Reed holds on to win Masters after closing as 40-1 underdog

Rory McIlroy made an early charge at Patrick Reed in the final round of the Masters on Sunday and Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler applied pressure on the back nine at Augusta National Golf Club.

But Reed answered the call each time, calmly rolling in a 3-foot par putt on 18 to win his first major by one stroke while turning a pile of futures bets into trash at Las Vegas sports books.

$1,000 to win $40,000 on Reed

Reed, aka “Captain America” for his Ryder Cup prowess, opened at 60-1 odds to win a green jacket and closed at 40-1. A Wynn Las Vegas sports book bettor and CG Technology sports book bettor each cashed a $1,000 wager on Reed to win $40,000. Those are pretty long odds for a superhero.

“That’s a nice payday and Reed’s a talented golfer,” Westgate sports book manager Jeff Sherman said. “Golf is so deep right now. Even down the list, there are so many talented golfers and good value because the top is so solid.”

Before Reed slipped on his green jacket over his pink shirt — I prefer to believe a similar golf shirt I wear is fuscia — Sherman was already putting the finishing touches on odds to win the U.S. Open.

U.S. Open odds

Every golfer in the field was listed at double- or triple-digit odds to win the year’s second major June 14-17 at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in New York.

“So many of these guys can win,” Sherman said. “I start at 10-1 and ascend upward from there.”

Bettors will probably be better served to look beyond 10-1 co-favorites Spieth, McIlroy and Dustin Johnson to longer shots like Marc Leishman (50-1), Tony Finau (80-1) and Cameron Smith (100-1), who all finished in the top 10 at the Masters.

“That’s the way guys are looking at betting golf now. They’re not betting the short-priced guys at 10-1 or 12-1,” Wynn Las Vegas sports book director Johnny Avello said. “They’re looking for guys in the 40-1 or 50-1 range, where Reed was.”

Tiger effect

William Hill sports book director Nick Bogdanovich attributes the rise of a plethora of top-notch players on the PGA Tour to Tiger Woods.

“Tiger created all these young kids. They’re all athletes. It’s incredible,” he said. “The field is so deep, it’s damn near impossible to pick the winner. There are so many good players, it’s a joke.”

Woods also was largely responsible for a record-shattering wagering handle on the Masters and his return to Augusta in good form lengthened the odds on other players.

“He gave everyone stronger value than they should have had,” MGM Resorts sports book director Jay Rood said. “Someone like Jason Day was 20-1, but he’s a guy who should’ve been more in the 12-1 range.”

Tiger tops Phil

Woods opened at 100-1, closed at 8-1 and was at 250-1 after the second round. He rallied to win his matchup with Phil Mickelson, firing a final-round 69 to finish at 1-over after Mickelson shot 67 to finish at 2-over.

History on hold

McIlroy started the day three shots behind Reed in second place and was a minus 200 favorite in his matchup with Reed (plus 170). McIlroy missed a short eagle putt on No. 2 that would’ve tied the match and never threatened again as he’ll have to wait another year to try to complete a career Grand Slam.

Spieth, who started his round nine shots back and was 60-1 on the adjusted odds board, nearly authored the greatest comeback in major championship history. He shot a 64 and tied Reed at 14-under at one point before bogeying 18.

Fowler shot 67 and birdied the final hole to force Reed to par it.

Reed rewards backers

Reed closed at 25-1 at MGM Resorts after attracting some sharp action. He also was a popular play at 6-5 adjusted odds before the final round.

“He had a little bit of a lead at the Masters on Sunday,” Rood said. “That’s maybe not the greatest position to be in historically, but a lot of people backed him.”

The Westgate adjusted Reed to a minus 110 favorite Sunday morning after taking a large wager on him at 6-5 odds. Reed went under his fourth-round score prop of 71.5 and cashed under 277.5 on the winning score prop with a 273.

“Spieth played big today and Fowler was solid,” Bogdanovich said. “But Patrick had the answers.”

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