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2021 Masters DFS Preview & Picks: Buy Low On McIlroy in Major Championship at Augusta National

The 2021 Masters has arrived.

There are plenty of angles and ways to go about piecing together your DFS lineups, so let’s take a look at the best route to go as we head down Magnolia Lane at Augusta National Golf Club:

2021 Masters DFS Breakdown (GPP)

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Justin Thomas — ($10,600 DraftKings) 

In my tournament preview, I talked about how important it is for golfers to trend towards a Masters victory. Past winners (in many cases) have gotten better at mastering Augusta National as their careers progressed prior to their eventual victory. In 2021, no one fits that narrative better than Justin Thomas. He has gotten progressively better in each of his career Masters appearances finishing 39th, 22nd, 17th, 12th and 4th respectively.

JT’s approach play has also been stellar and has gained 9.5 and 6.5 strokes on the field in his past two starts. In addition to course form, golfer’s who come into the week with excellent current form have fared very well also.Last year, Dustin Johnson came to Augusta riding some excellent form and JT seems to be in a similar spot looking to keep his strong play going.

Rory McIlroy — ($10,200 DraftKings) 

If someone had told me a year ago that Rory McIlroy would be the fifth-highest price golfer at the 2021 Masters I am not sure I would have believed them. A perennial favorite, some recent struggles have pushed Rory down the board in terms of DFS pricing. While this slip is entirely justified, I don’t believe it is an indication of how he will play this week. He clearly hasn’t been playing his best, but tales of his recent struggles have been a bit over exaggerated.

In his missed cut at THE PLAYERS, Rory lost 6.4 stroke putting which I consider to be a bit of an aberration; and wasn’t terrible statistically in any other areas. Prior to that, the Irishman had two consecutive top 10 finishes gaining 8.0 and 3.5 strokes on the field from tee to green in those starts.

Rory also boasts an impeccable Masters track record with six top 10 finishes in his past seven tries. This seems to be a solid buy-low opportunity on a golfer who carries extraordinary upside.

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Tony Finau — ($9,100 DraftKings)

Just because Finau seems incapable of winning golf tournaments doesn’t mean he hasn’t consistently been a great DFS play throughout the course of his career. In his past 50 rounds, Finau ranks fourth in total DraftKings points trailing only DJ, JT and Bryson. Tony also has some great Masters history finishing 10th, fifth and 38th in his three trips to Augusta National.

Webb Simpson — ($9,000 DraftKings)

Webb is another golfer who may be trending towards a win when analyzing his recent Masters finishes. n his past three starts at Augusta, Simpson has finished 20th, 5th and 10th after six consecutive seasons of finishes of 29th or worse. Additionally, a good short game is necessary to compete this week and few are better around the green than Webb. In his past 50 rounds, he ranks second in the field in Strokes Gained: around the green.

Looking to bet the 2020 Masters? Check out Action Labs to compare betting lines and find +EV opportunities with real-time odds for multiple sports and sportsbooks!

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Viktor Hovland — ($8,700 DraftKings)

While inexperienced (at Augusta) golfers haven’t typically won The Masters, many have gotten pretty close. Notably, Sungjae Im finished in 2nd place last year as a tournament debutante. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see a similar result from Hovland this week.

The 23 year old has a game that suits Augusta National like a glove. He is long and accurate off of the tee and can get super hot with his irons. Putting has been a weakness in his game but that has improved mightily and bentgrass is by far his best putting surface.

Hideki Matsuyama ($8,300 DraftKings)

Hideki seems to be rounding back into form at the right time, gaining strokes on approach and tee to green in four consecutive events. Matsuyama is a guy I really like playing in daily fantasy due to his ability to make a lot of birdies; and his DFS point totals tend to outscore his leader board placement. Deki has finished in the top 20 in five of his past six Masters appearances making hima fairly safe play at $8,300.


More Masters Betting Coverage

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Sergio Garcia ($7,900 DraftKings)

Approach play is the most important statistic at Augusta National, and few have been better of late on approach than Garcia. In his past two measured events, he has gained 6.7 (Concession) and 8.3 (PLAYERS) strokes on approach respectively. Sergio followed that up with a terrific run in the WGC Match Play, making it to the final eight.

The Masters is an event where course experience plays a major factor. A previous winner (2017), Sergio has great course knowledge and is peaking at the right time. In his past 12 rounds, Sergio ranks 5th in the field in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking.

Adam Scott ($7,600 DraftKings)

At $7,600, it is rare to find a golfer with as much win equity as Adam Scott.  Scott has seven top 20 finishes at The Masters including a win in 2013 and has found something recently with his irons. He gained 7.2 strokes on approach on his way to a 13th place finish at The Honda Classic.

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Jason Kokrak ($6,900 DraftKings)

Kokrak has been playing some excellent golf of late, and is a bit under-priced in my opinion. With three consecutive top-10 finishes on the PGA TOUR, you’d be hard pressed to find a golfer playing as well as the big man in the 6K range. Kokrak gained 4.6 strokes on approach in his most recent measured start at THE PLAYERS Championship.

Marc Leishman ($6,900 DraftKings)

Looking at recent finishes may be a bit misleading when it comes to Marc Leishman. Although he has missed two consecutive cuts, his play hasn’t been all that bad. The big Aussie gained strokes both off of the tee and on approach in most recent measured start (THE PLAYERS), and has some great course history at Augusta National including an impressive 13th place finish in 2020.

The 2021 Masters has arrived.

There are plenty of angles and ways to go about piecing together your DFS lineups, so let’s take a look at the best route to go as we head down Magnolia Lane at Augusta National Golf Club:

2021 Masters DFS Breakdown (GPP)

10K+ PLAYS

Justin Thomas — ($10,600 DraftKings) 

In my tournament preview, I talked about how important it is for golfers to trend towards a Masters victory. Past winners (in many cases) have gotten better at mastering Augusta National as their careers progressed prior to their eventual victory. In 2021, no one fits that narrative better than Justin Thomas. He has gotten progressively better in each of his career Masters appearances finishing 39th, 22nd, 17th, 12th and 4th respectively.

JT’s approach play has also been stellar and has gained 9.5 and 6.5 strokes on the field in his past two starts. In addition to course form, golfer’s who come into the week with excellent current form have fared very well also.Last year, Dustin Johnson came to Augusta riding some excellent form and JT seems to be in a similar spot looking to keep his strong play going.

Rory McIlroy — ($10,200 DraftKings) 

If someone had told me a year ago that Rory McIlroy would be the fifth-highest price golfer at the 2021 Masters I am not sure I would have believed them. A perennial favorite, some recent struggles have pushed Rory down the board in terms of DFS pricing. While this slip is entirely justified, I don’t believe it is an indication of how he will play this week. He clearly hasn’t been playing his best, but tales of his recent struggles have been a bit over exaggerated.

In his missed cut at THE PLAYERS, Rory lost 6.4 stroke putting which I consider to be a bit of an aberration; and wasn’t terrible statistically in any other areas. Prior to that, the Irishman had two consecutive top 10 finishes gaining 8.0 and 3.5 strokes on the field from tee to green in those starts.

Rory also boasts an impeccable Masters track record with six top 10 finishes in his past seven tries. This seems to be a solid buy-low opportunity on a golfer who carries extraordinary upside.

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Tony Finau — ($9,100 DraftKings)

Just because Finau seems incapable of winning golf tournaments doesn’t mean he hasn’t consistently been a great DFS play throughout the course of his career. In his past 50 rounds, Finau ranks fourth in total DraftKings points trailing only DJ, JT and Bryson. Tony also has some great Masters history finishing 10th, fifth and 38th in his three trips to Augusta National.

Webb Simpson — ($9,000 DraftKings)

Webb is another golfer who may be trending towards a win when analyzing his recent Masters finishes. n his past three starts at Augusta, Simpson has finished 20th, 5th and 10th after six consecutive seasons of finishes of 29th or worse. Additionally, a good short game is necessary to compete this week and few are better around the green than Webb. In his past 50 rounds, he ranks second in the field in Strokes Gained: around the green.

Looking to bet the 2020 Masters? Check out Action Labs to compare betting lines and find +EV opportunities with real-time odds for multiple sports and sportsbooks!

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Viktor Hovland — ($8,700 DraftKings)

While inexperienced (at Augusta) golfers haven’t typically won The Masters, many have gotten pretty close. Notably, Sungjae Im finished in 2nd place last year as a tournament debutante. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see a similar result from Hovland this week.

The 23 year old has a game that suits Augusta National like a glove. He is long and accurate off of the tee and can get super hot with his irons. Putting has been a weakness in his game but that has improved mightily and bentgrass is by far his best putting surface.

Hideki Matsuyama ($8,300 DraftKings)

Hideki seems to be rounding back into form at the right time, gaining strokes on approach and tee to green in four consecutive events. Matsuyama is a guy I really like playing in daily fantasy due to his ability to make a lot of birdies; and his DFS point totals tend to outscore his leader board placement. Deki has finished in the top 20 in five of his past six Masters appearances making hima fairly safe play at $8,300.


More Masters Betting Coverage

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Sergio Garcia ($7,900 DraftKings)

Approach play is the most important statistic at Augusta National, and few have been better of late on approach than Garcia. In his past two measured events, he has gained 6.7 (Concession) and 8.3 (PLAYERS) strokes on approach respectively. Sergio followed that up with a terrific run in the WGC Match Play, making it to the final eight.

The Masters is an event where course experience plays a major factor. A previous winner (2017), Sergio has great course knowledge and is peaking at the right time. In his past 12 rounds, Sergio ranks 5th in the field in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking.

Adam Scott ($7,600 DraftKings)

At $7,600, it is rare to find a golfer with as much win equity as Adam Scott.  Scott has seven top 20 finishes at The Masters including a win in 2013 and has found something recently with his irons. He gained 7.2 strokes on approach on his way to a 13th place finish at The Honda Classic.

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Jason Kokrak ($6,900 DraftKings)

Kokrak has been playing some excellent golf of late, and is a bit under-priced in my opinion. With three consecutive top-10 finishes on the PGA TOUR, you’d be hard pressed to find a golfer playing as well as the big man in the 6K range. Kokrak gained 4.6 strokes on approach in his most recent measured start at THE PLAYERS Championship.

Marc Leishman ($6,900 DraftKings)

Looking at recent finishes may be a bit misleading when it comes to Marc Leishman. Although he has missed two consecutive cuts, his play hasn’t been all that bad. The big Aussie gained strokes both off of the tee and on approach in most recent measured start (THE PLAYERS), and has some great course history at Augusta National including an impressive 13th place finish in 2020.

About the Author

Matt Vincenzi has been writing about golf betting and DFS for four years and has a masters degree in education. He’s been a guest on ESPN radio and Fox Sports radio to discuss golf betting.