Masters Golf Favorites: How Often Do They Win?
For the second year in a row, the Masters has a relatively straightforward favorite. Scottie Scheffler managed to cash in on short odds in 2024. He hasn’t been at his best in 2025, but the market still likes his chances narrowly over the hotter Rory McIlroy. Masters week seems the perfect time to examine the history of favorites in this event.
How have Masters favorites done over the years? Have they produced a positive ROI? Let’s delve into what history tells us about Scheffler’s chances for a repeat.
Masters Favorites: Top 10 In 2025 Odds
Find odds for this year’s Masters favorites below. Click any odds to wager on Masters odds at betting apps in your area.
Masters Favorites Have Lost 9 Units
Over the past 40 years, Masters favorites have entered the event with average odds of +535. They have won six times, producing 25 units of profit, assuming 1 unit flat bets on each.
However, the 34 that didn’t make the entire betting strategy net out to -9 units.
Here’s a look at the full strategy by the numbers.
| Sample/Units Spent | Average Odds | Units | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | +535 | -9 | -22.5% |
Betting on Masters favorites over the past 40 years produced a -22.5% ROI. Needless to say, that’s not great. That’s substantially worse than the expectation of making a blind bet every year, assuming normal sports betting vig/hold.
On average, these favorites produced a finishing position of 10.5. However, this ignores the four favorites who missed the cut, including two in the past four years (D. Johnson 2021, R. McIlroy 2023).
Before Scheffler in 2024, Tiger Woods was the last Masters favorite to cash in back in 2005. Woods accounts for many of the favorites’ best finishes, posting four wins plus five more top-five finishes.
Recent years have been especially unkind to the favorites. Scheffler’s win aside, the only other top-five finish in the past nine years came from Jordan Spieth (third, 2018).
See below for a complete list of results from Masters betting favorites.
List Of Masters Favorites’ Results
| Year | Player | Odds | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | T. Watson | +400 | 10 |
| 1986 | S. Ballesteros | +500 | 4 |
| 1987 | B. Tway | +500 | CUT |
| 1988 | G. Norman | +350 | 5 |
| 1989 | G. Norman | +400 | 3 |
| 1990 | G. Norman | +500 | CUT |
| 1991 | N. Faldo | +600 | 12 |
| 1992 | F. Couples | +500 | 1 |
| 1993 | G. Norman | +600 | 31 |
| 1994 | G. Norman | +600 | 18 |
| 1995 | N. Faldo | +600 | 24 |
| 1996 | G. Norman | +900 | 2 |
| 1997 | T. Woods | +800 | 1 |
| 1998 | T. Woods | +700 | 8 |
| 1999 | D. Duval | +600 | 6 |
| 2000 | T. Woods | +200 | 5 |
| 2001 | T. Woods | +150 | 1 |
| 2002 | T. Woods | +200 | 1 |
| 2003 | T. Woods | +150 | 15 |
| 2004 | T. Woods | +350 | 22 |
| 2005 | T. Woods | +350 | 1 |
| 2006 | T. Woods | +200 | 4 |
| 2007 | T. Woods | +150 | 2 |
| 2008 | T. Woods | +130 | 2 |
| 2009 | T. Woods | +220 | 6 |
| 2010 | T. Woods | +500 | 4 |
| 2011 | P. Mickelson | +600 | 27 |
| 2012 | T. Woods | +450 | 40 |
| 2013 | T. Woods | +350 | 4 |
| 2014 | R. McIlroy | +1000 | 8 |
| 2015 | R. McIlroy | +650 | 4 |
| 2016 | J. Day | +650 | 10 |
| 2017 | J. Spieth | +650 | 11 |
| 2018 | J. Spieth | +1000 | 3 |
| 2019 | R. McIlroy | +800 | 21 |
| 2020 | B. DeChambeau | +900 | 34 |
| 2021 | D. Johnson | +800 | CUT |
| 2022 | J. Rahm | +1200 | 27 |
| 2023 | R. McIlroy | +700 | CUT |
| 2024 | S. Scheffler | +500 | 1 |
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