The Masters: Justin Thomas could leave Jason Day well behind

Sky Sports Golf, Thursday 7pm

Justin Thomas adores Augusta National and relentlessly pounded greens in regulation throughout the last Masters, a performance which suggests the man from Kentucky will one day be presented with a Green Jacket.

Poor putting has held Thomas back in his Masters career to date, but progressive form figures of 39-22-17 highlight how the 25-year-old is getting ever more comfortable at the Cathedral of Pines, and this could easily be the week when he combines that long-game assurance with a warmer wand on the most famous greens in golf.

Thomas looks the pick of the Masters match-bet prices, chalked up at 4-5 by Betfred to defeat Jason Day over 72 holes of the opening Major of the season. Consistency has become a trait for Thomas, who has not missed a cut in his last ten Stateside Majors, and the former US PGA and FedEx Cup champion has not missed a cut in a Stateside event since the first week of July, 2017.

Thomas has won five tournaments since that rare weekend off and this year he has posted three top-three finishes. Day, regularly troubled by injury, has won two titles in the same time span and is yet to seriously threaten silverware this year. Back problems have blighted him over the last month and there has been an air of surrender around the Aussie in interviews at Augusta this week.

Rumours are rife that Day will require back surgery once the Majors season is over and he is difficult to support financially until any positive health bulletins are issued.

The two other most appealing match-bet options are Dustin Johnson to beat Jordan Spieth, and Sergio Garcia to outscore Patrick Reed. Spieth and Reed have both arrived at Augusta with serious question marks about the state of their game.

Spieth and Reed are being respected by the layers because of their course form, but previous honours count for little if a player turns up unable to hit a cow's arse from a yard. Spieth, wayward off the tee and lacking his old swagger on the greens, has not posted a Stateside top-ten finish since the last Masters. Reed peaked for the last Masters but has looked ragged coming into this one.

Betway are being generous in offering world number two Johnson at 8-11 to defeat Spieth. Johnson has posted a top-ten finish in his last three Masters starts and has already won two tournaments this season, including a WGC.

Garcia, 2017 Masters champion, boasts ten top-ten finishes in his last 14 events and will expect to contend for a second Augusta title. Reed, for all his trademark bluster, is unable to carry the same level of self-belief.

Recommendations
J Thomas to beat J Day
3pts 4-5 Betfred
D Johnson to beat J Spieth
3pts 8-11 Betway
S Garcia to beat P Reed
2pts 8-11 bet365

Follow us on Twitter

Like us on Facebook