Jon Rahm at 10-1 among best bets to win Masters

Jon Rahm made a spectacular hole-in-one on his 26th birthday Tuesday, skipping his ball across the pond and onto the green before it rolled into the cup on No. 16 at Augusta National Golf Club.

It turns out that skipping a ball across the water on 16 is a Masters practice round tradition. Rahm, a Spaniard ranked No. 2 in the world, is the 10-1 third choice to ace the storied tournament and slip on the traditional green jacket as Masters champion.

Handicapper Wes Reynolds and Westgate sportsbook vice president of risk Jeff Sherman each made Rahm one of their best bets to win the Masters, which tees off Thursday in Augusta, Georgia.

”Going into 2020, he was my pick to win the Masters in April. Now the Masters is in November, but I have no reason to not consider him the man to beat,” said Reynolds (@WesReynolds1), co-host of VSiN’s “Long Shots” golf betting show. “The world No. 2 has the game to win here. Rahm dominated at the Memorial Tournament, which has obvious correlations to Augusta National. He also won in a playoff at the BMW Championship over world No. 1 Dustin Johnson, so despite still looking for his first major, he is a proven player for big events in pressure situations against the world’s best.

“A new jacket would be just the perfect birthday present to himself.”

Here are Reynolds’ other best bets, with his comments:

Rory McIlroy, 12-1

“As ridiculous as it sounds, McIlroy just might be under the radar this week in spite of being his usual short price. All the pretournament buzz is around (Bryson) DeChambeau, Johnson and a returning Brooks Koepka. And then there’s Rory, who is looking to complete the career Grand Slam.

“Originally, I was not looking Rory’s way, but the fact that he is not the talk of the golf media at Augusta makes me like him more this week. He’s also a recent first-time father, so he is likely in a better place mentally.”

Xander Schauffele, 16-1

“This price is obviously short for a talented player that does not seem to get into the winner’s circle as much as he should, but you can sense that a major championship is coming. Schauffele has finished third or better in three of the last eight majors, tying for second at Augusta last year with Johnson and Koepka. He is not all that far from just going one better.”

Tony Finau, 40-1

“Another ‘close but no cigar’ player here. He has finished with four top fives and seven top 10s in his last 10 majors. Finau has the best scoring average in the field over the last eight rounds at Augusta National.”

Bubba Watson, 36-1

“With all of the shorter prices having never won here at Augusta, it seems fitting to add at least one player who has. Twice, in fact.

“Watson has finishes of fifth and 12th in the last two years at the Masters when he was nowhere close to good form. This year, he’s in great form with back-to-back top 10s at Shadow Creek and Sherwood.”

Matthew Wolff, 55-1

“Like a couple of these other selections, I bet Wolff several weeks ago in anticipation of the number dropping, but he has stayed in this price range.

“A debutant has not won at Augusta since Fuzzy Zoeller accomplished the feat in 1979. However, Wolff has finished fourth (PGA) and second (U.S. Open) in his first two majors.”

Adam Scott, 72-1

“His price is currently drifting upward due to not having played many events, but the former Masters champion is an experienced hand that can go well here despite not having strong lead-in form. Scott also has the longest consecutive streak of made cuts at the Masters with 10.”

Cameron Smith, 150-1

“Smith is a bit of an unknown commodity to casual golf bettors, but he has done well at Augusta before, tying for fifth in 2018. The Australian is peaking at the right time.”

Sherman also listed Schauffele as one of his best bets, along with Patrick Cantlay (33-1), who came from behind to win the Zozo Championship on Oct. 26.

“Cantlay found his form winning Zozo, and Schauffele has been consistently fantastic since they restarted play,” Sherman said. “It’s the same with Jon Rahm. He’s the true No. 1 power-rated guy.”

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.