2023 Masters Predictions: Best Bets for 18 LIV Golfers at Augusta

AUGUSTA, Ga. – In the final major of last year, Cameron Smith birdied five consecutive holes to begin the back-nine during the fourth round at St. Andrews to bypass Rory McIlroy on those ubiquitous bright yellow leaderboards and eventually claim the 150th Open Championship title.

One month later, Smith left the PGA Tour to join LIV Golf – a decision which has reverberated ever since, the resulting subplot echoing through the loblolly pines of Augusta National Golf Club this week.

On Dec. 20, the club announced that eligible players from the renegade circuit would indeed still be allowed to compete in the Masters. For this edition, at least.

"Regrettably, recent actions have divided men's professional golf by diminishing the virtues of the game and the meaningful legacies of those who built it," Augusta National Golf Club chairman Fred Ridley said in a statement. "Although we are disappointed in these developments, our focus is to honor the tradition of bringing together a preeminent field of golfers this coming April.”

The announcement ensured that a half-dozen former champions would still be welcomed at the year’s first major, as well as any others who’d clung to other exemptions, such as a top-50 placement in the Official World Golf Ranking, an increasingly difficult proposition as LIV events do not currently accumulate OWGR points.

All of which will reach a climax this week, with the never-before-seen storyline of players from a rival tour competing against former peers on the game’s most hallowed grounds while adorned in wardrobes representing the Range Goats and Majesticks.

All told, 18 players from LIV – more than 20% of the field – will be competing in Augusta this week. That, of course, includes Smith, the game’s No. 3-ranked player when this announcement was made and still comfortably inside the top-10.

Unlike many of the LIV defectors – Dustin Johnson and Joaquin Niemann serving as other notable exceptions – the Aussie was a player who’d left in his prime, at the peak of a performance which had yielded five victories in the last calendar year alone.

Others have been deemed – either by the court of public opinion or their own decree – as too old to compete on a regular basis (Phil Mickelson) or too injured (Brooks Koepka) or simply too unmotivated to grind away playing two dozen events every year (Bubba Watson).

The truth of the matter is that every player who made the 400-mile trek from Orange County National Golf Center in Winter Garden, Fla., where LIV held its third tournament of the year this past weekend, to Augusta National have qualified on their own merit and have an opportunity to contend for the green jacket.

All of which makes things a bit more difficult on bettors, especially those who (ahem) haven’t been paying close attention to those LIV events.

Fear not, however, as we break down the odds and best bets for every LIV player – including some season-long stats you won’t find anywhere else.

Cameron Smith +2200

2023 LIV results: 5^th-24^th-26^th

Notable stat: Putting average 1.51 (Rank: 2)

Following a December victory at the Aussie PGA, many assumed Smith could dominate the LIV tour, but that hasn’t happened yet – either to the credit of his fellow players or the inefficiency of one of the game’s best. Even so, Smith has shown his world-class putting stroke hasn’t left him, as he ranks among the league’s top players on the greens so far.

Best bet for Masters: Top-10

Pick: Cameron Smith — Top 10 (+190)

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Dustin Johnson: +2500

2023 LIV results: 35^th-13^th-7^th

Notable stat: Driving distance 321.4 (Rank: 2)

Two months shy of his 39th birthday, DJ is showing he can still mash it off the tee, as his driving distance is nearly 11 yards longer than in his final full PGA Tour campaign. In his last seven Masters starts, he owns a win, three top-fives and six top-12 results.

Best bet for Masters: Top-20

Pick: Dustin Johnson — Top 20 (+100)

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Brooks Koepka: +3500

2023 LIV results: 27^th-24^th-1^st

Notable stat: Only two-time LIV champion in 15 events

Perhaps no player in this week’s field owns a greater variance in high-ceiling/low-floor potential than last week’s LIV winner.

He’s hardly a safe pick, but if you’re going to bet him, you’d might as well bet him outright.

Best bet for Masters: Outright

Pick: Brooks Koepka +3700

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Joaquin Niemann: +5500

2023 LIV results: 11^th-36^th-31^st

Notable stat: Greens in regulation 65.43% (Rank: 22)

His numbers are only notable in that they fall in line with those from the PGA Tour before he left for LIV. Two straight results outside the top-30 don’t signal much confidence, but he’s at least making headlines, saying of the PGA Tour/LIV rivalry: “They hate us.”

Best bet for Masters: Top-40

Patrick Reed: +5500

2023 LIV results: 38^th-18^th-3^rd

Notable stat: Scrambling 70.18% (Rank: 6)

After a pair of indifferent results, a third-place finish in Orlando should move Reed firmly onto the radar this week. With his experience and expertise around Augusta, he’s worth a shot to beat his fellow 17 peers here.

Best bet for Masters: Top LIV player

Louis Oosthuizen: +9000

2023 LIV results: 41^st-2^nd-41^st

Notable stat: Putting average 1.63 (Rank: T-34)

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Once one of the more confounding players on the PGA Tour, Oosty has brought that inconsistency to LIV, with a pair of 41^st-place finishes sandwiched around a playoff loss.

Best bet for Masters: Made Cut

Mito Pereira: +11000

2023 LIV results: 15^th-6^th-5^th

Notable stat: GIR 75.31% (Rank: 1)

Since his early-year move to LIV, Pereira has been amongst the most consistent performers, posting a T-6 and T-11 in a pair of February starts on the Asian Tour before finding his groove on his new home circuit.

He’s the only Masters-eligible player with multiple top-10s on LIV this season.

Best bet for Masters: Top-30

Sergio Garcia: +11000

2023 LIV results: 23^rd-6^th-45^th

Notable stat: Greens in regulation 66.67% (Rank: 20)

Despite a middle-of-the-pack ranking for the GIR stat, Garcia’s two-thirds number is consistent with his last few seasons on the PGA Tour, which is good news for a guy who’s always been one of the game’s best iron players. Unfortunately, though, he’s missed the cut in three of his last four Masters starts.

Best bet for Masters: Missed cut

Abraham Ancer: +11000

2023 LIV results: 15^th-24^th-26^th

Notable stat: Driving accuracy 76.19% (Rank: 2)

After a consistent PGA Tour career which finally led to a long-awaited first (and only) victory at the 2021 WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, Ancer added another win at this year’s Saudi International, which wasn’t a LIV event, but was played by many of the LIV regulars.

Best bet for Masters: Top-30

Bryson DeChambeau: +11000

2023 LIV results: 23^rd-44^th-16^th

Notable stat: Scrambling 50.00% (Rank: 43)

If you’re going to mash it like Bryson – and yes, he’s still mashing it, ranking third on LIV in driving distance this season – then you’d better be able to get it up and down from some tweener distances, but he’s only 28-of-56 on the year so far.

Best bet for Masters: Missed Cut

Talor Gooch: +13000

2023 LIV results: 11^th-13^th-16^th

Notable stat: Greens in regulation 67.90% (Rank: 14)

Before departing the PGA Tour, Gooch was earning a reputation as a consistent player with a high floor, finishing top-20 in seven of his last 14 starts before leaving for LIV. So far, he’s been keeping up that reputation.

Best bet for Masters: Top-30

Thomas Pieters: +15000

2023 LIV results: 32^nd-33^rd-16^th

Notable stat: Driving accuracy 53.97% (Rank: 48)

You know what to expect from Pieters – plenty of offensive firepower and plenty of explosive reactions, too. A long bomber, he’s never been too concerned with hitting fairways, but such a lowly accuracy mark could cause problems this week.

Best bet for Masters: Made Cut

Bubba Watson: +20000

2023 LIV results: 40^th-20^th-40^th

Notable stat: Total birdies 27 (Rank: 47)

After dealing with injuries for most of last year, Bubba is back, but his game doesn’t appear to be. Most telling is that he ranks dead last in total birdies out of those who have played all three events so far, averaging just a measly three per round.

Best bet for Masters: Missed Cut

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Harold Varner III: +20000

2023 LIV results: 27^th-24^th-16^th

Notable stat: Greens in regulation 70.99 (Rank: 4)

The results haven’t quite shown it, but HV3 is quietly hitting the ball nicely this year, continuing a trend from his PGA Tour days.

After a T-23 in his Masters debut last year, expect him to play all four rounds this time, as well.

Best bet for Masters: Made Cut

Jason Kokrak: +25000

2023 LIV results: 19^th-36^th-11^th

Notable stat: Total birdies 40 (Rank 6)

Never one who’s been afraid to make birdies in bunches, Kokrak is making one in nearly every four holes this season. Don’t be surprised to see him replicate last year’s 14^th-place Masters finish this week.

Best bet for Masters: Top-30

Charl Schwartzel: +25000

2023 LIV results: 35^th-46^th-16^th

Notable stat: Scrambling 41.18% (Rank: 47)

The last player to win the Masters with triple-digit pre-tournament odds, Schwartzel’s best days are clearly – and perhaps, prematurely — behind him, with a pair of finishes outside of the top two-thirds this season.

Best bet for Masters: Missed Cut

Phil Mickelson: +25000

2023 LIV results: 27^th-32^nd-41^st

Notable stat: Scrambling 57.89% (Rank: 34)

Once the game’s best scrambler – and by once, I mean for one 20- or 25-year period – Lefty’s wedge work around the greens has left him with par-or-better in just 33-of-57 attempts.

He’ll need those wedges working if he’s going to stick around for another Augusta weekend.

Best bet for Masters: Missed Cut

Kevin Na: +35000

2023 LIV results: 20^th-6^th-22^nd

Notable stat: Putting average: 1.50 (Rank: 1)

Never one of the game’s longer hitters, Na always has always had to make up for it with some crafty short game play. If the wedges are as good as his flatstick has been, he can post a few decent scores.

Best bet for Masters: Made Cut