[h=1]Back Bryson to make a splash[/h]
The trouble with writing a column like this one is that, when it comes to side markets, every bookmaker is different. And given that every punter will have their favourites - either by their choice or that of the layer - it means some may not be able to get bets on the advertised selections. Unfortunately there's nothing I can do about that.
What I can do, however, is highlight a player to take on which should then give you a few options and the man I want to oppose this week is Patrick Reed.
Clearly, Reed is playing well. He was 10th in Houston, seventh at the Valspar and in-between got out of a tough group at the Match Play, destroying Phil Mickelson in their decider courtesy of some relentless front-nine scoring.
However, it's now over two years since Reed won a full-field event and my suspicion has long been that he is somewhat one-dimensional, able to compete at elite level because of a brilliant short game and the fact that he's as tenacious as anyone. In other words, I think he's always close to the limit of his potential, like a peak-form Ian Poulter.
Like Poulter, Reed does not, in my opinion, have the game to achieve all that he wants to - at least for now. To my untrained eye (I am not and never will be a particularly good golfer, never mind a swing coach), he struggles to hit anything but a slinging hook and that's going to make life hard when up against someone like Rickie Fowler, who can hit it high, low, left or right as necessary.
Nor is he all that long or all that straight and history shows that players who rely so much on their short game are prone to falling off the radar, albeit that's not something I expect to happen to Reed.
This lack of scope might be why Reed has struggled at Augusta so far, failing to break 70 in six attempts, missing the cut on debut before finishing 22nd last year - again getting the very most out of his week having ranked well below that figure in most key statistical categories.
They say that Augusta requires a draw, part of the logic behind any case for Reed, but let's not kid ourselves - you have to shape it both ways here, it's just that more holes are right-to-left. Look at those who succeed at Augusta and, with the odd exception, there aren't many who rely on one shot-shape. I suppose Zach Johnson's win - which itself was out of the ordinary - would be the best evidence to the contrary.
I digress, but the point is I'm quite happy to oppose Reed, for whom a good week would be a top-20 in my view, and Hideki Matsuyama gets the vote to beat him over 72 holes.
The Japanese is a superior ball-striker to Reed and has more recent, winning form having beaten Rickie Fowler in a play-off for the Phoenix Open earlier this season.
He's also got by far the best major record of the two with three top-10 finishes versus none for Reed and that extends to here at Augusta, where the head-to-head reads Matsuyama 2 Reed 0. Matsuyama also leads 2-0 at the Open and when Reed has beaten him in a major it's been by one shot. Matsuyama did him by nine here a year ago.
Matsuyama also leads the career head-to-head and I expect him to challenge while Reed struggles to crack the top 20, even if his attitude and scrambling skills see him make the weekend.
You can have 5/6 with William Hill which includes the safety net of stakes returned should they tie, or 10/11 without that concession at bet365 and Ladbrokes.
And if you don't like Matsuyama but would like to oppose Reed, Louis Oosthuizen is perfectly solid at 5/6 with Betfred.
One market which always catches the eye in Masters week is top amateur and there will be plenty willing to back Bryson DeChambeau at 4/5 to beat five rivals, two of whom are likely to really struggle.
DeChambeau is the reigning US Amateur champion having enjoyed a decorated career in the unpaid ranks and he looks to have both the talent and the mindset to forge a lengthy career as a professional, which begins next week.
Still, I couldn't back him at odds-on given that in Romain Langasque he could be up against one of the best British Amateur champions in years, a player who almost won on the Challenge Tour recently and did win last week's Georgia Cup to bed in nicely ahead of his Masters debut. That event is a head-to-head between US and British Amateur champs, so Langasque saw off DeChambeau to join a roll-of-honour which includes Sergio Garcia and Matt Kuchar.
It's rare for an amateur to make the cut at the Masters but this pair might be something special and rather than taking a view on the market, I'm more inclined to find other ways to side with them.
Truth be told, I was hoping to get stuck in to Langasque in the top Frenchman betting, where he faces friend and mentor Victor Dubuisson, whose season has been a pretty miserable one thus far.
Dubuisson has also struggled in two visits to Augusta, shooting 74-75 on both occasions, so Langasque could win this without even making the weekend. However, he's a best of 13/8 and as short as 11/10 in places and I don't see value in even the bigger of those two prices.
As for DeChambeau, he's tempting at 13/2 for a top-20 finish but I'd rather back him at 18s to be top debutant.
This is a market headed by Rafael Cabrera-Bello, who undoubtedly arrives in great heart and has displayed a higher level of form than DeChambeau, but his questionable short-game is going to be put under serious pressure this week.
With Kevin Kisner out of sorts and potentially set to get caught up in fulfilling his dream to play in the major which is just around the corner from his home, there's scope for a minor upset here and the hugely-promising amateur could be the one to provide it.
Like Ryan Moore, who was 13th here in 2005 when arriving as US Amateur champion, DeChambeau has his own way of doing things which all adds to the allure of one of the most promising players around.
I'm convinced he has a massive future but for now his focus is on achieving the extraordinary and winning the Masters as an amateur. While that's probably beyond him, I expect we'll see DeChambeau at the weekend which makes 18/1 a bet in this market.
I should also point out that Langasque can be backed at 50/1 which is tempting enough. However, I would expect DeChambeau to prove a little more comfortable and probably a little more capable at this stage so he gets the vote, along with Australia's Cameron Smith at 25s.
This is largely a value play, as I expected the 22-year-old to be a good deal shorter given that he was fourth in the US Open and 25th in the PGA Championship last year, to date his only two major appearances.
Very few players throughout history have made such a bright start to life at the top table and Smith has gradually taken that sort of form to the PGA Tour, where he's now made five cuts in a row and was 19th, ahead of several of these, in the Houston Open last week.
Like so many young players from Australia he's been well looked after by Adam Scott and I'd have him on the heels of those at the top of the market, somewhere around 12/1 chance Emiliano Grillo.
- By: Ben Coley
- Last Updated: April 5 2016, 12:11 BST
The trouble with writing a column like this one is that, when it comes to side markets, every bookmaker is different. And given that every punter will have their favourites - either by their choice or that of the layer - it means some may not be able to get bets on the advertised selections. Unfortunately there's nothing I can do about that.
What I can do, however, is highlight a player to take on which should then give you a few options and the man I want to oppose this week is Patrick Reed.
Clearly, Reed is playing well. He was 10th in Houston, seventh at the Valspar and in-between got out of a tough group at the Match Play, destroying Phil Mickelson in their decider courtesy of some relentless front-nine scoring.
However, it's now over two years since Reed won a full-field event and my suspicion has long been that he is somewhat one-dimensional, able to compete at elite level because of a brilliant short game and the fact that he's as tenacious as anyone. In other words, I think he's always close to the limit of his potential, like a peak-form Ian Poulter.
Like Poulter, Reed does not, in my opinion, have the game to achieve all that he wants to - at least for now. To my untrained eye (I am not and never will be a particularly good golfer, never mind a swing coach), he struggles to hit anything but a slinging hook and that's going to make life hard when up against someone like Rickie Fowler, who can hit it high, low, left or right as necessary.
Nor is he all that long or all that straight and history shows that players who rely so much on their short game are prone to falling off the radar, albeit that's not something I expect to happen to Reed.
This lack of scope might be why Reed has struggled at Augusta so far, failing to break 70 in six attempts, missing the cut on debut before finishing 22nd last year - again getting the very most out of his week having ranked well below that figure in most key statistical categories.
They say that Augusta requires a draw, part of the logic behind any case for Reed, but let's not kid ourselves - you have to shape it both ways here, it's just that more holes are right-to-left. Look at those who succeed at Augusta and, with the odd exception, there aren't many who rely on one shot-shape. I suppose Zach Johnson's win - which itself was out of the ordinary - would be the best evidence to the contrary.
I digress, but the point is I'm quite happy to oppose Reed, for whom a good week would be a top-20 in my view, and Hideki Matsuyama gets the vote to beat him over 72 holes.
The Japanese is a superior ball-striker to Reed and has more recent, winning form having beaten Rickie Fowler in a play-off for the Phoenix Open earlier this season.
He's also got by far the best major record of the two with three top-10 finishes versus none for Reed and that extends to here at Augusta, where the head-to-head reads Matsuyama 2 Reed 0. Matsuyama also leads 2-0 at the Open and when Reed has beaten him in a major it's been by one shot. Matsuyama did him by nine here a year ago.
Matsuyama also leads the career head-to-head and I expect him to challenge while Reed struggles to crack the top 20, even if his attitude and scrambling skills see him make the weekend.
You can have 5/6 with William Hill which includes the safety net of stakes returned should they tie, or 10/11 without that concession at bet365 and Ladbrokes.
And if you don't like Matsuyama but would like to oppose Reed, Louis Oosthuizen is perfectly solid at 5/6 with Betfred.
One market which always catches the eye in Masters week is top amateur and there will be plenty willing to back Bryson DeChambeau at 4/5 to beat five rivals, two of whom are likely to really struggle.
DeChambeau is the reigning US Amateur champion having enjoyed a decorated career in the unpaid ranks and he looks to have both the talent and the mindset to forge a lengthy career as a professional, which begins next week.
Still, I couldn't back him at odds-on given that in Romain Langasque he could be up against one of the best British Amateur champions in years, a player who almost won on the Challenge Tour recently and did win last week's Georgia Cup to bed in nicely ahead of his Masters debut. That event is a head-to-head between US and British Amateur champs, so Langasque saw off DeChambeau to join a roll-of-honour which includes Sergio Garcia and Matt Kuchar.
It's rare for an amateur to make the cut at the Masters but this pair might be something special and rather than taking a view on the market, I'm more inclined to find other ways to side with them.
Truth be told, I was hoping to get stuck in to Langasque in the top Frenchman betting, where he faces friend and mentor Victor Dubuisson, whose season has been a pretty miserable one thus far.
Dubuisson has also struggled in two visits to Augusta, shooting 74-75 on both occasions, so Langasque could win this without even making the weekend. However, he's a best of 13/8 and as short as 11/10 in places and I don't see value in even the bigger of those two prices.
As for DeChambeau, he's tempting at 13/2 for a top-20 finish but I'd rather back him at 18s to be top debutant.
This is a market headed by Rafael Cabrera-Bello, who undoubtedly arrives in great heart and has displayed a higher level of form than DeChambeau, but his questionable short-game is going to be put under serious pressure this week.
With Kevin Kisner out of sorts and potentially set to get caught up in fulfilling his dream to play in the major which is just around the corner from his home, there's scope for a minor upset here and the hugely-promising amateur could be the one to provide it.
Like Ryan Moore, who was 13th here in 2005 when arriving as US Amateur champion, DeChambeau has his own way of doing things which all adds to the allure of one of the most promising players around.
I'm convinced he has a massive future but for now his focus is on achieving the extraordinary and winning the Masters as an amateur. While that's probably beyond him, I expect we'll see DeChambeau at the weekend which makes 18/1 a bet in this market.
I should also point out that Langasque can be backed at 50/1 which is tempting enough. However, I would expect DeChambeau to prove a little more comfortable and probably a little more capable at this stage so he gets the vote, along with Australia's Cameron Smith at 25s.
This is largely a value play, as I expected the 22-year-old to be a good deal shorter given that he was fourth in the US Open and 25th in the PGA Championship last year, to date his only two major appearances.
Very few players throughout history have made such a bright start to life at the top table and Smith has gradually taken that sort of form to the PGA Tour, where he's now made five cuts in a row and was 19th, ahead of several of these, in the Houston Open last week.
Like so many young players from Australia he's been well looked after by Adam Scott and I'd have him on the heels of those at the top of the market, somewhere around 12/1 chance Emiliano Grillo.
