Round 2 Betting and Showdown Picks – 2022 The Masters

Sungjae Im gained 3.4 strokes putting, including five birdies and an eagle, en route to a 5-under 67 at Thursday’s opening round of the Masters. But Im, along with everyone else on the leaderboard was clearly overshadowed by the amazing return to professional golf by Tiger Woods. In his first competitive round of golf in 509 days, Woods shot a 1-under 71. Tucking numerous iron shots close to the pin, along with looking sharp with his flat stick, Woods gained a combined 3.8 strokes on approach and with the putter. The Players champion, Cam Smith, made eight birdies sandwiched around two double-bogeys on both the first and last hole. He sits one shot back of Im at 4-under. Past Masters winners Dustin Johnson and Danny Willett, along with Joaquin Niemann and Scottie Scheffler are two shots back at 3-under.

While winds were whipping between 12-20 mph for most of Thursday’s round, Friday will see lighter westerly winds progressing to stronger gusts of 25-30 mph for the entirety of the afternoon. With temperatures also cooling to around ten degrees less than on Thursday and the greens even firmer, players with distance off the tee will have even more of an advantage. Showdown players definitely want to target morning golfers for the majority of their rosters for tomorrow’s slate.