Resurgent Jordan Spieth hot favourite for the next Augusta battle

Patrick Reed can be backed at 33-1 for a successful defence of his Masters title after a courageous frontrunning performance delivered his Major breakthrough on Sunday.

Reed is as short as 25-1 for his Augusta return in 2019, but BoyleSports are offering 33-1 about the 27-year-old Texan, who repelled the chasing pack for a one-shot triumph at the Cathedral of Pines.

Reed is 6-1 with bet365 to win two Majors this season and he can be backed at 300-1 with the same firm for a 2018 Grand Slam.

The next Major is the US Open at Shinnecock Hills, New York, in June, with the Open Championship at Carnoustie a month later, before the USPGA Championship in August.

Reed is 33-1 for the US Open and 50-1 for the Open. The prolific Major winners are being given more respect than Reed for the remaining Majors, particularly Jordan Spieth, who piled pressure on his compatriot with a final-round 64 at his beloved Augusta.

Spieth is no bigger than 9-1 favourite for the 2019 Masters, which is hardly surprising considering his form figures at the famous Georgia track now read 2-1-2-11-3.

Augusta is Spieth's playground and he contended this time despite enduring a disappointing campaign in the first few months of the year. The Open champion, a three-time Major champ, has not won a tournament since he claimed the Claret Jug.

Spieth is 12-1 for the US Open and 11-1 for the Open, and he should be extremely popular with punters. The impetus he has gained over the last fortnight, finishing third in the Houston Open and the Masters, should set him up well for a strong summer.

Rory McIlroy suffered final-round agony, his quest to complete the career Grand Slam of Majors destroyed by a misbehaving putter, which was the main reason for his two-over-par 74. The former world number one and four-time Major champion is a best-price 10-1 to end his Augusta heartache next year.

Bookmakers were pleased to see the market leaders fail, with nine players starting the event 20-1 or shorter. Reed was freely on offer at 50-1, with 74-1 available on the exchanges.

Bet365 spokesman Steve Freeth said: “The Masters is always hugely popular and it didn’t disappoint this time around. It looked from an early stage that our main pre-tournament bogeys of Tiger Woods and Ian Poulter were unlikely to figure, but Reed ticked a lot of boxes for punters.

“A winning 50-1 shot well fancied by the Racing Post meant a losing pre-tournament book for us, but we clawed it back in-play where punters preferred to focus on the chasing pack. The more household names of Spieth, McIlroy and Rickie Fowler were being smashed into in the hope that Reed would lose his nerve.”

David Stevens of Coral said: “We went into the final round wanting anything but a Grand Slam-winning triumph for McIlroy, so dodged that particular bullet, but Reed had his supporters having been tipped pre-tournament in the Post, and with numerous big names finishing in the top ten, some hefty place payouts took the gloss of the season's opening Major.”

Where your money went

Winner
1 P Reed 50-1
2 R Fowler 25-1
3 J Spieth 11-1
4 J Rahm 28-1
T5 C Smith 125-1
T5 B Watson 18-1
T5 H Stenson 40-1
T5 R McIlroy 12-1
9 M Leishman 60-1
T10 T Finau 100-1
T10 D Johnson 12-1

First-round leader
1 J Spieth 18-1
T2 T Finau 80-1
T2 M Kuchar 50-1
T4 H Stenson 40-1
T4 C Hoffman 50-1
T4 A Hadwin 100-1
T4 P Reed 50-1
T4 H Li 125-1
T4 R McIlroy 18-1
T4 R Cabrera-Bello 66-1

Top American
1 P Reed
2 R Fowler
3 J Spieth
4 B Watson
T5 T Finau
T5 D Johnson

Top Australian
1 C Smith 15-2

Top debutant
1 T Finau 4-1

Top European
1 J Rahm 8-1
T2 H Stenson 15-1
T2 R McIlroy 7-2
4 J Rose 9-2

Top continental European
1 J Rahm 3-1
2 H Stenson 5-1
3 F Molinari 18-1

Top GB & Ireland
1 R McIlroy 2-1
2 J Rose 3-1
3 P Casey 5-1

Top rest of the world
1 C Smith 18-1
2 M Leishman 9-1
3 L Oosthuizen 10-1
4 H Matsuyama 6-1

Top senior
T1 F Couples 15-8
T1 B Langer 11-4

Top South African
1 L Oosthuizen 7-4

Top amateur
1 D Ghim 9-2

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