Golf best bets: Jack Dougherty's outright picks for The Masters

Brooks Koepka (+2000 FanDuel)

This is a joke, right? Have sportsbooks still not learned their lesson with this guy?

Brooks Koepka, the winningest major champion of this era with five trophies in his closet, is 20/1 to win The Masters and priced behind Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele? You know, the same McIlroy who hasn't won a major in 10 years and can't get over the mental hurdle of winning the Career Grand Slam, and the same Schauffele who's notoriously known as a choker in majors. 

We don't care that Koepka hasn't played well on LIV Golf this year. If he's healthy, he contends in major championships. That's just what he does. The 33-year-old finished runner-up to Jon Rahm at Augusta National last year, and he's a great bet to win the green jacket in 2024.  

Hideki Matsuyama (+2500 DraftKings)

If we're trying to beat Scheffler this week, we need to target elite ball strikers who can keep up with the World No. 1 from tee to green. Enter Hideki Matsuyama.

Ball-striking prowess? Check. Matsuyama has gained strokes off the tee and on approach in four straight starts. He's one of the best iron players in the world and has been for some time. 

Imaginative short game? Check. He ranks No. 1 on the PGA Tour this season in strokes gained from around the green, and he's especially a brilliant chipper from tight fairway lies. 

Recent form? Check. The Japanese star won The Genesis Invitational in February with a final-round 62 and has four straight top-12 finishes.

Course history? Check, check and check. Matsuyama won The Masters in 2021, and he's finished inside the top 20 in eight of his last nine starts at Augusta National. 

Matsuyama is a perfect fit for this golf course, and he enters the week in superb form. 

Wyndham Clark (+3500 FD)

Wyndham Clark might just be the next Koepka in training. All he does is play his best golf at the biggest events, and an aura of confidence follows him around the golf course like his shadow. 

Dating back to last May, here's how Clark has fared in some of the biggest events with the best fields:

— Won the Wells Fargo Championship, a signature event

— Won the U.S. Open over Rory McIlroy and Scheffler

— Finished third at the Tour Championship despite starting six strokes off the lead

— Won the shortened AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, a signature event, after breaking the course record with a 12-under 60

— Finished runner-up to Scheffler at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, a signature event

— Finished runner-up to Scheffler at The Players Championship, lipped out a tying putt on the 72nd hole

Clark is the real deal. He's only 35/1 because he's a Masters rookie, and no debutant has won at Augusta since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979. If anyone can buck that trend, it's this guy.