The 2024 Masters will be Rory McIlroy’s 16th start at the tournament, and Sergio Garcia (19th start) is the only golfer to win his first Masters after making 15 starts. The four-time major winner has seven top-10s over his last 10 starts at Augusta National, but he’s also missed two of the last three cuts. It has been 18 months since McIlroy had any tournament victory on American soil, so is he one to fade in your 2024 Masters picks?
At 10-1 in the latest 2024 Masters odds, McIlroy is the second-favorite, trailing only Scottie Scheffler (5-1). Defending champion Jon Rahm is 13-1, while a quartet of golfers come in at 21-1: Jordan Spieth, Brooks Koepka, Will Zalatoris and Viktor Hovland. The first round of the 2024 Masters Tournament tees off Thursday, April 11. Before locking in any 2024 Masters picks or golf predictions, you need to see what proven golf betting expert Patrick McDonald has to say, considering his recent track record.
McDonald joined CBS Sports as a golf writer in 2022 after stops at NBC Sports and RyderCup.com. Covering the sport from a broader perspective, McDonald still likes to dip his toes into the betting pools on a weekly basis between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, and more. Featured weekly on the Early Wedge, he has given out numerous winners already in 2024, including Jake Knapp (50-1) at the Mexico Open.
Now, McDonald has focused his attention on the 2024 Masters field and has locked in his best bets, top sleepers and favorites to avoid. You can see only see them at SportsLine.
Top 2024 Masters expert picks
One stunning prediction from McDonald: He is high on Sam Burns, even though he is a 55-1 longshot. The former LSU standout entered the top 25 in the World Rankings in August 2021 and has remained in it ever since. However, he still flies under the radar despite finding himself near the tops of leaderboards. Burns posted four straight top-10 finishes earlier this year and his four total top-10s trail only Scheffler and Xander Schauffele (six apiece) on tour.
Burns has long been one of the best putting pros on tour, as he’s ranked in the top 30 of strokes gained: putting for six straight seasons. The rest of his game is now catching up, as he ranks among the top quartile in driving distance, strokes gained: off the tee, proximity to hole and scrambling. Putting that all together, Burns has the sixth-best scoring average on the PGA Tour this season. Burns was in sixth place after the second round of last year’s Masters, and improvements in his overall game should allow him to remain competitive throughout the entire tournament this year. See who else to back here.
How to make 2024 Masters picks, bets
McDonald is also jumping on an underdog who’s had plenty of success at Augusta National but is still listed at more than 100-1 to win it all. You can only see his 2024 Masters picks at SportsLine.
So, which players should you target or avoid for the 2024 Masters, and which proven golfer in the Masters 2024 field could bring a monster payday of almost 100-1? Check out the odds below then visit SportsLine to see Patrick McDonald’s top picks for the Masters 2024, all from the expert who has been red-hot on his PGA Tour picks this season and find out.
2024 Masters odds, field
See full 2024 Masters picks at SportsLine
Scottie Scheffler +500
Rory McIlroy +1000
Jon Rahm +1300
Brooks Koepka +2100
Jordan Spieth +2100
Will Zalatoris +2100
Viktor Hovland +2100
Xander Schauffele +2400
Ludvig Aberg +2400
Patrick Cantlay +2800
Justin Thomas +2800
Cameron Smith +3100
Hideki Matsuyama +3100
Collin Morikawa +3100
Joaquin Niemann +3100
Wyndham Clark +3100
Matt Fitzpatrick +3600
Dustin Johnson +3600
Tony Finau +4400
Max Homa +4400
Brian Harman +4600
Shane Lowry +4600
Cameron Young +4600
Jason Day +4600
Bryson DeChambeau +4600
Sam Burns +5500
Min Woo Lee +5500
Sahith Theegala +5500
Tommy Fleetwood +5500
Sung-Jae Im +7500
Tyrrell Hatton +7500
Corey Conners +9000
Tom Kim +9000
Justin Rose +9000
Patrick Reed +9000
Russell Henley +12000
Adam Scott +12000
Rickie Fowler +12000
Jake Knapp +12000
Phil Mickelson +16000
Harris English +16000
Sergio Garcia +16000
Tiger Woods +16000
Gary Woodland +19000
Keegan Bradley +19000
Si Woo Kim +19000
Chris Kirk +19000
Ryan Fox +19000
J.T. Poston +19000
Nick Dunlap +19000
Cameron Davis +19000
Thorbjorn Olesen +19000
Adrian Meronk +19000
Sepp Straka +19000
Nick Taylor +19000
Eric Cole +19000
Matthieu Pavon +19000
Emiliano Grillo +19000
Nicolai Hojgaard +19000
Luke List +21000
Adam Hadwin +21000
Charl Schwartzel +28000
Kurt Kitayama +28000
Bubba Watson +28000
Ryo Hisatsune +28000
Erik van Rooyen +28000
Danny Willett +34000
Denny McCarthy +34000
Lee Hodges +34000
Taylor Moore +43000
Adam Schenk +43000
Lucas Glover +43000
Grayson Murray +55000
Christo Lamprecht +55000
Mike Weir +100000
Jose Maria Olazabal +100000
Fred Couples +100000
Vijay Singh +100000
Zach Johnson +100000
Stewart Hagestad +100000
Jasper Stubbs +100000
Santiago De La Fuente +100000
Neal Shipley +100000