William Hill will get ‘pulverized’ if Jordan Spieth wins Masters
It’s time to renew a tradition unlike any other.
The Masters tees off Thursday, and defending champion Dustin Johnson is the consensus favorite at Las Vegas sportsbooks to win another green jacket.
But former Masters champion Jordan Spieth is suddenly one of the hottest tickets in town after winning his first PGA Tour event in four years Sunday at the Valero Texas Open.
Spieth is the Masters ticket leader at William Hill, where he’s the 9-1 co-favorite with Johnson.
“Spieth is on fire, and he plays well there, and they were getting big prices on him at one point,” William Hill sportsbook director Nick Bogdanovich said. “We’ll get pulverized if he wins.”
Spieth, whose last win before Sunday was the 2017 British Open, was 60-1 at the Westgate in early February before he recorded back-to-back top-four finishes at the Phoenix Open and AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
“He had a rapid descent,” Westgate sportsbook vice president of risk Jeff Sherman said. “We went from 60-1 to 30-1 when he started playing well, and we’ve been taking money on him ever since.”
Johnson is the 8-1 favorite at the Westgate, and Spieth is the 10-1 second choice.
The Westgate offers odds on the other majors, and Spieth is 25-1 to win the PGA Championship and 30-1 each to win the U.S. Open and British Open.
“There’s a smaller field here, and he’s going to a course where he’s had so much success,” Sherman said of Augusta National.
Spieth, also among the ticket leaders at South Point and BetMGM, won the Masters in 2015, was runner-up in 2014 and 2016 and placed third in 2018.
Ticket leaders
Justin Thomas is the ticket leader at BetMGM and the Westgate, where he’s tied for the 12-1 third choice with Bryson DeChambeau. He’s second in tickets at William Hill.
“He won the Players Championship, and they think he’s in good form and can win there,” Bogdanovich said.
Brooks Koepka, 30-1 after having knee surgery March 16, is second in tickets at the Westgate. Las Vegas native Collin Morikawa is third in tickets at the Westgate and BetMGM.
Money leaders
Johnson is the money leader at the Westgate, which took a $5,000 wager Sunday to win $45,000 on the world’s top-ranked golfer.
Thomas, ranked No. 2 in the world, is second, followed by Jon Rahm, Spieth and DeChambeau.
Thomas is the money leader at William Hill, and Johnson is second.
Johnson, DeChambeau, Thomas and Spieth are the money leaders at South Point.
“It’s always the biggest-bet tournament, which we’re very glad to see,” South Point sportsbook director Chris Andrews said. “I think it’s going to be big again.”
$1 million man
A Westgate bettor placed a $100 wager to win $1 million (10,000-1) on two-time Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal, 55, to win his third green jacket.
Darnold doesn’t move needle
The odds on the Panthers to win the 2022 Super Bowl didn’t move at Las Vegas sportsbooks Monday after Carolina acquired quarterback Sam Darnold from the New York Jets.
The Panthers remained at 60-1 at William Hill and the Jets stayed at 125-1, tied for the longest odds on the board with the Houston Texans, Detroit Lions and Cincinnati Bengals.
“No adjustments on either at this point,” Sunset Station sportsbook director Chuck Esposito said. “It was pretty much a foregone conclusion that the Jets were moving on and targeting (Brigham Young QB) Zach Wilson in the draft.
“Regarding the Panthers, not sure Darnold beats out (QB Teddy) Bridgewater.”
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.