2025 The Masters odds: ‘We were just doing backflips constantly’

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Salleroli helped document a nerve-wracking Sunday in the 2025 Masters odds market.

Early Flip-Flop

Rory McIlroy entered Sunday with a two-shot lead and was the -200 favorite to win the Masters. Bryson DeChambeau was the +250 second choice.

But McIlroy’s jaunt to the green jacket got off to an extremely inauspicious start. He double-bogeyed No. 1, dropping into a tie with DeChambeau at 10 under.

Then McIlroy parred No. 2, while DeChambeau got a birdie to take the lead at 11 under. 

All of a sudden, DeChambeau was the short favorite.

“Within two holes, we had a new leader,” Salleroli said, noting an immediate rush on in-play odds. “The run on DeChambeau bets was incredible, thinking a Rory collapse was coming, as it has in the past.”

Instead, McIlroy quickly steadied the ship with birdies on Nos. 3 and 4, while DeChambeau bogeyed both holes. 

So Rory returned to the favorite at 12 under.

Build Up, Then Blow Up

Birdies on 9 and 10 put McIlroy at 14 under and seemingly in full control. With eight holes left, he had a five-shot lead. His odds stretched to -1000 or beyond. Even at only -1000, it would take a $1,000 bet just to win $100 on Rory ($1,100 total payout).

McIlroy bogeyed No. 11, which didn’t really harm his odds much. But then things got really interesting, with Justin Rose — playing a couple holes ahead of McIlroy — making a strong finishing kick as Rory reached No. 13.

“You could’ve had Rose at +4000 before Rory dunked it in the water on 13. Then Rose immediately went to +400,” Salleroli said.

McIlroy ultimately took a double-bogey 7 on 13, and he followed with a bogey on 14, dropping to 10 under again.

“Everybody started to get back in the chase. Ludvig Aberg was right there, even in the lead briefly. Patrick Reed was making a slow creeper charge,” Salleroli said.

Aberg, also playing a couple holes ahead of McIlroy, was briefly a short favorite. But he bogeyed No. 17, then took triple bogey on 18 to ruin his chances.

Rose Blooms

As noted above, Rose was making a big run while McIlroy was falling down. Rose birdied eight of the final 12 holes, including a huge 20-foot putt on 18 to finish at 11-under 277.

All Rose could do from there was wait. McIlroy birdied 15 — though he blew a great eagle chance there — to draw even with Rose at 11 under. When McIlroy birdied 17 to take a one-shot lead, it seemed like he might finally seal the deal.

Even after finding a greenside bunker on 18, McIlroy got out to about four feet for a par putt to win it. 

As fate would have it, though, he missed, and it was on to a playoff against Rose.

“Now you know you’re just heads-up, McIlroy vs. Rose, sudden death. A lot of suspense,” Salleroli said.

In the playoff, Caesars made McIlroy a -140 favorite and Rose a +110 underdog as the two made their way back to the 18th tee.

“You knew Rory was gonna outdrive Rose,” Salleroli said, noting that after the tee shots, Rory became a bigger favorite at -220. “Then Rose sticks his approach to 12-15 feet. But then comes McIlroy, and he butters it up and lands it right next to the hole.

“When Rory hit his to within three feet, we went to McIlroy -650. And once Rose missed his putt — just barely — we took the odds off the board.”

Finishing Touch

McIlroy then made his putt and made history, as the sixth player to complete a career Grand Slam. Bettors were generally satisfied, as McIlroy was No. 1 in ticket count at several sportsbooks, including Caesars, BetMGM, DraftKings and The SuperBook.

“Customers were very happy with the Rory outcome,” Salleroli said, while noting that in-play action was strong on both McIlroy and Rose for the one playoff hole. “That was lots of fun. It’s great to see two-sided action. A lot of the public bettors were rooting for Rory or rooting for Rose.

“It was great action all day, and it was a great day for the sport of golf.”

Patrick Everson is a sports betting analyst for FOX Sports and senior reporter for VegasInsider.com. He is a distinguished journalist in the national sports betting space. He’s based in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golfing in 110-degree heat. Follow him on Twitter: @PatrickE_Vegas.

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