Masters Betting: Masters Trends and Winners History

The Masters is the only major played at the same course every year, so we have a lot more data and trends for this course than we do any other major.

Let's dive into the winners history and trends.

All Masters odds come from FanDuel Sportsbook and may change after this article is published.

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Masters Trends: How to Predict Who Will Win

Recent Masters Winners

The Masters' results are more easily predicted than other majors. Over the last 40 years, Augusta National has consistently rewarded specific types of players, and we'll profile exactly what it takes to have success at the Masters.

Let's learn to look for patterns. The Masters has a lot of them.

The Masters is Won by Golfers in Their Prime

Start with age when profiling realistic chances of success for golfers at the Masters. The average Masters winner over the last 40 years lands right around 33 years old, with a median of 32. That’s a useful little nugget that shouldn't be ignored.

The winning window clusters tightly between 27 and 36 years of age. That range accounts for the overwhelming majority of champions. Players in that band bring peak physical tools and refined ball-striking to the table but still have enough experience to navigate Augusta’s dastardly traps and nuances.

Outliers exist, of course. Take Jordan Spieth, who broke through at 21 years old in 2015. Spieth is the 2nd-youngest winner in Masters history, mere months older than Tiger Woods when he won his first one in 1997. Speaking of Woods, that guy also won at 43 years old in 2019, completing one of the most improbable victories the sport has seen. Woods is the 2nd-oldest Masters winner of all time behind Jack Nicklaus, who was 46 when he won his sixth and final Masters in 1986.

Those improbable, outlier wins stick in memory and live in history, but they don’t define the trend. Augusta National isn’t a breakout stage for rising stars, and it’s not a nursing home for aging veterans chasing one last run. The green jacket is typically placed upon the shoulders of athletes in that prime-age sweet spot of 27 to 36.

Experience Matters at the Masters

Augusta National demands familiarity. This course eats debutants for breakfast. First-time Masters participants almost never win. Save for the first 2 years of the tournament's existence, the only debutant to win at the Masters was Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979. It’s rare for a player to figure out the course’s intricacies, green complexes, approach angles and miss locations after just a few warmup rounds.

Jacket winners tend to have multiple prior starts, often with at least one -- or more -- strong finish already on their Augusta resume. A slew of repeat champions reinforces this point. Phil Mickelson, Nick Faldo and Jose María Olazabal all found success at Augusta multiple times, and those are hardly the biggest names in the sport.

Experience overlaps with age and odds. Prime-age players with several Masters starts tend to sit in that (+800) to (+2500) range in the outright market.

Masters Recent Scores Trends

Winning scores at Augusta National have fallen between -10 and -15 in the past. That range shows up consistently across decades, regardless of field strength. There are exceptions. Softer conditions have sometimes pushed winning scores further under par, like in 2020 when Dustin Johnson set the Masters record at -20 in a November edition of the tourney, beating the previous record of -18 set by Tigers Woods in 1997 and tied by Jordan Spieth in 2015.

The Masters scores don't usually swing very much. This course rewards controlled aggression, and players who can generate birdie chances while avoiding the big numbers that lurk around every green complex are the ones left standing on Sunday.

The Profile of a Masters Winner

Layering everything together means we are looking for a golfer in their late 20s or early 30s whose outright odds put him in the top-15ish of the field -- since longshots rarely win. This is almost assuredly going to be someone who has played at Augusta multiple times and experienced some success. He will also have a good-to-great short game, which is usually a must at this course.

That profile shows up often. It’s why repeat winners are common, and it’s why huge longshots are the exception and not the rule.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.