2023 Masters betting, odds: Bet Corey Conners in this head-to-head matchup
The PGA heads to Georgia this weekend to play Augusta National for The Masters. Golf’s first major of the year brings a lot of intrigue, with the LIV players in the field along with others stars such as Tiger Woods. Weather will be a daily concern, with wind, rain, and storms coming into play for the first three rounds of the tournament and cooler temperatures closing out the weekend.
Regardless of the weather, I am targeting solid ball-strikers and players who can navigate around the green. Here’s a full tournament head-to-head to wager on. These wagers are 7-1-1 on the season.
Corey Conners (-110) vs. Will Zalatoris
Conners doesn’t quite fit the statistical profile of a player I’m willing to back for a Top 20 or better. However, he enters this weekend in some nice form after winning the Valero Texas Open last week while gaining nearly 10 strokes with his irons. Conners has gained strokes ball-striking in six of his past eight tournaments while also gaining from tee to green during that time. Where he lacks is in the short game. Although he did gain around the green in San Antonio, Conners lost around the green in three of his past four events.
The bright side: He has some great Masters history, with three straight top-10 finishes, including a solo sixth last year. More importantly, Conners gained over four strokes around the green to assist in that sixth-place finish. Zalatoris, on the other hand, is typically one of my favorite players to back on a long and difficult course, but he is just … off. After finishing fourth in The Genesis Invitational in February, he has finished T53, 73rd and 59th, hemorrhaging strokes with his putter and losing no fewer than 4.7 strokes in three straight tournaments.
This comes after he returned from a back injury to then withdraw from the WGC-Dell Match Play. Going into a major, you need rhythm. Despite his stellar back-to-back performances at Augusta (second in 2021 and sixth in 2022), Zalatoris' ball-striking hasn’t quite been the same and isn't up to par with what we know he can produce.
Course history alone is not enough to back a player for a wager. With all things taken into account, Conners is the better choice in this matchup.
