MASTERS PLAYER MATCHUPS

The Masters – Golf Player Matchups

It’s finally here! The first major of the season and for many, the greatest golf tournament in the world. I’m talking about the Masters at the picturesque Augusta National Golf Club of course.

WHAT IS PLAYER MATCHUPS?

Player matchups is an exciting FanTeam game that enables players to bet on between 3 and 10, designated 1 – vs – 1 fantasy matchups, with the potential to win up to 500X your stake. 

Player matchups essentially act as a fantasy football accumulator, in which the payout increases the more matchups the user bets on. The great thing with FanTeam player matchups is that you are betting against the house rather than thousands of other players. 

If you want more info on how player matchups work, please click here.

THE MASTERS PLAYER MATCHUPS PICKS

Normally I base my picks purely on my model and the differences in rankings between the golfers. However, as course history is so important at The Masters, I’ve picked my three favourite matchups slightly differently this week.

Stats are still important and Augusta favours those who bomb it off the tee. Accuracy isn’t that important as the fairways are wide and what rough there is, is fairly light. You need a solid all-round game around here.

The stats I’m looking at this week are Driving distance, SG:Approach, SG:Around the Green, SG:Putting, Approach over 200 yards, Par 4 Scoring, and Par 5 scoring

Course history is a stat that’s hard to quantify so it’s more of an art than a science. However, it’s important around here as the golfers don’t receive green-contour books like they do at other courses. This gives an advantage to those who’ve played here previously. Everyone I’ve picked has played the course before and I’d be wary of picking any debutant.

Here are my picks:

Justin Thomas v Dustin Johnson

My first choice for player matchups this week is Justin Thomas.

Dustin Johnson is a previous winner but the tournament was run in November that year, which made the course play very differently. Until last years missed cut, DJ’s Master’s record was excellent and is superior to JT’s.

However, no matter which stat model I use, Justin Thomas is number one. He’s #1 in my course suitability rankings over the last 16 rounds and he’s #1 in my general stat model. His course history isn’t spectacular with his best result coming in 2020 when Dustin Johnson won. 

I think this is the year Justin Thomas wins The Masters so I have to pick him here. I feel more confident in his game right now than DJ’s.

Viktor Hovand v Collin Morikawa

My second choice for player matchups this week is Viktor Hovland.

Another heavyweight battle between two of the best young players around. On the face of it, this seems like a very even battle. Neither player is particularly experienced at Augusta but their records are similar. 

Morikawa is a former major winner so knows how to get it done on the biggest stage but he comes into this tournament with a few questions. His form has been inconsistent and in his three non-matchplay tournaments this year, he’s come 68th, missed cut, and 2nd. 

Whereas Hovland has been very consistent and comes into the Masters with some of the best Tee-to Green stats in the field. He’s #2 in my course suitability rankings and #6 in my general stat model.

Hovland’s form and consistency are too good to pass up.

Tony Finau v Joaquin Niemann

My third choice for player matchups this week is Joaquin Niemann.

If you’ve read my articles before, you know I sometimes pick a player because I have no trust in their opponent. This is one of those picks. I don’t trust Tony Finau. The highest finish in his last six tournaments is T28. He’s lost strokes in all areas of his game during that run including two missed cuts. His course history at The Masters is the only thing going in his favour but I don’t think that will be enough this week.

Niemann has been a statistical monster in the last 16 rounds and is up there in all the models I run. He’s also won at the Genesis Invitational this year which is a comparable course to Augusta.

I don’t need many reasons to pick a player against Finau but Niemann ticks a lot of boxes as well.

I hope this article has given you plenty of food for thought – especially for those of you that have not played Player Matchups before, but want to give it a go.