2023 Masters: Tiger Woods makes cut, bettors rejoice; Tracking Tiger Woods' odds, scores
The weather-beaten Masters finished up the second round in a downpour Saturday morning at Augusta. But that didn’t rain on Tiger Woods’ cuts-made parade among the azaleas.
Pre-tournament, one of the most popular prop bets on the Masters odds board was the Yes/No on whether Woods would make the cut. And the action was flying in both directions.
So how did sportsbooks make out when Woods snuck in right on the cutline, his record-tying-23rd consecutive Masters cut made? BetMGM sports trader Christian Cipollini and PointsBet USA media analytics manager Wyatt Yearout chimed in on Tiger still working on the weekend.
Let's dive into how Woods making the cut helped bettors cash in.
JT’s Pain is Tiger’s Gain
Woods was inside the cutline at 1 over par heading to his final two holes of the second round Saturday morning. But he bogeyed both 17 and 18 for a 1-over 73 and a 3-over 147 two-round total.
That put him outside the cutline and had him needing either Justin Thomas or Sungjae Im – both still on the course at 2 over – to drop back to 3 over, which would move the cutline to 3 over.
As it turned out, Woods got both. Thomas bogeyed his last two holes to finish at 4-over 148 and actually miss the cut, while Im bogeyed No. 17 to tie Tiger at 3-over 147, right on the cutline.
That worked out all right for BetMGM.
"We actually ended up taking a ton more on the other side (No), which I didn’t expect," Cipollini said. "So we actually ended up a small winner with Woods making the cut."
BetMGM opened the Woods cut prop at Yes -190/No +150 and stretched to -200/+160. However, bettors came in on No late Wednesday/early Thursday, before the first round, bringing the odds down to Yes -175/No +135.
All Winners at PointsBet
PointsBet USA’s prop bet on Woods to make the cut was a one-way offering, with Yes the lone option. So anyone who bet it was a winner on a prop that closed at -200. And the prop was quite popular.
"Tiger was our most-bet golfer in ticket count and second in money to make the cut," Yearout said, noting only amateur standout Gordon Sargent took more money to make the cut, though Sargent didn’t, shooting 9-over 153. "Clients are certainly thankful for JT’s crumble in bad weather at the end of Round 2, [allowing] Tiger to sneak under the cutline and cash their -200 wagers."
Still, Woods finished his two rounds 15 strokes behind leader Brooks Koepka (12-under 132). So the five-time Masters champ has pretty much zero chance to make it six – which is fine with oddsmakers.
Woods' odds to win it all were anywhere from +6000 to +6600 (at FOX Bet) this week before the tournament began.
"He’s still a problem on the outright, but that would take a miracle at this point," BetMGM’s Cipollini said.
Banking on Bennett
Arguably the story of the first two rounds in the Masters odds market is 23-year-old amateur Sam Bennett, a Texas A&M golfer. Bennett stood alone in third place with an 8-under 136 total, behind only Koepka (132) and Jon Rahm (134).
Some oddsmakers had Bennett as long as 5000/1 to win the Masters. BetMGM didn’t stretch to those lengths but still had the youngster as a substantial pre-tourney long shot.
"We took three $50 bets at 750/1," Cipollini said. "We had six $100 bets at 250/1 [during] Round 1."
Those $50 plays would pay out quite nicely if Bennett pulls the upset. Each ticket would profit $37,500. And the $100 bets would profit $25,000 apiece.
Patrick Everson is a sports betting analyst for FOX Sports and senior reporter for VegasInsider.com. He is a distinguished journalist in the national sports betting space. He’s based in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golfing in 110-degree heat. Follow him on Twitter: @PatrickE_Vegas.
