Talk about incredible timing. The launch of legal online sports betting in Ontario comes just in time for golf’s first and most famous major.
The Masters Tournament begins Thursday at Augusta National Golf Course, giving an early welcome gift to Ontario sports bettors.
Masters betting is sure to account for the first wager placed by many bettors in Ontario, which just launched expanded sports betting markets this week.
Here are all the things you need to know to navigate your own version of Amen Corner like a pro.
Masters at a glance
- What: Masters Tournament
- When: Thursday, April 7 through Sunday, April 10
- Where: Augusta National Golf Course, Augusta, Ga.
- TV: TSN, CTV
- Defending champion: Hideki Matsuyama
- Purse: $11.5 million
How to sign up for an Ontario online sportsbook
First of all, you need to find yourself a platform.
Below are the best deals out there for sportsbook operators in the province. All of them will provide Masters betting suitable for a Tiger or Golden Bear.
Click above to see the welcome offer, follow the prompts to register your account and download the app (if available) to get started.
Current Masters odds
The simplest and most common way to bet on golf is picking the tournament winner.
Thanks to large fields and the current landscape of the sport, even betting on the favourite can make for a large payday. All odds listed below are as of Monday afternoon.
Jon Rahm is that favourite this year, and the world’s No. 2 player was listed at +1100 at BetMGM Ontario Sportsbook and other Ontario sportsbooks. There are very few sporting events where betting $10 on a favourite will play out $120.
Rahm has never won the Masters, with his best finish being fourth in 2018. But he’s consistent at Augusta, finishing in the top nine each of the past four years.
Justin Thomas is close behind and actually listed as the co-favourite at BetRivers Sportsbook in Ontario. His longest odds are +1400 at PointsBet Canada Sportsbook.
Thomas’ best Masters finish is also fourth, which came in 2020. While he’s consistently among the favourites in PGA Tour events and has 14 career Tour wins, his 2020 finish is the only time in five tries that he’s finished in the top 10 at the Masters.
Following Rahm and Thomas are a handful of golfers who have odds ranging from +1400 to +2000, depending on the sportsbook. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is listed as high as +1600 at MGM and Caesars Ontario.
Cameron Smith (+1600 at BetRivers, Caesars and PointsBet), Dustin Johnson (+1800 at BetRivers), Rory McIlroy (+2000 at Caesars) and Viktor Hovland (+2000 at Caesars and PointsBet), are mixed in with Scheffler behind the favourites.
Will Tiger Woods play in the Masters?
Then there’s the most famous player in the world, Tiger Woods, who figures to be on a lot of bet slips. He may or may not even play, and it would be his first tournament since his car accident in February of 2021.
His odds reflect the mixture of his popularity and that unknown, as he’s listed as long as +8000 at PointsBet Canada. BetMGM and Caesars have him at +5000, and BetRivers at +6000.
Some sportsbooks have already stated that a bet on Woods will be voided if he doesn’t play. That’s good insurance, although Woods is no stranger to giving it a go and pulling out during a tournament.
If he finds the same magic he did in 2019, though, he’s likely to cost sportsbooks a lot of money.
Three Ontario golfers at the Masters representing Canada
Three Canadians are in the field: Corey Conners, Mackenzie Hughes and Mike Weir.
While Weir of Sarnia has the best and longest history at the tournament, having won in 2003, he also enters the weekend with the longest odds. Weir can be found at as long as +150000 at BetMGM Ontario. It makes sense, as he’s missed the cut nine of the past 11 times he’s entered the Masters.
His best run came shortly after that 2003 win, when he finished tied for 11th, tied for 20th and tied for 17th from 2006, 2007 and 2008.
Conners of Listowel is the Canadian with the best odds (shortest: +4000 at Caesars; longest: +6000 at PointsBet). He’s coming off back-to-back top-10 finishes in the tournament, as he was tied for 10th in 2020 and tied for eighth in 2021. He’s made the cut in three straight Masters events after missing it in 2015 when he entered as an amateur.
Hughes of Hamilton had his best Masters finish a year ago, coming in tied for 40th. He missed the cut in 2017, his only other time in the field. Hughes can be found with odds as long as +25000 at BetMGM.
What kinds of Masters bets are available?
Betting on who will wear the Green Jacket Sunday is only part of what’s available in Masters markets. Like they do for most major events, sportsbooks want to make sure Masters bettors have a range of options to choose from when it comes to laying down action.
If you’re not fully confident in picking a player to win outright, you can wager on a finishing position, whether that’s top 5, 10, 20, etc. You can also bet whether or not a player will make the cut, with odds on both yes and no at many sportsbooks.
Have a feeling someone will start out hot and have the lead after Thursday? That’s available, too.
Different sportsbooks offer a different variety of props and specials. At BetRivers, you can wager on who will be the top Canadian finisher at the Masters, with Conners having the shortest odds as of Monday at -200, Hughes at +200 and Weir at +900. There are options for other nationalities, as well.
BetMGM has odds on head-to-head matchups for players in the tournament. For example, Rahm and Thomas are matched up with Rahm at -115, Thomas at +105 and a tie at +1600.
Caesars has a list of event specials, including “Hole In One On Hole 16 In The Event”, which is listed at -125. You can also bet on someone shooting a course record 62 or better, which comes in at +1200.
At PointsBet, you can wager on what the winner will do on the 72nd hole: birdie or better (+175), par (+110) or bogey or worse (+350).
And that’s just a small taste.
