Looking ahead to The Masters: Who's hot, who's not and what's up with Tiger?

Believe it or not, it's Masters Week. The best players in the world from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf will come together for the first time this year at Augusta National Golf Club, and we can't wait to get started. 

If you're a casual golf fan who parachutes in for the major championships, we've got you covered with a breakdown of the odds board, players trending in the right or wrong direction and, of course, Tiger Woods. 

Let's get into it. 

Scottie Scheffler is the man to beat at Augusta National

There normally isn't a clear favorite at major championships, but there sure is this year. Scheffler is the heavy betting favorite to win The Masters at +430 odds, while no other player on the odds board is lower than +1200.

The World No. 1 won The Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship in back-to-back starts last month, and he nearly won the Valspar Championship last week for three in a row. Scheffler's ball striking has been superb, but the secret to his outstanding play this season is his switch from a blade putter to a TaylorMade Spider mallet putter. He put the new flatstick in his bag ahead of the API and hasn't finished worse than T2 since.

If you want a guaranteed sweat on Sunday afternoon, Scheffler is your man.

PGA Tour stars sputtering 

Scheffler is playing excellent golf right now, but we can't say the same about some other PGA Tour stars. Rory McIlroy hasn't recorded a top-10 finish yet this season, which isn't a good sign as he continues to chase the career grand slam. He's still second on the odds board at +1200 to win the green jacket.

Viktor Hovland (+3100) and Collin Morikawa (+4400) have tumbled down the odds board due to their poor recent form. For Hovland, he's back to being one of the worst chippers on the PGA Tour. For Morikawa, his iron play has mysteriously fallen off a cliff. There's great value in these prices, but it's hard to trust either of these guys right now.

Patrick Cantlay (+3200), Tony Finau (+4400), Max Homa (+5000) and Rickie Fowler (+11000) have also struggled to find their footing this season, and their Masters odds reflect that. 

LIV Golf coming to crash the party

LIV Golf is deeper and more talented than ever. Thirteen players from the rival golf league are scheduled to tee it up at Augusta National this year, and many of them are serious contenders to win the green jacket.

Jon Rahm (+1400) is the reigning Masters champion and a top-three player in the world, so he's the best chance LIV has to steal another major. Brooks Koepka, for obvious reasons, is right behind Rahm at +2000. Joaquin Niemann (+2700) has sky-rocketed up the odds board in recent months, and it's easy to see why. Here are his last eight worldwide finishes dating back to November: solo fifth, win, T4, win, T30, solo third, win, T4. Yeah, not too shabby.

Outside of the top three, Cameron Smith (+3200), Bryson DeChambeau (+3500), Dustin Johnson (+3800) and Tyrrell Hatton (+7500) can also make some noise at The Masters. Phil Mickelson (+17500) maybe not so much, although he did finish runner-up to Rahm last year. Stranger things have happened at Augusta. 

Tiger Woods is back, but don't waste your money

If you want to throw a few bucks down on Tiger Woods to win The Masters at 75/1 odds, we won't stop you. Just know it's by far the least valuable outright bet you could make this year. 

Woods has played only once this season, and he withdrew from The Genesis Invitational due to illness in the middle of the second round. The golf legend has withdrawn three times in his last six starts, so there's no guarantee he'll even make it through four rounds at Augusta. 

We'll be rooting for Tiger for play well, but we surely won't have any money on him to win.