Garcia and Fred to fire early

Fred Couples can still sparkle on the course © Getty Images

Rest assured there will be a full betting preview for The Masters on Wednesday, when we are sure to point you in the direction of the winner, but there are plenty of other intriguing markets to get involved in.

A market that catches our eye is that of the first-round leader. Now we could get a scenario where Rory McIlroy burns up the course like last year, but it’s not a lot of fun punting on the favourite.

As such we have two against the field, both at juicy odds. Experience of Augusta is key to success at The Masters. And one of the most experienced of all is a certain Fred Couples, the winner in 1992 and a player who has a fantastic Masters record. At 52, Couples does struggle to keep pace with the younger guns on the circuit but he still has the quality to compete on a track that suits his game. A 15th-placed finish last year followed a sixth-place in 2010 and he is heading into this year’s iteration in decent form, having claimed victory on the Seniors Tour last month. He may fall short of overall glory, but we are taking Fred to make a bright start – and at 90/1 it is a fabulous punt.

Another player who has often performed with credit at Augusta is Sergio Garcia. He is still without a major win to his name, which is a travesty given the talent he possesses, but he has shown much more spark in recent months. The Spaniard has a habit of starting well in events, he was tied for seventh after the first round 12 months ago, and we expect a similar story here – so take the 40/1 on offer at be365.

Masters first round leader odds at bet365:

Tiger Woods 8/1

Rory McIlroy 8/1

Phil Mickelson 16/1

Luke Donald 20/1

Lee Westwood 22/1

Justin Rose 22/1

Hunter Mahan 30/1

Adam Scott 30/1

33/1 bar