There may be lots of matchups on offer this week, but they seem to be much better-researched than usual
Looks like there's more value in the props, so adding some more from Centrebet's enormous list:
Aaron Baddeley to miss the cut +155 [3 units]
He may have a great record in Australia, but is awful in the States. He has missed the cut in both of his Major appearances, including the Masters last year, and has made the cut in just one (his first!) on eight appearances on the regular PGA Tour including the Honda Classic last month
Jose Coceres to miss the cut +105 [3 units]
Missed the cut by some distance for a matchup win last week and has only played in one Major on American soil - last year's PGA - and missed the cut. A good competitor on the European Tour, but will always struggle on the very slick greens on offer on this Tour
Pierre Fulke to miss the cut +140 [2 units]
Has only ever played one tournament on American soil and it was last week's BellSouth Classic. He did make the make the cut, but was never higher than 30th. As a debutante at Augusta, the occasion will be too much for him
Retief Goosen to miss the cut +140 [2 units]
Has made the cut in three of nine Majors on American soil and one of two Masters appearances; in regular PGA Tour events, he has a record of four cuts made from twelve events including the TPC and withdrew last week rather than play on Sunday. Has one of the best swings on the European Tour, but like Coceres, struggles to putt on European Tour greens so has no chance on the greens this week
Paul Lawrie to miss the cut +100
Has just two appearances in Majors outside Britain, both last year when he missed the cut (79-74) at the Masters and finished 72nd in the PGA. Does not have record on American soil and that includes a poor showing at the TPC (75-78) two weeks ago
Bob May to miss the cut +110 [2 units]
Has not played since hurting his back at the Bob Hope Classic in February; if this were not the Masters he has admitted he would not be playing and won't be competitive this week
Larry Mize to miss the cut +110 [2 units]
Has missed his last five cuts and while he has finished in the top-25 the last two seasons, it is a very long time since his famous 140-foot chip to win the 1987 Masters
Eduardo Romero to miss the cut +100 [2 units]
It cannot be the ideal preparation for this event that he played the TPC very poorly (78-79) to miss the cut then competed in the Open de Argentina where he disappointed to finish 18th and is now back in the States; this event is obviously not very high on his list of priorities. It is the first time he has played here and like other debutantes will struggle to cope with the vagarities of Augusta
Tom Scherrer to miss the cut -111
Has missed his last four cuts, including the last three weeks, so doesn't come into this event in the best of confidence. As a Masters debutante as well there is no much in his favor this week
Craig Stadler to miss the cut +105 [3 units]
Scherrer may be out of form, but he could still give Stadler a five-shot start! The Walrus has missed six of seven cuts on the PGA Tour this year and in the event he did play at the weekend, the AT&T Pebble Beach, he finished 55th. Looks very good to repeat last year's missed cut
Grant Waite to miss the cut +115
Comes into the event off back-to-back missed cuts and he has an extremely poor career record in Majors: just two cuts made from nine starts and has a record of 0 for 1 at the Masters
Duffy Waldorf to miss the cut +145
Has a decent record in this event, but that dates from 1993 to 1997 only. Has only been invited back once since (last year) and missed the cut. Not in the best of form either, having missed four cuts in his last six events
All cut bets @
Centrebet
Highest round to be over 90.5 -140 @
Carib [2 units]
Have it from a source at Augusta yesterday that Doug Ford was hitting the ball no further than 125 yards and on a damp course he will struggle to better last year's 94. The signs of ageing are apparent from the 78-year-old's Augusta scores: since 1985 when he shot 76, his scores has showed an almost uniform increase every single year up to last year's 94. Given that he has stated in the press that he intends to play the entire round, the main danger to this play should be averted
Will post 1st round plays in the morning when the weather conditions are known.
