Si Woo Kim can underline his love for Augusta and land a pair of specials bets in the Masters, according to golf expert Ben Coley.
Golf betting tips: The Masters specials
2pts Si Woo Kim to be the top South Korean player at 6/4 (General)
1pt Si Woo Kim to be the top Asian player at 16/5 (Sky Bet)
1pt Erik van Rooyen to be the top South African player at 4/1 (BetVictor, bet365)
1pt e.w. Robert MacIntyre to be the top GB & Ireland player at 16/1 (Paddy Power, BoyleSports 1/4 1,2,3)
Easy to Si value in Kim
SI WOO KIM finished 12th in the Masters last year, having featured among my pre-tournament selections. A brilliant, enigmatic young player, he tends to play the same collection of courses well year upon year, and that's been the case at Augusta where his form figures are strong and progressive.
Given that he warmed up nicely in Texas and has played plenty of good golf on a busy schedule in 2022, I was tempted to go in again. I'm sure he has a major in him, his short-game is fantastic, and at these favourite courses of his we often see sharp improvements in his iron play in particular. The case writes itself.
But with his outright odds on the short side for me, there's a better way to play him. Or rather, that should read there are better ways to play him, because I'll back him for both top Asian and top Korean honours.
On the latter, he's up against Sungjae Im and KH Lee. Im is feared having been runner-up in 2020, but that came in November and his effort last April was very disappointing. He shot 77-80, which meant that the only three players he beat were Vijay Singh, Ty Strafaci, and Larry Mize. Expect better this time, but his form has dipped since a strong start to the wraparound season and his iron play must improve.
Lee meanwhile punched one of the very first Masters tickets, winning the Byron Nelson in May. He's tended to show his best form only in short bursts since then, and last week missed his first cut of the year. It's not like he'd been pulling up trees before that, either, with a best of 26th since the season resumed in January. His long-game was very poor in Texas, too.
So, we return to Kim, pick of these three on recent form, and with more experience of Augusta than his two rivals combined. I expect him to make the weekend which could alone be enough, but if not don't be surprised if Im posts a big number at some stage and on this occasion gives best to his fellow young star.
The case for Kim in the top Asian market is obvious the same, with the addition of three more rivals. Opposing Hideki Matsuyama isn't something I'd have been in a rush to do, but defending champions tend to struggle here, and his preparation has been seriously undermined by back and neck issues.
Takumi Kanaya and Keita Nakajima both have bright futures, but making the cut would represent a good week and is no given in either case. Both just lack a little power for the conditions and while Nakajima might still stamp his class on top amateur honours, that's relative, and he'll do well to cause an upset in this. I fancy Kim, but like the idea of top Korean as a bit of a safety net, assuming he does play as well as expected.
Start the Van
Top South African might appear at the mercy of Louis Oosthuizen, a six-time major runner-up including here, and of course an Open champion. He could've won three majors last year alone had the cards fallen for him and has been one of the most reliable operators in the sport when it comes to delivering four times a year.
However, he's not played particularly well so far in 2022, regressing with each of his four stroke play starts and failing to make an impact at the Match Play. Disconcertingly, his iron play has been really poor of late and there are also signs that he's come through the other side of a golden spell with the putter.
His record here can be viewed in two ways: very solid and hard to beat, or a bit underwhelming all things considered. Given the lack of depth to Masters fields, I'm leaning towards the latter: he did lead at halfway in 2019, but is ultimately without a top-10 finish in a decade and hasn't been a real threat since then.
If he is just a shade off, then with Christiaan Bezuidenhout lacking power, Garrick Higgo lacking form, and Charl Schwartzel badly out of sorts, maybe ERIK VAN ROOYEN can pick up the pieces.
Van Rooyen is long enough, prefers a draw and has good form under similar conditions including in Dubai, which has been a decent guide to this. He played particularly well at a long, soft Bethpage back in 2019, and will appreciate the receptive greens which I think we'll get.
Although poor in the Match Play, before that his approach play was outstanding when 13th in The PLAYERS. He also fought back really well following a poor start at Riviera, his first PGA Tour start of the year, and had been close to winning in the Middle East before all this. His form book basically looks solid.
As for Augusta, he made his debut here in 2020 and was forced to withdraw. It's worth noting that he was one-under before his back began to spasm, and then bogeyed the final five holes to shoot 76. He didn't return for round two but did enough through the first dozen holes of round one to believe it's a good venue for him.
At around the 4/1 mark, he looks a sporting bet in what at best may be a three-runner race, and could well develop into a match with Oosthuizen.
Worth a Bob or two
ROBERT MACINTYRE finished 12th here last year, second only to Justin Rose among the GB & Ire contingent, and something similar might well be within his compass.
MacIntyre has played nicely all year, especially when inside the top 20 at Riviera following a strong start in the Middle East. Last week, he bagged three sub-70 rounds in four, a bad hour on Saturday keeping him away from the leaders in Texas, and he appears primed for his return to Augusta.
Long, aggressive and left-handed, he's got a great profile for this course and so far he's made all seven major cuts, finishing inside the top 10 twice as well as that effort here last year. Throw in the fact that we could get some wind and cooler conditions and he'll be raring to go here.
Of course, Rory McIlroy is a worthy favourite and I've made the case for Shane Lowry in my outright preview. However, I'm less convinced about the strength of the English challenge, especially with Paul Casey seemingly nursing an injury. Tyrrell Hatton still has a bit to prove here, Justin Rose's form has been patchy as has that of Lee Westwood, and Matt Fitzpatrick is the only one I'd really fear.
With three places on offer, MacIntyre rates a good each-way bet, with the other lefties not exactly begging to be taken on in that market. Those less inclined to oppose the British and Irish players could play him for a top-20 finish but that's closer to the 3/1 mark and if he does it, we ought to get a place return here at the very least.
Harrington an easy choice
Opposing Bernhard Langer and Fred Couples at Augusta might seem like madness, but they're respectively 64 and 62 years old now and I was pretty amazed when BoyleSports offered 5/2 about spring chicken PADRAIG HARRINGTON in the top seniors betting. The price has now gone, however, and at 6/4 I can just about let him pass, despite what looks a very solid case against vulnerable opponents.
While Langer has been playing well on the Champions Tour, Harrington has been mixing it in elite company. Last summer he finished fourth in the PGA Championship and more recently, he's been let down by his short-game at Bay Hill, narrowly missed the cut in the Honda, finished ninth behind Viktor Hovland in Dubai, and bagged four DP World Tour top-20s since November.
Last week he warmed up by dropping down to the Champions Tour and finishing second, with Langer a long way behind in 39th. Tellingly, Couples didn't take part, and hasn't done in a tour-level event since November. He's been practicing at Augusta with Tiger Woods, but there are huge doubts as to his fitness.
It's hard to make a case for the rest albeit a saver on Mike Weir is somewhat tempting, as he made the cut here in 2020 and shot an under-par second round last year, but he's been out for a month, too. Ultimately, Harrington looks capable of mixing it in fields like this even now, and the others don't. I would've been less surprised had he opened even-money, and odds-against prices remain very fair.
.@padraig_h still makes 300 yds look easy 💣
— Team VKTRY (@TeamVKTRY) March 30, 2022
More Paddy x #TeamVKTRY coming soon! #SwingFaster at https://t.co/FVRx6xgv0w pic.twitter.com/9qfQCCYbP5
Posted at 1655 BST on 05/04/22
Masters: Related links
- Outright betting preview & selections
- Ben Coley's player-by-player profiles
- Masters tee-times and key groups
- Watch: Masters memorable moments
- Watch: Tiger Woods magic moments
- Hotshots Golf Offer selections
- Masters: Key talking points
- Augusta National hole-by-hole course guide
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