If you think that Mask Of Time ($151) is a longshot in the Group 1 ATC Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Randwick this weekend, what do you think of the $5001 chance golfer Ian Woosnam is carrying into The Masters as the first of men’s professional golf Majors goes off beginning Friday (AEST)?
Rory McIllroy is a $9 favourite, followed by Dustin Johnson at $11, Justin Rose at $15, with three at $17, those being Jon Rahm, Justine Thomas and Tiger Woods.
Woosie is in the field because he won The Masters in 1991, when McIllroy was but a wee babe. Past Masters champions are permitted to play in the event in perpetuity, so long as they are alive and willing.
Woosnam is 61 and has been plying his trade since 1976 as a professional. He is the most accomplished Ryder Cup player of all time, yet on the PGA Tour, his only other win was the 1991 USF&G Classic, less than a month prior to his win in The Masters.
Last year’s winner of The Masters, Patrick Reed, is a $51 proposition, the same price Marc Leishman carries.
Jason Day is the top Aussie hope at $26. His best finish at The Masters was tied second in 2011. Tied with Adam Scott, at that. Both golfers made a hard charge on the final day. Both shot even par 72s in the first round, which dealt serious blows to their chances. Day fired a 64 in the second round, but fell back to an even par 72 in round three before closing with a 68.
Scott closed with 67s in the final two rounds. Two strokes back was Geoff Ogilvy, who concluded tied fourth for his best-ever result at Augusta National Golf Course.
Scott is priced at $41 for the 2019 edition of The Masters. Cameron Smith is at $81 and it is fairly safe to say that any of the players quoted at $101 and lower have legitimate prospects.
