Ben Coley's three-ball betting tips for the Masters at Augusta National

Golf betting tips: Masters three-balls

3pts Riley to win his two-ball, Zalatoris to win his three-ball at 17/10 (Sky Bet)

1pt Davis and Watson to win their three-balls at 5/1 (Paddy Power)

1pt English and Reed to win their three-balls at 9/2 (Betfair)

0.5pt six-fold on the above selections at 70/1 (bet365, Sky Bet)

Sky Bet odds | Paddy Power | Betfair Sportsbook

Davis to beat Eckroat and Campos

I'm afraid day one of the Masters again went very badly for my outright selections and Rory McIlroy's late capitulation made it a very difficult day. The one consolation was a 10/1 winning treble which came about in fortunate fashion in the end, with two of the three selections winning their matches on the 18th green.

One of them was CAM DAVIS and it's surprising that having been 7/5 yesterday, he's even a touch bigger in places today. That's rare for one who won and while Davis's propensity to do something very costly almost did for us at the 16th, the fact he won this three-ball regardless says plenty.

Rafael Campos surprised me, driving it well and scoring nicely for 16 holes, but three dropped shots over the final two will have left a sour taste and he faces a battle to make the cut. So does Austin Eckroat, who remember said he didn't even want to make the cut last year, so unpleasant had been his first 36 holes at Augusta National.

I don't know exactly what to expect from Davis but at the prices I can't let him go unbacked.

Watson to beat Pavon and Beck

I'd have been a little wary of backing BUBBA WATSON prior to Thursday but a one-under 71 was rock-solid and this former Masters champion should be trusted to double up on his playing partners.

Matthieu Pavon has been all at sea this year and having putted pretty well in the first round, still couldn't muster anything competitive. In fact but for the putter his 78 would've been 80-something. Evan Beck meanwhile is an amateur who shot 77. It's surprising to me that Watson, having beaten his playing partners with loads to spare, isn't a shade of odds-on to do it again.

Backing repeats isn't often the best idea. Golf is too volatile for that, and it's why I can't bring myself to side with Ludvig Aberg at 7/4 to beat a dizzied McIlroy. But these two early three-balls look set to go to the form book again.

Riley to beat Kizzire

Patton Kizzire did nothing well on his way to an opening 79, a score which put him in a share of second-last. In his last dozen starts he's made just two cuts, his purple patch of strong ball-striking having come to a shuddering end.

This simply looks a case of two golfers on different trajectories, DAVIS RILEY's now heading in the right direction following several months of toil after he won in Texas last May. Riley has found form of late and that continued in a one-over 73 on his Masters debut, his irons some of the best in the field.

It's a bit of a shame to have missed out on this bet on Thursday but the fact that Riley hadn't played Augusta in competition before left us with a bit of an unknown. With a positive round behind him, 4/5 looks too good to ignore.

Zalatoris to beat Langer and Kent

Bernhard Langer is playing his final Masters and it could be an overwhelming day for the German, who could quickly find himself staring at a missed cut. He's braced for this being his last round but even so, you do have to wonder whether he'll be able to hold it all together.

He matched WILL ZALATORIS on Thursday thanks to a dynamite short-game display. Langer was about seven shots better than Zalatoris on and around the greens, and he had to be in order to shoot the same score while going into par-fours with hybrids and three-woods in his hands.

That is very hard to sustain and when you throw in the occasion, it means I'd be more worried about big-hitting amateur Noah Kent to be honest. He lacks finesse, though, and something like 75 from Zalatoris could be enough. He should be capable of going lower than that.

English to beat Couples and Pendrith

HARRIS ENGLISH had to birdie 18 to get the better of Fred Couples and this was similar to the Zalatoris/Langer/Kent group, because Couples produced a dynamite short-game display. He also holed out with a hybrid approach to the 14th, where some were hitting wedges, and I'd be pretty bullish about Couples running up a bigger number today.

That leaves us with English versus Taylor Pendrith as a virtual pick 'em, but English is massively favoured if you ask me. He knows Augusta really well, isn't scared of its greens in the way Pendrith may well be, and the Canadian duly struggled in all departments bar tee-shots on his first go round. He could improve but the revised odds don't properly reflect English's superiority in the here and now.

Reed to beat Greyserman and An

PATRICK REED was furious with himself on Thursday despite a solid one-under 71, and all because of the putter. Reed, in excellent form this year, hit the ball about as well as he could've hoped to, and had his usually deadly putter shown up then he'd perhaps be somewhere around second place instead of further down in the chasing pack.

What's interesting about this three-ball is that Max Greyserman and Ben An, two powerhouses, both relied on their short-games. Greyserman is a dynamite putter in fairness but he'll need more from his long-game, while An was disappointing both off the tee and with his irons. He will have to improve because it's unlikely that he holes as many putts.

Reed tied in this three-ball without his putter. At odds-against, he'll look great business if he figures something out on the greens.

Posted at 0845 BST on 11/04/25

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