The 2023 Masters started rather normally with plenty of big names and surprises alike at the top of the leaderboard. But things quickly took a turn in various ways on Friday, even if the Masters odds board shows a couple clear favorites. The second round was officially announced as suspended until Saturday morning at just before 6 p.m. local time. Multiple trees fell down at the 17th tee box to begin the suspension of play. Nobody was hurt, but there was quite a mess to clean up for Augusta National before play could resume again. The worst of the weather and rain is expected on Saturday, so we could be in for a long few days to see who puts on the Green Jacket.
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Masters Second-Round Stats
Brooks Koepka took advantage of his favorable draw and came out firing again on Friday morning to open up a hefty lead before the afternoon groups went out. Koepka, a four-time major champion, has endured some struggles the last couple of years, but he put fans on notice with a strong win at LIV Orlando last week. He’s ridden that form to an impressive 12 under through two rounds.
The closest to him is currently Jon Rahm. The Spaniard is through just nine holes while he waits to see what the weather does on Saturday. He’s the only serious threat to get close to Koepka for the final two rounds. The Masters odds board shows this, as Koepka (+140) and Rahm (+190) are far away from the closest contender in Collin Morikawa (+1400), who is 6 under. Sam Bennett, the U.S. Amateur champion, is second in the clubhouse at 8 under.
A few of the biggest names in contention are at 5 under and seven shots back in Jason Day, Sam Burns and Jordan Spieth. Day reached 9 under in his round before dropping four shots in his final four holes. Of the other players still needing to finish their second rounds on Saturday, Viktor Hovland (-6) and Cameron Young (-5) are in the best positions to make a run.
Can Anyone Touch Brooks Koepka?
I thought just one year ago that Scottie Scheffler put together two of the most impressive opening rounds you’ll ever see at Augusta National as he stormed out to a huge lead. But Brooks Koepka has quickly rivaled that start in 2023. The LIV Golf member has been a non-factor as of late in majors as he dealt with injuries, but he’s confident he’s healthy, and the game has lived up to it.
Through two rounds, Koepka has gained an absurd 8.14 strokes on approach. In context, that’s not overly surprising. Koepka’s three best performances in his career in SG: Approach have all come in major championship victories. His career-best mark is 9.53 strokes gained in his 2019 PGA Championship win. At his current pace, he’s set to obliterate that personal-best and add another incredible ball striking performance when it matters most.
It’s tough to understand why Koepka turns it on so easily in majors, but looking at his other best approach weeks provides even more context. Koepka is a game manager at his best. He’s incredibly good at finding the center of greens and avoiding mistakes with his irons. Most of Koepka’s best marks in regular PGA TOUR tournaments have also come at the toughest venues.
Scottie Scheffler’s Unexplainable Start
The World No. 1 and favorite coming in to defend his Masters title has had an unexplainable opening two rounds. On one hand, he’s far-and-away second to Koepka right now in ball striking through two rounds … although some players could still catch him on the course. Scheffler has gained 6.54 strokes on approach and another 2.16 off the tee. You would expect that to put him right in contention, but he’s having his worst week on the greens in his PGA TOUR career.
Scheffler is in a class of his own at the bottom of the board in SG: Putting through two rounds. He’s lost 7.32 strokes on the greens. When winning here a year ago, he gained 2.85 strokes with the putter. Considering Scheffler (T29, -1) made the cut, there’s a chance he could surpass his personal-worst putting mark in a tournament, although that came at the Sanderson Farms in 2018 well before he held a PGA TOUR card.
The putter has become a real concern for the World No. 1. Since his hot stretch last year, he has been well below PGA TOUR average in that category. His success this season has been fully due to his world-best ball striking. Even this week with the ball striking in top form again, the putter has completely taken him out of the running of defending his Masters victory.
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LIV Golf Players at the Masters
Eighteen LIV Golf players teed it up at the Masters this year. This is the first time since the Open Championship in July that LIV players have played in the same tournament as PGA TOUR players in the United States. Here’s where some of them stand during the second round.
Top Three LIV Golf Players During Second Round
- Brooks Koepka -12 (1)
- Phil Mickelson -4, Joaquin Niemann -4, Patrick Reed -4 thru 13 (T10)
- Cameron Smith -2 (T22)
Of the 18 LIV players, eight of them are currently under par for the tournament, with Harold Varner III, Dustin Johnson, and Abraham Ancer joining the names above. Two more players are inside the cutline, giving us 10 of 18 set to play the weekend as it stands. Kevin Na withdrew after nine holes, while Bubba Watson, Louis Oosthuizen, Jason Kokrak, Bryson DeChambeau and Sergio Garcia were notable names to struggle.
Live Masters Bets to Consider
Justin Rose to Finish Top 10: +200
It’s definitely not the best time to live bet Masters odds with two clear favorites and such uncertainty with the weather. But there is one play that really catches by eye and could provide a ton of value. With conditions looking terrible on Saturday with heavy rain and high winds, the guys already in the clubhouse are likely at a huge advantage.
Justin Rose currently sits in a tie for 10th after posting 69, 71 to start the week. If conditions are as hard as forecasted on Saturday, he could be as high as eighth after play finishes for the second round. Rose has six Top 10s in his Masters career, and he always talks about how much he absolutely loves this place. In nasty conditions for the rest of the weekend, Rose is one of the guys I trust most to perform, and I love these odds for him to maintain his current position and continue his 2023 resurgence.
Masters Live In-Tournament Odds
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