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

Golf betting tips: Masters two-balls

2pts Rahm, Cantlay and Clark to win their two-balls at 4/1 (General)

2pts Day, Hovland and Lowry to win their two-balls at 4/1 (General)

1pt six-fold the above selections at 25/1 (General)

Sky Bet odds | Paddy Power | Betfair Sportsbook

The Masters leaderboard is about as close as you'll get to perfection heading into the weekend.

We have Scottie Scheffler, the world number one, close enough to be the same price he was pre-tournament, but not so close as to feel inevitable. We have Bryson DeChambeau, one of the biggest stars this game has. We have Justin Rose, one of its best 40-somethings, a player with a history of heartbreak here. We have the odd debutant, plus interest stretching from Australia to Ireland; from Norway and Denmark to Korea and Japan.

And we have Rory McIlroy.

Friday's 66 was electric, particularly from holes 10 to 13. The approach shots he hit to two of the most feared holes at Augusta were sensational. The break he enjoyed at the 12th, where his approach sailed long, was the kind a Masters winner sometimes needs. The eagle, at 13, had echoes of champions past but with an unmistakably McIlroy tint. Everything he does here is on a tightrope.

After the four dropped shots of the first round appeared to have ended the dream for another year, these five or so hours moved McIlroy as close to the lead as he has been at this stage in almost a decade. Rory McIlroy, by a whisker admittedly, is favourite to win the Masters.

If he continues to strike the ball as he has done, his irons in particular, McIlroy will have a big chance on Sunday afternoon. If you were keen on his chances pre-tournament, as I and many others were, you can only be more so now. But if you didn't feel a great urge to back him, then I doubt you'll have developed one. This is stressful enough, isn't it?

Scheffler and DeChambeau can barely be separated in the market despite the latter lying second, one ahead of McIlroy, two ahead of the defending champion, and the winner will likely come from these three.

Should Rose defy them all it will be an achievement greater than his US Open. Likewise Shane Lowry and Portrush, and it's quite difficult to see Tyrrell Hatton overcoming all these players and Augusta itself, just as it is Corey Conners' short-game holding up.

Pushed for a selection it would be DeChambeau on value grounds, but I have absolutely no desire to re-enter the outright market at this stage. Maybe tomorrow. And as bookmakers won't allow us to perm up selections from the top nationalities markets for the most part (seemingly they've no way of accepting that the top Asian and top left-hander markets have no crossover), it's onto the two-balls.

Rahm to lead home treble

Among the earlier starters, those who are not realistic title contenders, JON RAHM, PATRICK CANTLAY and WYNDHAM CLARK make for an appealing treble.

• CLICK HERE to back Rahm/Cantlay/Clark with Sky Bet

Rahm is playing with Zach Johnson and should have too many guns for him. Johnson has relied heavily on his short-game so far and while Rahm has been enormously disappointing again, he was bogey-free in a gritty 71 which was just enough to avoid the ignominy of a first missed cut in this tournament.

He produced his best round of the week on Saturday last year having scraped through by a shot and it shouldn't take much to get the better of Johnson.

Cantlay is with Akshay Bhatia and the latter struggled badly with his long-game during Friday's second round, whereas Cantlay appears in control of his.

But for the 15th hole, which he's played in four-over, Cantlay has been very tidy and unless Bhatia hits the ball significantly better, more big numbers await. His only birdie on Friday was a chip-in from 35 yards after he'd found the trees yet again and while slightly fearful of such sorcery, the steadier option looks much the best.

Finally, the case for Clark is similar. Matt Fitzpatrick was ragged in round two, in line with how he's played all season, and Clark's overall body of work entitles him to be shorter for this match between former US Open winners.

Day the best bet tonight

Many will fancy the final five favourites on the two-ball coupon, which is about a 10/1 chance, but players like Hatton, Conners and Rose deserve respect over 18 holes despite the quality around them and I rate JASON DAY the best option.

He's paired with Sungjae Im, whose short-game has him where he is. Im is ranked 181st of 186 players on the PGA Tour in strokes-gained approach and with Day having made just one bogey in 36 holes, we've a good way of betting on Im's long-game catching up with him.

It was tempting to oppose Max Homa, whose problems haven't disappeared with this dogged effort to make the cut, but Tom Hoge isn't an ideal option and while I like the way Davis Riley has taken to this on debut, his playing partner Michael Kim is one of the most consistent players around at the moment.

So is Tommy Fleetwood and that's reason enough not to buy into the quality of Xander Schauffele's long-game, and similar comments apply to Ludvig Aberg, which means backing Hideki Matsuyama (second to McIlroy in strokes-gained ball-striking) isn't all that appealing.

Instead, adding SHANE LOWRY and VIKTOR HOVLAND makes for a 4/1 chance and while there are arguments to be made for Matt McCarty hanging around (first in strokes-gained approach), and Rasmus Hojgaard being well-drawn alongside Hovland, this leaderboard is so strong, this situation so different, that siding with experience has to be the way to go.

Lowry and Hovland know what this is all about, they're two of the best iron players in the field so far this week, they're both putting well, and they aren't going anywhere.

• CLICK HERE to back Day/Hovland/Lowry with Sky Bet

Posted at 0915 BST on 12/04/25

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