Lion to roar louder than Tiger as Masters amateurs do battle
Published:Six amateurs will challenge for the silver medal when the Masters starts on Thursday, and punters will be watching the future stars when David Chung, Jin Jeong, Lion Kim, Hideki Matsuyama, Nathan Smith and Peter Uihlein take to Augusta.
Co-founded by Bobby Jones – the greatest amateur of them all – the Masters has been a breeding ground for some of the greats with Jack Nicklaus finishing seventh as an amateur in 1961, while Phil Mickelson famously led partner and two-time Masters champion Nick Faldo after the first round in 1991.
This year sees six of the finest amateur talents take to Augusta National and Uihlein is favoured to take home the silver medal at 11/8.
Uihlein is the US Amateur champion and is the strongest amateur in the field, but his inconsistency off the tee could cost him even if he does have the length to compete with the professionals.
The American did prove his mettle when making the cut in the Transitions Championship earlier in the year, and the youngster has the mentality to cope with being paired against Phil Mickelson and Geoff Ogilvy.
Second favourite in the Masters top amateur betting is Chung at 4/1, while Smith, Matsuyama and Kim are all available at 6/1 with Jeong the outsider at 7/1.
Jeong may be the outsider but he has previous, winning the silver medal at the 2010 British Open and 7/1 seems a huge price and he is our pick to win the Silver Medal.
Smith is the only one of the six who has competed at the Masters but he has never made the cut and Matsuyama will be carrying plenty of pressure on his shoulders as the first Japanese amateur to play in the Masters.
Chung won two amateur events in 2010 and Kim boasts the most intimidating name on tour, but all the value is in backing Jeong and we’re expecting him to do well this week.
A £20 stake on Jeong winning the silver medal would return £260. New customers can sign up here to get £60 in free bets.
