2024 Masters: See the Crazy Odds on Open Champ Brian Harman
Golf’s four major tournaments for 2023 are in the books following Brian Harman’s stunning victory at the Open Championship (Sunday, July 23) to win his first major title.
To say that Harman was an underdog is a major understatement. Oddsmakers had him anywhere from 200-1 to 100-1.
But the 36-year-old American almost went wire-to-wire and won the championship by an astounding six strokes. That’s the largest margin of victory since Tiger Woods at St. Andrews in 2000.
He found his groove in Hoylake, England – despite locals openly rooting against him – and never lost it, even when 2023 Masters winner Jon Rahm got to within three strokes in the final round.
Harman became the oldest first-time major champion since Spain's Sergio Garcia, 37, won the Masters in 2017.
This is a telling quote from Harman about his confidence that never wavered:
"I've always had a self-belief that I could do something like this," Harman said. "It's just when it takes so much time it's hard not to let your mind falter, like maybe I'm not winning again. I'm 36 years old. [The] game is getting younger. All these young guys coming out, hit it a mile, and they're all ready to win. Like when is it going to be my turn again? "It's been hard to deal with. I think someone mentioned that I've had more top 10s than anyone since 2017, so that's a lot of times where you get done, you're like, 'Dammit, man, I had that one.' It just didn't happen for whatever reason."
"I think it's good for Harman," said PGA Tour player Harris English, who was one of his teammates at Georgia. "It kind of puts a fire in him. He knows he's not a favorite. I think it gives him satisfaction to show everybody that he's one of the best players in the world."
He’s now ranked 10th in the world and is likely a lock to be a member of the U.S. Ryder Cup team in Rome (Sept. 29-Oct. 1).
And yet, despite all of this, he’s somehow listed at +9000 (90-1) to win the green jacket next April.
That seems silly, right?
It does.
Harman is just 5-foot-7 and doesn’t hit the ball a ton but after his runaway win at the Open, that’s great value.
He showed poise, precision, and patience in England, which are the traits you need to win at Augusta.
Plus, at the Open, he landed in just two bunkers – two! – all week at Royal Liverpool Golf Club, which is loaded with those dastardly hazards.
The dude was accurate all four days, even on the rainy Sunday finale.
Then there are these incredible stats: Harman sank 59 of 60 putts between five and 10 feet and had zero three-puts during the entire tournament.
That’s just nuts.
Putting well is crucial at Augusta and Harman mastered it during the Open.
If he can accomplish anything close to that at The Masters, I promise he’ll be in contention on Sunday’s final round.
Anyhow, sometimes it takes until your mid-30s to figure out anything – especially the maddening game of golf.
So, I’ll bet you right now that the lefty Harman finishes in the top 10 next April – even though he played poorly and missed the cut in 2023.
Harman is a lefty and while there hasn’t been one of those to win at Augusta since Bubba Watson in 2014, that could change next year.
Harman was born in Savannah, Georgia and he’s on the record saying, "You grow up in Georgia, it's all the Masters.”
Finally, Harman will be extra motivated to prove that winning the Open’s Claret Jug was no fluke and that this year’s Masters showing is in the rear-view mirror.
So may as well throw a little cash at him now while those odds are so good.
Because it looks like Harman, who hadn’t won a tournament since 2017 before his dominating Open performance, has finally broken through for good.
© Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK
The Masters 2024 Winner
Scottie Scheffler +700
Jon Rahm +750
Rory McIlroy +850
Jordan Spieth +1400
Brooks Koepka +1700
Collin Morikawa +2100
Patrick Cantlay +2200
Cameron Smith +2400
Dustin Johnson +2800
Justin Thomas +2800
Viktor Hovland +2800
Xander Schauffele +3000
Tony Finau +3100
Cameron Young +3700
Hideki Matsuyama +4100
Matt Fitzpatrick +4100
Max Homa +4100
Sung-Jae Im +4400
Shane Lowry +4400
Will Zalatoris +4400
Jason Day +4400
Rickie Fowler +4400
Bryson DeChambeau +4600
Sam Burns +5500
Patrick Reed +5500
Joaquin Niemann +7000
Tom Kim +7500
Sahith Theegala +7500
Corey Conners +7500
Tommy Fleetwood +7500
Tyrrell Hatton +7500
Si Woo Kim +8500
Brian Harman +9000
Justin Rose +9000
Min Woo Lee +9000
Russell Henley +9000
Phil Mickelson +13000
Gary Woodland +13000
Adam Scott +13000
Tiger Woods +13000
Seamus Power +15000
Kurt Kitayama +15000
Abraham Ancer +15000
Ryan Fox +15000
Chris Kirk +15000
Keith Mitchell +15000
Tom Hoge +18000
Mito Pereira +18000
Sergio Garcia +18000
Keegan Bradley +18000
Billy Horschel +22000
Louis Oosthuizen +22000
Danny Willett +22000
Harris English +22000
Bubba Watson +22000
Talor Gooch +22000
Taylor Moore +28000
Sam Bennett +28000
Thomas Pieters +28000
Alex Noren +28000
Cameron Champ +34000
J.T. Poston +34000
Jason Kokrak +37000
Harold Varner +37000
Charl Schwartzel +40000
Zach Johnson +100000
The odds I’m using for the Masters are courtesy of FanDuel SportsBook, which is among our top-rated sports betting sites. Check out all of our reviews of the many great sites you can use to wager on golf and any other future sports bets.
As always, good luck out there, bettors.
