Sky Bet Hotshots offer returns for the Masters - here's how to use it

Place a bet of £5 or more in the designated Hotshots market and you'll get a £1 free bet for every birdie or eagle that player registers in Thursday's first round.

The record for birdies in a single round at Augusta is 11, while Jon Rahm made eight birdies or better in an opening 65 that paved the way for his Masters victory in 2023.

Backers of Rahm at around 9/1 would've been rewarded with £8 in free bets before collecting their outright winnings on Sunday evening.

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Here are some of the key contenders to consider for this year's edition of golf's most iconic major championship.

Scottie Scheffler

✅ Masters champion in 2022

✅ Yet to finish outside the top 20

✅ World number one

✅ Two-time winner in 2024

✅ Best tee-to-green game in golf

✅ Averages over 5 birdies per round in 2024

❌ Can putt very badly at times

Scottie Scheffler is the game's undisputed best and goes to Augusta as the clear Masters favourite. Backers seem sure to get a good run for their money and if you're placing one bet only, he might be the one for you.

However, if you're placing more than one, consider whether he should be your Hotshots selection. He made four birdies in round one last year, and no more than five in a single round and is a sensible, pragmatic player at times.

Scheffler does though lead the birdie average stats in 2024, making 5.5 per round, and it might pay to keep things really simple.

Rory McIlroy

✅ Best driver of a ball in golf

✅ Regular Masters contender

✅ Winner in 2024

✅ Four-time major champion

❌ 15 tries without winning Masters

❌ Last major win in 2014

Whereas Scheffler brings the outright upside but perhaps not the likelihood of making six, seven or eight birdies in a round, Rory McIlroy carries greater outright risk (albeit at bigger odds), and greater birdie-making potential.

As is so often the case when he's not quite at his absolute best, McIlroy has been mixing birdies and eagles with bogeys and worse. That's no bad thing when it comes to maximising your returns in this market, and one way or another he's contended for this several times.

McIlroy will be hoping that a few recent signs of improvement translate to a historic week in the only major he's yet to win.

Jon Rahm

✅ Dominant Masters winner in 2023

✅ Exceptional overall Augusta record

✅ Most rounded game among elite players

✅ Two-time major champion

❌ No wins so far on LIV Golf circuit

❌ Defending champions have poor record

Last year's first round saw Jon Rahm four-putt the opening green, before a stunning burst of 17 holes resulted in a seven-under 65. It was Rahm at his brilliant best, and the question now is whether or not he's in that sort of form for this title defence.

The biggest negative, historically speaking, is that he's the defending champion. Rahm has admitted to feeling nervous ahead of Tuesday night's Champions Dinner, so will he be ready to go two days later?

If he is, the outright value is clear, and so is his birdie-making potential.

Brooks Koepka

✅ Twice gone close to winning Masters

✅ Five-time major champion since 2017

✅ Elite iron play when firing

✅ Back to full fitness

❌ Overall form not fully convincing

❌ Must put last year's timid finish behind him

If your priority when placing this Hotshots bet is to feel like your man can hold firm come Sunday, Brooks Koepka could be for you. He's the most prolific major champion of his generation, winning five of them over the course of the last seven years, including the US PGA last May.

Before that, Koepka had finished runner-up to Rahm here at Augusta, where he was among the biggest threats to Tiger Woods in 2019. And, just like Rahm, that performance was built on a first-round 65 that saw him make eight birdies.

Jordan Spieth

✅ 2015 Masters champion

✅ Genuine Augusta specialist

✅ Putts these greens brilliantly

✅ Three-time major champion

❌ Last major win in 2017

❌ Last win anywhere in 2022

Seven birdies in round one last year would be a lifetime best at Augusta for some, but not for Spieth – who went on to make nine of them in a final-round 66 which secured him yet another big Masters finish. His tally of 21 was the joint-best in the field.

The 2015 champion, like McIlroy, is prone to mistakes but capable of stunning bursts of scoring. Given that few putt these fearsome greens as well as he does, it's little wonder he's considered one of the most likely winners even if winning has proven more difficult in recent years.

Cameron Smith

✅ Regular Masters contender

✅ Boasts best short-game among elites

✅ Back-to-form 2nd in Hong Kong

✅ Major champion at St Andrews

❌ Long-game can be a big weakness

❌ Withdrew with food poisoning last week

At his best, Cameron Smith is best served by risk-reward courses, where a player can get on a run. That's why he found St Andrews to his liking, winning the Open thanks to a phenomenal back-nine burst, and it's partly why he's enjoyed so much success in the Masters, too.

The Aussie was back in good form on the LIV Golf circuit recently and, with one of the very best short-games in golf, he really can make a birdie out of anywhere. Providing he can hit fairways, he'll likely reward Hotshots punters with a few birdies in round one.

Dark horses

Prefer to back someone at a bigger price? Here are five potential candidates...

Sahith Theegala

Ninth on debut having made 18 birdies during the event. Prolific birdie-maker in general having been 15th on the PGA Tour last year.

Tony Finau

2019 contender who made five birdies in round one last year and can eat up the par-fives. Ranks inside the top 20 in birdie average this year.

Si Woo Kim

Loves it here and is another who will go well if his putter behaves. Long-game looks as good as it has ever been.

Shane Lowry

One of just three players who has top-25 finishes in the last four editions. Birdie stats so far this year are good, with 4.7 per round on the PGA Tour, and has won a major before.

Rickie Fowler

Always comfortable at Augusta, where he putts just about as well as anyone. Form concerns explain price but will be a popular pick among occasional punters.