It’s been an excellent US Masters for us to date as we landed the ‘big fish’ on Thursday with Justin Rose’s superb opening 65 bagging us an 80/1 winner in the First Round Leader market.
Friday saw Rose post a 36 hole 8- under total to cling on to his lead, however with Rory McIlroy firing a 66 to bounce back brilliantly from the calamitous end to his first round to sit two back, Bryson Dechambeau one behind on 7-under, and Scottie Scheffler tucked in three behind alongside Shane Lowry and Tyrrell Hatton, the big names are queuing up behind him.
So, with a mouth watering weekend in prospect lets see if we can pick out some value in today’s two ball pairings.
Saturday’s golf tips
Ludvig Aberg v Hideki Matsuyama: Hideki Matsuyama
Jason Day v Sungjae Im: Jason Day
Viktor Hovland v Rasmus Hojgaard: Viktor Hovland
Justin Rose v Bryson DeChambeau: Justin Rose
Ludvig Aberg v Hideki Matsuyama: Hideki Matsuyama
Ludvig Aberg and Hideki Matsuyama tee off at 18.30 UK time and it is the Japanese star who I will side with.
Since landing the trophy at the season-opening Sentry tournament, Matsuyama has gone slightly off the boil, however we can always rely on the 2021 Masters Champion to turn up at Augusta.
A look at his stats show that he is performing strongly with his approach play, but his putter – his regular nemesis – is letting him down. As the greens speed up at Augusta over the weekend, this will suit Matsuyama more.
Aberg is a star of the game in the making and having finished runner up on his debut here last year, few would bet against him landing a Green Jacket in the future. He arrived though having missed his previous two cuts and after a strong start on Thursday it was a battle for him yesterday, posting a one over 73 as he struggled with his approach play.
I’ll happily take Matsuyama to get the better of him now.
Jason Day v Sungjae Im: Jason Day
This match tees off at 18.50pm UK time and Day gets the nod. The Aussie is quietly putting a really solid season together posting two top 1o’s to date and has yet to miss a cut.
Boasting a strong Augusta record which saw him finish second on debut way back in 2011, it is not surprising he has brought that recent strong form in to Augusta again. Day’s iron play and short game have both been really solid so far and but for a dropped shot on his final hole yesterday, he would have been bogey free for the second day running in the toughest of the conditions.
With a strong Masters record himself, which has seen him post two top 10’s in five visits, it is not a complete surprise to see Im high on the leaderboard. However he has been struggling for any consistency of late and a poor day on Friday with his iron play does not bode well for the weekend.
Viktor Hovland v Rasmus Hojgaard: Viktor Hovland
Heading out at 19.00pm UK time, I’ll take the more experienced of the Scandinavian duo, Hovland to come out on top.
Hovland showed his class when after a barren spell he returned to the winners enclosure in his most recent start at the Valspar Open. I suspect he has morphed the confidence from that win into a strong opening two days here. With his long game and putter firing, I expect him to push on over the weekend.
Hojgaard has produced an excellent opening two days on debut but after shooting a 73 on Thursday, his score has been built around a hot putting day on Friday. As talented a prospect as he is, I expect he will struggle over the weekend.
Justin Rose v Bryson DeChambeau: Justin Rose
I will take a chance on Justin Rose to get the better of Bryson Dechambeau when they tee off in the final pairing at 19.40 UK time.
To be honest I have a hunch that this could be a tough day for both, however Rose’s greater experience around Augusta might just give him the edge.
Both have struggled with their approach play with Rose getting the job done on day one with the hot putter, while the American relied heavily on his short-game touch around the greens on Friday. We have seen DeChambeau struggle here before over the weekend once conditions firm up. I’ll risk Rose to get the better of him.
Masters tips
Ludvig Aberg v Hideki Matsuyama: Hideki Matsuyama
Jason Day v Sungjae Im: Jason Day
Viktor Hovland v Rasmus Hojgaard: Viktor Hovland
Justin Rose v Bryson DeChambeau: Justin Rose
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
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