PGA DFS The Masters Tournament: Cameron Smith Odds & Masters Outlook
The LIV Golf Tour arrives at Augusta National bringing with some of the former top golfers on the PGA Tour. One of those top golfers in Cameron Smith, the 2022 Open Champion winner who will be looking to rebound after making a charge at the Masters Tournament last year, ultimately finishing third behind eventual winner Scottie Scheffler. Smith was one of the biggest signings by the LIV Tour as he is right in the prime of his career and was likely going to contend as the number one player in the world had he continued to stay on the PGA Tour. Smith has had success on the LIV Tour but he was vocal about what he meant to play at Augusta National this week, especially given the increased competition he knows he will be facing.
Cameron Smith Masters Tournament History
Smith nearly won the Masters Tournament in 2022, finishing in third place, three shots back from Scottie Scheffler. He has three career top-5 finishes, nabbing a T5 in 2018 and a T2 in 2020. His runner-up finish saw him five shots back of Dustin Justin. Smith has one major championship under his belt, having won the 2022 Open Championship.
Cameron Smith Odds to win the Masters Tournament
Right now over on DraftKings Sportsbook Cameron Smith is +3500 to win the Masters Tournament which means a $100 bet would net you $3,500. These are pretty good odds if you consider his history at this course and the fact that Smith is in the prime of his career, having won a major tournament just last year while on the PGA tour. If you want to take on a little less risk, Smith is +550 to finish in the top five and +260 to finish in the top 10.
Cameron Smith Masters 2023 Pairings
Cameron Smith will be teeing off in the last pairing on Thursday, 2:oo PM ET and will be paired with PGA Tour players Hideki Matsuyama and Sungjae Im. Matsuyama is a former green jacket winner while Im tied Cameron Smith for second place at the 2020 Masters Tournament.
Cameron Smith Masters Tournament DraftKings Salary
When it comes to DFS, DraftKings has priced Cameron Smith at $9,6800 for the Masters Tournament. Smit is the fourth highest priced golfer on the DraftKings slate, behind only defending champion Scottie Scheffler, former champion Rory McIlroy and John Rahm. Just beneath Cameron Smith in pricing is Patrick Cantlay and Justin Thomas.
Be sure to check out our complete PGA DFS Playbook, PGA DFS Projections and PGA DFS Lineup Generator for the Masters Tournament!
2023 Masters Tournament Predictions for Cameron Smith
While the LIV Tour may not bring the same level of competition each week there is no doubt that Cameron Smith is one of the best golfers in the entire world and he has a track record at this course, in this major tournament, to be there on Sunday making a push for the green jacket. My pick for Smith is another top-10 finish and I'd be willing to make a bet on him to be the outright winner.
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Justin Thomas arrived at the Travelers Championship amidst a bit of a slump but left with 25 birdies to manage a T9 finish, his first top 10 since March.
Thomas is known for his stellar rate of big finishes over the course of his career but that changed recently with six straight finishes landing outside of the top 10. A cold putter has been the culprit for much of the downturn but he managed to fight through the flat-stick woes this week. Thomas lost 1.9 strokes putting at TPC River Highlands but ranked 3rd in strokes gained tee-to-green. It was a promising result to rebuild some confidence but he still has some work to do in the putting department. Despite the nice finish this week, Thomas is just 66th in the FedExCup race.
Brian Harman tossed together a 6-under 64 on Sunday at the Travelers Championship, posting a piece of second place on the final leaderboard (-20).
Harman entered the week with just one top 25 in his last 14 stroke-play events. It's been a slump for the straight shooter but TPC River Highlands was the perfect cure. The Georgia Bulldog gained 4.4 strokes on approach, 3.5 strokes around-the-green, and 4.9 strokes putting. All three ranked 13th or better for the week. This was far from his first taste of success at the course, going in the books as his sixth career top 10 at TPC River Highlands.
Chez Reavie started the day just one shot off the pace but stumbled with a 1-over 71 to drop back to a share of fourth place on the final leaderboard.
Reavie and overnight leader Keegan Bradley were in a tier of their own to begin the day. Reavie dropped a rung with seven pars and two bogeys before the turn. His driver remained steady (12-of-14 fairways) but lost strokes in each of the other three categories of strokes gained today. It was a day to forget but a week to remember for Reavie who still managed a T4 finish, vaulting him from 114th to 95th in the FedExCup race.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler steadied a 5-under 65 on Sunday at the Travelers Championship, ending the week on 19-under 261, good for a slice of fourth place.
The Texan piled up 21 birdies and a pair of eagles this week at TPC River Highlands. He ended the week ranked second in strokes gained tee-to-green (+11.08). He's now gained at least 10.6 strokes in that department in six straight events. Scheffler carded three sub-66 rounds this week but a two-birdie 70 on Friday is what held him back from truly contending. The World No. 1 now has six straight top-5 finishes and you have to go back to October to find the last time he finished worse than 12th. It's safe to say he's been the most consistent golfer on the planet over the last nine months.
Rory McIlroy raced out of the gate on Sunday at the Travelers Championship before slowing his pace to record a 6-under 64, ending his week in a share of seventh place (18-under 262).
McIlroy circled birdies on five of the first seven holes today. He couldn't maintain that pace but still bettered the field average by more than three shots today. McIlroy tossed together four sub-69 rounds this week at TPC River Highlands but didn't even sniff contention over the weekend. "I don't particularly like when a tournament is like this. Unfortunately technology has passed this course by, right? It sort of has made it obsolete, especially as soft as it has been with a little bit of rain that we had." The Northern Irishman now has five straight top-10 finishes and has his game trending back toward the winner's circle just in time for the season's final major and the FedExCup Playoffs.
Patrick Cantlay gave the leader a small scare down the stretch was swallowed two late bogeys to finish on 19-under this week at the Travelers Championship, four shots off the winning tally of Keegan Bradley.
Cantlay was slow out of the gate with eight pars and a birdie before the turn. He applied some pressure with four birdies on the next six holes, all while Keegan Bradley was starting to leak with three straight bogeys. That shrunk the lead to just three shots be Cantlay stumbled home with two bogeys and a par. "I thought I struck the ball very solid all day. Played smart. Not the finish I wanted obviously, but my game is in a good spot and a lot of big tournaments left this summer." The UCLA alum carded four sub-69 rounds this week and led the field in strokes gained tee-to-green. Cantlay now has six straight top 15s at TPC River Highlands. He collected two victories last season but still searching for his first win of the 2022-23 campaign.