Masters Betting - Odds to Miss the Cut

2009 Masters to Miss the Cut

Tee-off: 4/9/2009

Golf fans never want to think negatively, but when it comes to betting on golf, it makes sense to go make a wager or two on a golfer to miss the cut.

This is particularly true in the 2009 Masters where some favorites on paper really shouldn’t have a shot at Augusta this week.

Not making the cut can happen to any golfer. So, I’m going to write right off the bat that making a wager on Tiger at +1000, Phil Mickelson at +750 and Padraig Harrington at +450 in the sportsbook makes sense. I wouldn’t argue against any bettor who wants to take a stab that one of those golfers or all three of them play badly enough to miss the cut.

But they aren’t the best bets in this category. Let’s take a look at the top bets to miss the cut at the 2009 Masters.

Golf: 2009 Masters to Miss the Cut

1. Sergio Garcia +225 - - Garcia finished in 46th place in 2006 and then missed the cut in 2007 and 2008 at Augusta. Why should things change in 2009? I can’t believe that gamblers are getting such terrific odds on a golfer that so obviously has trouble on a particular course to fail. Garcia isn’t tearing things up in 2009 on other courses. Now, he faces a course where failure has become the norm. At +225, he’s a terrific bet in this category.

2. Ernie Els +225 - - Ernie used to be an automatic top ten guy at Augusta. Not any more. Talk about a golfer that has really lost it on a single course. Els hasn’t made the cut at Augusta since 2007. He’s playing well in 2009 but obviously, like Sergio, Els just can’t get it together at Augusta.

3. Anthony Kim +180 - - Kim could tee off at Augusta and just tear the course up ala Tiger in 1997. Then again, he could just blow it out there in his first Masters’ try. I’m siding with the kid blowing it because Augusta is so vastly different, and difficult, than almost any course Kim has ever played. Plus, the pressure is going to be unreal out there.

4. Camilo Villegas +180 - - Villegas shot an 80 and 85 in his first Masters’ try in 2007. He followed that up with a 73 and 77 in 2008. He didn’t make the cut in either year. I don’t see him improving enough to make the cut in 2009.

5. Trevor Immelman +150 - - It pains me to pick the defending champ to not make the cut, but bettors have to realize that in 2007 Immelman finished in 55th place. In 2006 he didn’t make the cut. This year Immelman has made the cut in 5 out of 6 tournaments but I could see where he could just implode at Augusta because until 2008 he had never had success in the Masters.

6. Chad Campbell +145 - - Campbell finished tied for 3rd in 2006, then missed the cut in 2007 and didn’t enter in 2008 at Augusta. I don’t see him making it to Saturday in 2009.