World No. 1 Jason Day will be looking to build on recent victories at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Match Play Championship when he tees off on Thursday at the Masters as a solid 7-1 betting favorite at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Day finished no better than 10th in his first four tournaments this season, but he shook off that middling start by grabbing a one-stroke victory at the Arnold Palmer before knocking off rival Rory McIlroy en route to a win at the Match Play Championship.
The 28-year-old Australian now enters the Masters at Augusta National this weekend with six wins over his past 13 tournaments, including his first career major win at the 2015 PGA Championship.
Day’s set to make his sixth career Masters appearance, including second- and third-place finishes in 2011 and 2013, respectively, but has finished no better than 20th in the past two years at the event.
McIlroy also is chasing his first victory at Augusta, and closely trails Day on the Masters betting lines at 19-2.
Currently sitting at No. 3 on the World Golf Rankings, McIlroy got his season off to a slow start with three finishes out of the Top 10 before missing the cut at the Honda Classic, but has finished fourth or better in two of his last three outings, the Cadillac Championship and the Match Play Championship.
The Northern Ireland native claimed a pair of major titles in 2014, and was previously the No. 1 ranked golfer for a whopping 95 weeks, but managed just a fourth-place finish at the 2015 Masters, following up with a ninth-place finish at the US Open before missing the Open Championship due to injury and falling back to 17th at the PGA Championship.
The biggest obstacle that lies between favorites Day and McIlroy and a coveted green jacket may be defending champion Jordan Spieth, who returns to Augusta sporting attractive 10/1 odds at the sportsbooks.
The talk of the tour in 2015, No. 2 Spieth claimed five tournament victories including wins at the Masters and the US Open, followed by a fourth-place finish at The Open Championship and a second-place result at the PGA Championship, and is -110 chalk to claim at least one major title this season.
Other notables on the Masters betting odds this week include two-time champion Bubba Watson, who joins Adam Scott at 12/1, while three-time Masters champion Phil Mickelson sports intriguing 18-1 odds.
Thumbnail photo via Rob Schumacher/USA TODAY Sports Images
