This year’s Masters is as open as anything in recent memory. There is no favorite in the single digits this time and no one has emerged as the player to win more than 72 holes. The two hottest players in the world – Cameron Smith and Scottie Scheffler – are both good choices but are not considered heavyweight favorites in Augusta. On the contrary, many of the top stars in the world have not won so far in 2022 and many of them have a terrible history along the way. Then there is the riddle of Tiger Woods. What about a five-time Masters winner who has not played an official event in 17 months but can also know the golf course better than anyone who has ever played it? Woods showed that he will actually do it on Thursday morning with Louis Oosthuizen and Joaquin Niemann and the potential results for him could be wider than anyone else in the field. Add it all and it will look like we are in a wild Masters week full of unexpected twists and many well-known names at the top of the leaderboard. So what will happen this week in Augusta? Let’s take a look at a full set of predictions and selections from our CBS Sports experts as we try to project who will win – and what will happen – in the most famous golf tournament in the world. Check out a complete set of Masters 2022 odds provided by Caesars Sportsbook.
2022 Special Masters Options, Predictions
Kyle Porter, golf writer
Winner – Justin Thomas (12-1): I have some conflicting feelings about JT at Augusta National, where he clearly does not put the ball well. However, in the weeks leading up to it, it felt (and seemed, statistically) as if it were building towards a huge victory. You could have said the same in the first rounds of the Masters last year, before an 8 in par-5 13th led to 75 and undo his chances of winning. It can be difficult at times to drive, so the big numbers are always worrying, but if the weather gets a little rusty later this week – and it can – Thomas has proven in the Players’ Championship that he probably has more games than anyone to stand up to. this.
Sleeper – Si Woo Kim (65-1): There are some things I love about Kim this week. The first is that he has shown the tendency to win huge events in the past (dominated the players of 2017) and the second is that he plays terribly low-key Augusta National. Kim has four straight cuts here, including three top 25s and an insidious T12 in 2021, when he put his 3-pole for part of the tournament. There are a few players 50-1 or more (including Adam Scott and Russell Henley) who stand out, but Kim is my favorite teammate.
Top 10 lock – Brooks Koepka: There is a lot to like about Koepka this week. He plays good golf (top three in his last four starts). She seems to be as healthy as she has been for a long time (definitely healthier than last year when she was climbing the hill to No. 13 after a knee problem). And of course, the fact that he just destroys in big leagues with 12 (twelve!) Top 10 in his last 16 starts with the four biggest tournaments.
A star who will definitely not win – Rory McIlroy: It hurts me to say that, but McIlroy fights with his irons more than anyone who wants to win at Augusta National. His record in the top-10 in this tournament is huge (no one has more than six in the last 10 years), but he has not yet properly executed what he said earlier this week as a “negative” game plan where he plays away out of trouble, takes full advantage of the par 5s and hits everything high. I would love to see it happen this week, but even last week at the Texas Open, it was difficult to control the distance which did not create a ton of optimism.
Predictable surprise – Tiger Woods makes the cut: Maybe this could be considered more amazing three weeks or two months ago than when we saw how healthy and fit Woods looked at the beginning of the week. However, it should come as no surprise that someone who almost lost a leg 14 months ago is playing at the weekend in the most famous golf tournament in the world.
Lowest Round: 65 (-7) Winning Score: 275 (-13) Winner’s Sunday Score: 69 (-3)
Chip Patterson, author
Winner – Xander Schauffele (20-1): If he stays true to form, Schauffele will be at least in the mix to win and if you put yourself firmly in a handful of shots from the lead, chances are the tournament is broken. your way finally. Schauffele’s last two starts in Augusta in April were T2 and T3, a little behind Hideki Matsuyama last year, thanks in part to his t-shirt dropping to par-3 16th. He can play well in this course and I expect him to do so based on his recent form, and that’s a great value for a player with a high floor to perform in this tournament.
Sleeper – Kevin Kisner (100-1): Seeing Kisner make a strong appearance in a match is not a huge surprise. The WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play was the setting for three of Kisner’s top five finishes (one win, two second), but it was the other results this year that got me interested in his chances. He started the year with a back-to-back top-10 in Hawaii and after a few weeks more or less reappeared as a candidate for The Players, where he finished fourth solo. Claiming here would admittedly be a big leap from his Masters finishes (two lost Curts and no top-20 finishes in six starts), but Aiken golfer South Carolina native and former Georgia Bulldogs could quickly become a favorite guest if combined. two good rounds.
Padlock Top 10 – Jon Rahm: No betting favorite has won the Masters since Tiger in 2005, but that does not mean we should not remain with Rahm as the safest bet to finish on the first page of the standings. He took four finishes in the top-10 in his last four starts in the Masters and went to a series earlier this year that included three finishes in the top-10 in four starts. Coherence with Rahm is so strong that even if he has a terrible lap, you still have the chance to backdoor a top-10 by going low on a weekend lap early in the morning.
A Star That Will Definitely Not Win – Dustin Johnson: The 2020 Masters champion returned to ownership five months later and lost the cut in 2021, and this was the first of five lost cuts in his last 20 starts. I do not expect the DJ to lose the cut again, but since the beginning of last year, he is a star who was good but not great. In fact, winning the Masters usually requires excellence, and if the DJ can take advantage of it, it would be a turning point based on recent results.
Prediction surprise – Tony Finau finishes in the top 10: Why is it a surprise to predict that someone with three finishes in the top-10 in the last four Masters starts can do it again? Well, if you have not checked in at Big Tone recently, things are going in the wrong direction. In nine starts since early 2022, Finau finished in the top 20 only once (a T19 in Hawaii in early January) and lost the cut three times. His world ranking peaked at No. 9 after beating Cam Smith in a playoff at the Northern Trust last August, but has since dropped to No. 22. My prediction is this particular place – where he put his ankle in position his and shot the 68 the next day back in 2018 – brings a special performance by Finau.
Lower Round: 63 (-9) Winning Score: 275 (-13) Sunday Winner Score: 69 (-3)
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Kyle Boone, author
Winner – Collin Morikawa (20-1): Twice great champion, still 25 years old, one of the best and most consistent golf strikers. What does he not like here, especially at 20-1? His fitting has improved significantly, too, and the green jersey is one of the best on the PGA Tour. Completing the third leg of the career grand slam at his age would put him in a rare air.
Sleeper – Tiger Woods (50-1): It’s been a long time since Tiger played in a real event, so I would not empty my bank account here just because Woods’s chances of winning a Masters are so high . He could easily return home by Saturday. But … it’s the Tiger … at 50-1. And he obviously looked sharp in training sessions. There are probably worse, less fun ways to bet money than at GOAT
Top 10 Padlock – Jordan Spith: With two finishes in the top three in his last four Masters appearances and five in his career, Spieth is almost always in the mix at Augusta National, having never lost anyone. His latest events have kept the hype train largely away from entering this year, but Spieth at Augusta National is Spieth at Augusta National – he should be on the hunt until the end.
A Star Who Will Definitely Not Win – Rory McIlroy: Rory’s run at Augusta National and recent game this season suggest he may be in the thick of things this weekend, which is sometimes the exact point where he tends to fail . Physically, there are few as talented as him and able to attend the course, but he has never broken the Masters code enough and this week does not feel like the place he does.
Surprise prediction – Tiger finishes in the top 25: Yes, yes, I know he has not played in the PGA Tour in a year. And the transition from training and practice rounds to four days of grinding in Augusta is quite …
