After being forced to withdraw from the 2024 Genesis Invitational because of an illness, 15-time major champion Tiger Woods is expected to make his return to competitive golf at the 2024 Masters. The five-time green jacket winner has slipped to 941st in the Official World Golf Ranking and has either missed the cut or withdrawn from his last three major championship appearances. However, Woods won at Augusta National Golf Club as recently as 2019 and course knowledge is always a factor in the only major championship that is played every year at the same venue. The Masters 2024 begins on Thursday, April 11 with the first 2024 Masters tee times.
Woods is a 160-1 longshot in the 2024 Masters odds, but he’ll be popular among golf bettors nonetheless. Meanwhile, Scottie Scheffler is No. 1 in the world and the 5-1 favorite in the 2024 Masters futures after wins at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Players Championship in back-to-back weeks. Before locking in any 2024 Masters picks, make sure you see the PGA Tour predictions and best bets from golf betting and fantasy expert Sia Nejad.
Nejad specializes in betting and DFS in golf, among other sports. He’s had incredible success in the outright and first-round leader markets as well as betting head-to-head matchups. He’s been profitable with his head-to-head matchups since last year’s Charles Schwab Challenge, going 35-21-2 and returning 10.00 units. That’s a $1,000 profit for $100 bettors since May 2023.
Nejad also nailed 75-1 longshot Wyndham Clark as the outright winner at the Wells Fargo Championship. In 2023, SportsLine debuted “The Early Wedge,” and in the first three months of the show, he hit two first-round leaders and three outright winners.
Now, Nejad has focused his attention on the 2024 Masters field and has locked in his best bets, top sleepers and favorites to avoid. See who they are at SportsLine.
Top 2024 Masters expert picks
One surprise: Nejad is completely fading Rory McIlroy, even though he’s a four-time major champion and one of the top favorites in the 2024 Masters odds. After a strong start to 2024 on the DP World Tour, the Irishman has struggled mightily on the PGA Tour and has not finished in the top 10 in any of his five starts this season. His best finish was a 19th-place run at the Players Championship.
McIlroy has been trying to win the Masters and complete a career grand slam since 2014, and he has missed the cut at Augusta in two of his last three starts there. While McIlroy has had strong Masters performances, the heightened pressure to complete the grand slam may add to his recent struggles make him a less appealing pick.
Instead, Nejad is high on the chances of Hideki Matsuyama, even though he’s a +2800 longshot. The 32-year-old Japanese superstar won the 2021 Masters and is already a nine-time winner on the PGA Tour. He’s ranked No. 14 in the world and is playing sensational golf early in the 2024 PGA Tour season.
Matsuyama won the Genesis Invitational, finished 12th at the Arnold Palmer and was sixth at the Players Championship earlier this month. He’s third in the 2024 PGA Tour FedEx Cup standings and his short game has been the best on tour early this season. He ranks first in strokes gained: around-the-green (0.674) and third in strokes gained: tee-to-green (1.360). Matsuyama has made the cut at Augusta the last nine years and has eight top-20 finishes during that span. See who else to back at SportsLine.
How to make 2024 Masters picks
Nejad has locked in his early best bets for the 2024 Masters and is backing several longshots, including one priced at more than 150-1. This player “has been playing well in 2024 and has a decent track record at the Masters.” You can see Nejad’s PGA Tour picks only at SportsLine.
So, which players should you target or avoid for the 2024 Masters, and which player in the Masters 2024 field could bring a huge payday at more than 150-1? Check out the odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Sia Nejad’s top picks for the 2024 Masters, all from the expert who is 35-21 on golf head-to-head picks.
2024 Masters odds, field
See Nejad’s picks, best bets and predictions here
Scottie Scheffler +500
Rory McIlroy +1000
Jon Rahm +1300
Brooks Koepka +2100
Jordan Spieth +2100
Will Zalatoris +2100
Viktor Hovland +2100
Xander Schauffele +2400
Ludvig Aberg +2400
Patrick Cantlay +2800
Justin Thomas +2800
Hideki Matsuyama +2800
Cameron Smith +3100
Collin Morikawa +3100
Joaquin Niemann +3100
Wyndham Clark +3100
Matt Fitzpatrick +3600
Dustin Johnson +3600
Tony Finau +4400
Max Homa +4400
Brian Harman +4600
Shane Lowry +4600
Cameron Young +4600
Jason Day +4600
Bryson DeChambeau +4600
Sam Burns +5500
Min Woo Lee +5500
Sahith Theegala +5500
Tommy Fleetwood +5500
Sung-Jae Im +7500
Tyrrell Hatton +7500
Corey Conners +9000
Justin Rose +9000
Patrick Reed +9000
Tom Kim +12000
Russell Henley +12000
Adam Scott +12000
Rickie Fowler +12000
Jake Knapp +12000
Phil Mickelson +16000
Harris English +16000
Sergio Garcia +16000
Tiger Woods +16000
Gary Woodland +19000
Keegan Bradley +19000
Si Woo Kim +19000
Chris Kirk +19000
Ryan Fox +19000
J.T. Poston +19000
Nick Dunlap +19000
Cameron Davis +19000
Thorbjorn Olesen +19000
Adrian Meronk +19000
Sepp Straka +19000
Nick Taylor +19000
Eric Cole +19000
Matthieu Pavon +19000
Emiliano Grillo +19000
Nicolai Hojgaard +19000
Luke List +21000
Adam Hadwin +21000
Charl Schwartzel +28000
Kurt Kitayama +28000
Bubba Watson +28000
Ryo Hisatsune +28000
Erik van Rooyen +28000
