Masters First-Round Leader, H2H Picks & Best Bets

• The 89th Masters tees off Thursday, April 10th, from Augusta National Golf Club
• I’m bullish on a few players that could jump out to the first-round lead
• Read below for more Masters odds in the first round head-to-head betting market

The first major of 2025 is finally upon us, with Scottie Scheffler the favorite in the 2025 Masters odds to win his third green jacket in the last four years. He’s followed by Rory McIlroy, who is attempting to become just the sixth man ever to complete the career grand slam. Instead of waiting until Sunday to potentially collect our earnings, this article will explore bets that can be made that will settle at the conclusion of the first round, such as head-to-head bets and also who will be the first-round leader.

Masters First-Round Leader Odds

The weather will be mainly sunny, with temperatures between 51 degrees Fahrenheit in the morning, reaching a high of 75 in the afternoon. Wind gusts will increase as the day wears on, with those competing in the morning holding the slight advantage. Scottie Scheffler, the favorite to win outright, is also sporting the shortest odds to be first-round leader.

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First-Round Leader Picks

• Corey Conners +4500
• Russell Henley +5000
• Wyndham Clark +6000
• Justin Rose +6500
• Tom Hoge +10000

I’ve selected five players, two who play in the AM (Conners, Hoge), and three in the afternoon (Henley, Clark, Rose). Conners (9:14am) has the shortest odds at +4500, and for good reason. He posted three straight top-10s at the Masters from 2020-22, and has five straight top-25s in 2025, including three top-8s in a row.

Next is Georgia born Russell Henley (12:50pm), who is fifth in first-round scoring on the campaign (68.43). He was T-4th at Augusta National in 2023, and won two starts ago at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March.

I also love Wyndham Clark (1:34pm), who was tied for fifth the last time he teed it up in Houston. The 2023 US Open champion has led outright after 18 holes twice this season, at the WM Phoenix Open and the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

My final two selections are longer shots in Justin Rose (12:00pm) and Tom Hoge (11:38am). The former has six career top-10s at the Masters, including a pair of runner-ups, and had two top-6s in majors last year (T-2nd Open Championship, T-6th PGA). The latter is a wild card, but he comes off a T-3rd at the Players and T-5th at last weekend’s Valero Texas Open, and has led after the first round twice in 2025.

First-Round Head-to-Head Picks

• Cameron Smith (-110) over Min Woo Lee (-115)
• Sepp Straka (+105) over Viktor Hovland (-130)

Even though Cameron Smith is a slight underdog over his fellow Aussie mate Min Woo Lee, I like him to pull off the upset. They both are playing in the morning, so there’s no drastic weather advantage.

This one has Min Woo Lee as the favorite, given that he won his maiden PGA Tour title in his last appearance at the Texas Children’s Houston Open. In the three times teeing it up at Augusta, he’s been T-14th and T-22nd, along with one missed cut. Contrast that to Smith, who has won the 2022 Open Championship, and has racked up five top-10s (and four top-6s) in his last seven trips to Augusta National.

For a little bit more value, I’m selecting Sepp Straka to defeat Viktor Hovland. Out of nowhere, Hovland won the last time he competed at the Valspar Championship, where he had three missed cuts preceding it. Straka has been much more consistent in 2025, also taking home a trophy at the American Express, and followed that up with five top-15s in seven subsequent starts.

In the last 24 rounds on tour, Straka has bettered Hovland in six key ‘strokes gained’ stats, with stronger numbers in ball striking, approach, around-the-green, tee-to-green, putting, and total strokes gained.