Coral punters have a heart racing weekend of sports betting ahead. As well as another hectic round of football fixtures, we also enjoy the Grand National at Aintree on Saturday. Before all that, there’s the US Masters to solve, and Coral is the place to make your bets on the action.
DJ top of the charts
American Dustin Johnson goes to Augusta as the most likely player to come out on top, according to Coral traders, and he heads the betting before a ball has been teed-up, with 6/1 the current price available to those wishing to trust the 32-year-old with their stake money. It’s little surprise to see the market adopt that stance either, with his recent form catching the eye.
Johnson is an improving player around Augusta too, with his last two efforts showing sixth and fourth-place finishes. He’s 11/8 to end in the top-five, which may appeal to big-hitters, or accumulator backers.
English young-gun Danny Willett swaggers into town as the defending champion, having handed in a winning card reading five under par 12-months ago. He caught just about everyone off-guard that year, but it was the lowest winning score since 2007. That has not gone unnoticed by those on the sports trading team in Stratford, and Willett is 125/1 to win this year. A hit and hope job for punters, perhaps. There’s 10/1 on a top-10 finish, which looks rather more realistic.
McIlroy nearing a win
British hopes this year look to be pinned on Rory McIlroy, and he has been knocking on the door in previous attempts. The 27-year-old Northern Irishman shaped best in 2015 when finishing fourth, but he had every chance of winning it before that, and was up with the front runners at the halfway stage last year.
He does have the ability to get the job done, but seems to let punters down when things get serious around here. Wee-Mac is an 8/1 shot, and there’s a few bigger who make more appeal.
The 23-year-old from Texas is a previous winner of this tournament, of course, scoring an unmatched 18 under par in 2015, the same year he won the US Open. That’s an impressive tally too, and would’ve been enough to see him claim most of the recent US Masters renewals. He also holds a couple of runner-up finishes, and with a bit more luck, experience and maturity on his side, the selection could be going for four in-a-row here. I’m not willing to go against form like that.
With a title win under his belt, and showing recent winning form on tour, he has everything needed in his game to go and bank the prize money again. The course challenges sit perfectly with Spieth – he can bomb off the starting block and find the greens when it matters. Currently an 8/1 second-favourite, that should attract plenty of attention in the run-up.
More reserved punters can have the American at 7/4 in the top-five market, and that wouldn’t have let you down in the past. We’re expecting another big effort.
