Betting Roundup /

No value in Mickelson? Las Vegas oddsmaker breaks down the field for this year’s Masters

It’s still nearly two months away, but with the PGA Tour picking up steam, bettors have begun turning their attention to golf’s crown jewel event, the Masters.

Jeff Sherman, the assistant manager of the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook who specializes in golf oddsmaking, offered his thoughts on some notable golfers in this year’s field in a radio appearance Monday.

In their most recent odds, released after Vaughn Taylor’s win at Pebble Beach on Sunday, the Westgate has Jordan Spieth (5/1), Rory McIlroy (7/1) and Jason Day (8/1) as the breakaway favorites.

The odds on two-time winner Bubba Watson were creeping into that territory, but a slow start has cooled some of the action on him, Sherman said.

The bettors have really taken to him. He’s got two wins there, and we got support on him at 15/1, which lowered him down to 12/1. But now, with what his current form has been, I kind of eased him out a bit. People were shying away at 12/1; I think that’s a little bit low, no matther how (strong) his history, because he still has to contend with those top three guys, so I think 15/1 is about fair and that’s where I’m settled in on him right now.

Three-time winner Phil Mickelson fell just short last weekend, missing a birdie putt on the final hole that could’ve forced a playoff. Could Lefty make another run in Augusta this year?

He’s been supported at 25/1, and now, with what he did this week, he’s down to 20. He’s one of our larger liabilities, the only thing is, I’m not afraid to take that on. At this point of his career … these young guys are coming out so aggressive. The obvious starting point is Spieth, McIroy and Day at the top; Rickie Fowler is emerging this year. These older guys have to contend with the younger guys who are a lot more aggressive in their approach, so I don’t see any value on Mickelson at 20/1, but right now he is one of our larger liabilities.

Brooks Koepka made some noise on the Tour last year, picking up his first win at the Phoenix Open and finishing 10th at the British Open and fifth at the PGA Championship. Sherman said he likes what he’s seen out of the 25-year-old.

He’s one of the guys that I’ve already supported myself, and I opened him lower relative to the market at 40/1 when I first put these up back in August, anticipating improvements in his form, and I was able to find him at 60/1, so I played some of that. I got him as low as 30/1 when he started out well this year, but I’ve eased him out to 40, because he hasn’t seen that much support in the 30/1 range. He’s a nice price at 40/1, someone I think can contend, and he’s just outside that tier of the top guys that we see going forward.

PROGRESSIVE JACKPOT UP TO RECORD $274,910

Last weekend, bettors failed to hit the $248,255 jackpot in William Hill’s Multi-Sports Progressive Contest Card, but this week’s jackpot is up to a record $274,910. The contest, which is available at William Hill’s 105 sports books in Nevada and on the mobile app, is $5 per entry and requires players to pick all 15 propositions correctly.

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TWEETS OF NOTE

The trading deadline approaches. Beware the fake account.

ODDS & ENDS

ODDSMAKER’S TAKE

“We see two different types of people who bet these markets. We get a lot of general public mostly comprising the odds-to-win market, taking their shots on long shots, $10 to win a few hundred, stuff like that. And then the matchup market, we see mostly sharp money on that, where you’re just betting one guy against another at closer to even-money odds. You’ll find a lot that the matchup prices don’t directly correlate to what you see in the odds-to-win market, because it really is two different markets.” —Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook assistant manager Jeff Sherman on the golf betting markets.