Despite being just 21 years old and playing in his second Masters Tournament, Jordan Spieth has to be considered the betting favorite entering Friday's action at Augusta National.
Spieth continued his recent hot streak with an eight-under 64 on Thursday to snag a three-stroke lead. Considering he's played in the final group in each of his past three starts, it's a safe bet Spieth will at least be in the top two come Sunday.
But little to nothing is often decided until the last nine in the final round, so Spieth has a long way to go and a tough field to stay out in front of in his quest for a first major championship.
Let's take a closer look at Spieth and some of the other favorites to bet on ahead of Friday's action based on the odds listed by Oddschecker, which were current as of 9 p.m. ET Thursday.
Top 2015 Masters Bets
Jordan Spieth (9-4)
Phenomenal as Spieth was in the opening round and as he's been amid a meteoric rise to stardom, he did catch a couple of breaks, even admitting as much afterward.
Spieth has tended to spray the ball right. Since Augusta National features a lot of dogleg left holes, that miss won't hurt Spieth too badly. The key is to minimize those wayward shots, because he won't always have a shot from spots of bother as he often did Thursday.
CBS Sports' Kyle Porter referenced how locked in Spieth was in his quest for a green jacket:
Having played in the final group with two-time champion Bubba Watson last year, Spieth has taken little time to figure out Augusta. There aren't any glaring holes in his game, which is rare for someone his age.
Most shocking about Spieth's consistency, featuring three top-two finishes entering the Masters, is how he handles the mental side of the game. Even with an extroverted, talkative and impassioned style of play, he keeps his composure under the most golf pressure imaginable.
If people didn't take notice of Spieth before, he made them do so with his brilliant start to the 2015 Masters. The good news about golf betting is even a seemingly prohibitive favorite like Spieth still nets more than double in a placed wager at the moment.
Plenty of action should be on Spieth to slip on the green jacket. One could do worse than to push all the chips in on Spieth. This isn't a typical 21-year-old.
Jason Day (11-2)
The 2011 joint Masters runner-up and 2013 third-place finisher seems to have a penchant for contending in odd-numbered years.
On an afternoon where Spieth stole the headlines and Tiger Woods' return garnered plenty of attention, Day went about his business quietly. The cool-tempered Aussie begun his round with an inauspicious seven straight pars.
Then Day erupted for five straight birdies on the last nine from Nos. 12 to 16, though he had a dropped shot on both sides of that stretch. It was still enough to vault him up the leaderboard and into the crowded tie for second.
Golf Channel's Gary Williams fancies Day's chances:
Day has been knocking on the door at majors, beset last season by a nagging thumb injury that prevented him from building on his momentum. He may not be a household name just yet, but that will change if he emerges as Spieth's chief challenger.
At just 27 years old, Day has his prime ahead of him. Don't be surprised if he plays spoiler to Spieth and rewards those who place a generous 11-2 wage.
This Masters Tournament could be the springboard Day needs to morph into a perennial contender anytime he tees it up.
Justin Rose (12-1)
Some may be inclined to still wager on slightly shorter odds with world No. 1 Rory McIlroy, but the Northern Irish prodigy carded a one-under 71 to start—far off Spieth's ambitious pace.
Rose has a bit of a steadier track record at Augusta, having not finished outside the top 25 since 2009, with a career-best effort in 2007, when he tied for fifth, preceding that consistency.
ESPN.com's Jason Sobel referenced how fast Rose has tended to start the Masters in the past:
The 2013 U.S. Open champion has the game to get the green jacket. With a major under his belt and plenty of positive Masters experience, there's no reason Rose can't become a multiple major winner, even if it isn't this week.
Perhaps trickiest about golf betting is going off of a player's recent form. Mentioned before was how well Spieth has played. Prior to Thursday's start, Rose had a nightmarish season, missing three of his past five stateside cuts, with no finish better than a tie for 37th at last week's Shell Houston Open.
After Thursday's round, Rose hinted how one week at a major can render any prior struggles obsolete, per PGATour.com's Amanda Balionis:
Putting has been the big problem for Rose this season, but even with 31 strokes on the green in the first round, he shot 67. It shows just how on Rose is from tee to green, as he missed just one fairway and only two greens in regulation.
As tricky as Augusta's slopes are, as long as Rose can keep putting himself in position, the putts are going to fall. He's a world-class player and a former young stud who went through trials and tribulations before realizing his potential.
That's a source of motivation Rose could draw on to catch the prodigious Spieth, who's bidding to become the first 21-year-old to win the Masters since a man named Tiger Woods in 1997.