scheffler 4/1

Rory McIlroy 11/1

Jon Rahm 12/1

Brooks Koepka 18/1

Xander Schauffele 18/1

Jordan Spieth 20/1

Wyndham Clark 25/1

Ludvig Aberg 25/1

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Hideki Matsuyama 25/1

Viktor Hovland 25/1

Joaquin Niemann 25/1

Justin Thomas 28/1

Cam Smith 28/1

The bunkered bet

Hideki Matsuyama 25/1

If not Scottie, then who? Well, if recent history is anything to go by, it’s going to be one of the other strong favourites. In four of the past five seasons, the winner has been priced at 16/1 or lower. The exception? Hideki Matsuyama. The Japanese superstar was out at 45/1 before his victory in 2021 and is a good price again here. He is already a winner this year at another famed course, Riviera. His record at Augusta National – ignoring his win – is outstanding, with just one finish outside the top-20 in the last nine years. While Ludvig Aberg and Wyndham Clark both look strong contenders to the first Masters debutant winner since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979, the smart money is on Matsuyama, who already knows how to get it done round Augusta.

How to watch The Masters on TV

Get ready for wall-to-wall coverage of golf’s most exclusive major live on Sky Sports, who have exclusive broadcasting rights for this week’s showpiece. You can get the full TV listings here, including the Par 3 contest and tournament coverage.

For radio listeners, BBC Sport has live radio commentary on 5 Live and 5 Sports Extra across all four tournament rounds.

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For comprehensive coverage of the first major of the year from on the ground at Augusta National, keep up to date with our dedicated Masters hub. 

Ben Parsons joined bunkered as a Content Producer in 2023 and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.