Carolinians in the Masters

Arguably the biggest tournament of the year is on the horizon, the Masters. While the full slate of Carolinians isn’t competing in this, there’s a large number of them in the field this week looking to secure a green jacket, a thing only one of the guys in this group has done before. There’s a lot of pressure around this week, and there are some phenomenal players in the field. Let’s see how these golfers from the Carolinas stack up this week in terms of top finishes, as well as winning the tournament outright.

Akshay Bhatia

Competing in his 3rd ever Masters, Akshay Bhatia is in by far the best position he has ever been in. He has already secured a win this season at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which is also the biggest win of his career. This season he has made 5/7 cuts, with 2 top 25s, 1 top 10, 1 top 3, and obviously 1 win. The only strokes gained category Bhatia is negative in is strokes gained off the tee at -0.044 (95th on tour), but with everything else being positive, he still has a strokes gained total of 1.646 (6th on tour). In the 2 Masters tournaments Bhatia has competed in, he has made the cut, but he has yet to finish inside the top 25. He has some really strong value at +200 to finish top 20, has decent odds for a top 10 at +500, and currently sits at +6500 to win. Some other props to potentially look at would be Bhatia 1st-round leader at +4000, and -340 to make the cut.

Jacob Bridgeman

Out of Inman, South Carolina, Jacob Bridgeman will be making his 9th start of the season in really solid form. Bridgeman has made the cut in all 8 events he has played, with 4 top 25s, 1 top 10, 2 top 5s, and a win at the Genesis Invitational. Bursting onto the scene this year, Bridgeman will be playing his first Masters, so we don’t have any data on him here. He is currently 2nd overall in strokes gained total at 1.933, with his main area of concern being around the greens, which can be very crucial at Augusta National. Being his first Masters and all, his odds aren’t phenomenal at +220 for a top 20, nor at +550 for a top 10. To win the tournament outright, we see him at +8000. He too is +4000 to be first-round leader, and actually has decent value to make the cut at -235.

Ryan Gerard

Also getting his first Masters start is up-and-comer Ryan Gerard, who has played quite well in his 9 starts. Gerard enters this major with 2 runner-up finishes this season, with another 2 top 25 finishes. Like Bridgeman, he has been struggling around the greens, but has been really effective in overall strokes gained, as he is 24th on tour with a 0.940. Gerard finds himself with some really strong value to finish in the top 20 at +380, at +1100 to finish in the top 10, and at +17500 to win. To be the round 1 leader, he currently sits at +7500, but to make the cut you can find him at -215, which I think is really solid value for a player as good as Gerard.

Ben Griffin

Though this season has not started out how Ben Griffin would’ve thought, given his strong finish to last season, he has a chance to right any wrongs this week. Griffin is 6/9 on cuts this season, with just 2 finishes inside the top 25. Griffin does have the attributes that it takes to win around Augusta, but he will need the driver to cooperate this week, because if you end up in certain spots, it can be close to impossible to get to some of the pin placements around Augusta National. He’s definitely not the hottest player in the field this week, coming in at just 69th in strokes gained total at 0.230. He still has some really solid value for a top 20 at +300, +900 for a top 10, and +17500 to win. Perhaps since he’s not the best scorer, Griffin is +8000 to have the lead after round 1, but to make the cut there’s decent value for him at -300.

Dustin Johnson

First time we’ll be seeing some of the LIV guys this season, as Dustin Johnson makes his return to Augusta National. It’s hard to judge where his form might be, given that he plays on a different tour, but his best finish of the season came just a few weeks ago in Singapore, where he finished in a tie for 10th. The one thing that sure will bode well for him this week is the putting, as he is currently tied second on the LIV Tour for putting average with 1.53 putts per hole. He has played in the Masters quite a few times, with this being his 16th time playing. In the 15 he has played in, he has made the cut in 11, won once, placed top 5 twice, placed top 10 another 2 times, and finished in the top 25 twice. Vegas is not too hot on him this week, however, as he currently resides at +750 for a top 20, +1900 for a top 10, and +30000 to win. To be the first-round leader, he is currently +7000, and to make the cut he’s -132.

Andrew Novak

Andrew Novak is among quite a few Carolinians making their Masters debut. Novak has gotten off to a so-so start to the year, making 6/9 cuts, with 1 top 25, and 1 top 10. While he’s certainly not the talk of the town, he has shown to be pretty effective around the greens, as that’s his best strokes gained category at 0.139 (55th on tour). Everywhere else this season, however, he is losing strokes to the field. If he can just elevate 2 of those other statistical groups, like driving or approach to the green, Novak could be in for a special week. Oddsmakers aren’t too hot on him either, as he’s +550 to finish top 20, +1700 to finish top 10, and +40000 to win. To be the first-round leader, he is currently +10000, but has some awesome value at -180 to make the cut this week.