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By J.T. CHADWELL
The next play for Masters week will be a round robin placement parlay. We have hit a couple of these earlier in the season, so let’s hope for some more luck this week. This placement parlay will be a 4X6, meaning four of these selections must hit to ensure a payoff. The ticket is 15 four-leg parlays played at .05 units per parlay for a total risk of 0.75 units.
- PATRICK REED TOP 20 (W/ TIES) – Reed boasts one of the best placement records around Augusta of all the players here. Since his win in 2016, he has never finished outside the top 40 and has five finishes in the top 15. Add in that Reed has already won twice on the DP World Tour this season, and he looks poised to be near the top this week, and a very live price to even win.
- JACOB BRIDGEMAN TOP 30 (W/ TIES) – Current form trumps just about every other statistic in my opinion when coming to Augusta, and while Bridgeman is making his first trip here, he is in wonderful form. He is on a run of eight straight top-20 finishes and his elite short game should play well at a dry and bouncy Augusta National.
- NICOLAI HOJGAARD TOP 30 (W/ TIES) – I love Hojgaard this week for just about any props and matchups. Hojgaard comes in off 12 straight made cuts, nine of which ended in a finish in the top 25. He contended here for a bit before fading in 2024. Hojgaard hasn’t lost strokes to the field putting, nor on approach since January. That is quite a run of form and if it continues this week, he should be firmly inside that top 30 line.
- VIKTOR HOVLAND TOP 30 (W/ TIES) – Hovland was very mediocre and missed the cut in his last start, but I am going to throw that one out. He is 4 for 6 inside the top 30 in six trips to Augusta, and has been in the top 30 nine times since August. I was fortunate enough to be on the Augusta grounds Monday and saw Hovland hit some shots and he looked to be hitting it fantastic.
- SAM STEVENS TOP 40 (W/ TIES) – Stevens is a debutant this week like Bridgeman. There are a lot of ways to get in trouble having never played here, and the most severe way is off the tee. Stevens is really good off the tee, and hasn’t lost strokes to the field off the tee for almost nine and a half months! His form is inconsistent, but he has some confidence coming off a top five in Houston last time out.
- SAMI VALIMAKI TOP 40 (W/ TIES) – Valimaki is like a poor man’s Sepp Straka. When he is playing well he is very undervalued by the books. Coming off a top 15, let’s hope Valimaki’s form stays good, because he is a great iron player and putter. If he can gain strokes on approach and putting this week, he should be able to cash the top 40.