Masters 2016 Betting Odds: Day, McIlroy, Spieth Favored With No Tiger Woods In Field

Jordan Spieth Jason Day — Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson of the United States Team watch play against Jason Day and Charl Schwartzel of the International Team at The Presidents Cup at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea on Oct. 10, 2015. Getty

Much of the conversation surrounding the 2016 Masters involves the world’s top four golfers, who have separated themselves as the favorites to win the coveted green jacket. Jason Day, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Bubba Watson have the best odds heading into the first major PGA tournament of 2016.

There are 89 golfers in the field, but the sport’s four best players have been given almost as good of a chance as the remaining 85 competitors. Bovada.lv has set the odds of either Day, McIlroy, Spieth or Watson winning the Major at +130, while the rest of the field has -170 odds.

Spieth (+900) was the world’s best player in 2015, winning the first two Majors, including a four-day score of 18-under par at Augusta. He tied for fourth place at The Open Championship, followed by a second-place finish at the PGA Championship. The 22-year-old, however, has the third-best odds, having failed to finish better than ninth place in his last six tournaments. He was the overall favorite just two months ago.

Day (+650) has jumped ahead of Spieth in the rankings, and he has slightly better odds than McIlroy (+800). The Australian tied for 28th place at the 2015 Masters, but his performance improved in each Major, culminating with a victory at the PGA Championship. No golfer is playing better at the moment, and Day has won two consecutive tournaments.

McIlroy has the most Major victories of the top golfers with four in his career, though he’s never won the green jacket. His best Masters finish came last year when he earned fourth place.

Watson (+1000) has finished in the top 20 in any of the four Majors just twice since 2011, but those two exceptions resulted in Masters victories in 2012 and 2014. The 37-year-old won the Northern Trust Open on Feb. 21, followed by a second-place finish two weeks later.

The next tier of Masters favorites involves a couple of green jacket winners from this decade. Phil Mickelson (+1600) won the tournament for a third time in 2010, and Adam Scott (+1100) won the championship three years later. A prop bet offered by Bovada gives gamblers +210 odds for either Scott, Mickelson, Rickie Fowler (+1600) or Day to win the Masters, giving the field -285 odds.

Tiger Woods finished in 17th place last year, but he won’t participate at the Masters for the second time in the last three years because of a back injury. Woods won the green jacket four times from 1997-2005, and he had six top-four finishes from 2006-2013.

"I've been hitting balls and training daily, but I'm not physically ready,” Woods said in a statement last week. “I've said all along that this time I need to be cautious and do what's best for my long-term health and career. Unfortunately, playing Augusta next week wouldn't be the right decision. I'm absolutely making progress, and I'm really happy with how far I've come, but I still have no timetable to return to competitive golf. ”

Masters 2016 Betting Odds

Jason Day +650

Rory McIlroy +800

Jordan Spieth +900

Bubba Watson +1000

Adam Scott +1100

Rickie Fowler +1600

Dustin Johnson +1600

Phil Mickelson +1600

Henrik Stenson +2200

Justin Rose +2500

Louis Oosthuizen +3000