2022 Masters Round 2 Odds, Picks, Predictions: Tony Finau Headlines 3 Buys Entering Friday

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"Hello friends," and welcome to one of the great Thursday nights of the golf year.

The first round of the Masters has come to a close and it lived up to the hype, especially with Tiger Woods playing his first competitive round since a life-threatening car crash last February.

Woods did so in style. His opening-round 71 will likely be remembered more in the coming weeks and months than the tournament itself, which is led by Sungjae Im, who shot an impressive 5-under 67. That is not shot at Im, but rather an ode to the magnitude of what Tiger's return means to the game and his legacy.

Woods sunk his first birdie at the sixth hole after a beautiful tee shot to the oar 3 left him with just a kick in two. He dropped a couple of shots later but picked up two more birdies on his way in for a 1-under finish. He'll tee off on Friday afternoon in a quest not only to play the weekend, but remarkably put himself in the hunt over the weekend.

Im put together a great round and will take a one-shot lead into the second round over PLAYERS champion Cameron Smith. The Aussie was set to really post a number in his morning round until a double bogey at the 18th dropped him back to a 4-under 68. Two former Masters champions in Danny Willett and Dustin Johnson joined recent TOUR winners Joaquin Niemann and Scottie Scheffler at 3-under.

Seventeen golfers posted under par rounds to start the Masters. There's steady winds in the forecast for Friday afternoon, which should provide even more of a challenge. I'll be looking for quality value heading into Day 2 as we dial in on the best bets for the second round.

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Best Bets

Tony Finau +5000

Some of the best value still available on the board after the first round is with Tony Finau. He made one horrible swing at the par-3 fourth, which cost him two strokes because of a double bogey. Still, he bounced back to get in under par on the day, mostly through some really good ball-striking that carried over from the Valero Texas Open.

Finau hit 71% of his fairways and 78% of greens in regulation, consistently putting himself in position to score. He missed a couple short birdie putts at the ninth and 13th, with the latter leaving him empty handed on one of the easier par 5s on the course.

Finau will have to keep the ball-striking going as he goes off in the final group among the strong winds on Friday, but this is a value you can take that chance that he stays in shouting distance of the lead if he keeps hitting it well.

Abraham Ancer — Top 10

When odds roll out on Thursday night for finishing positions, I'll have my eye on Abraham Ancer. He certainly has some value at +8000 going into the second round in the preferred morning wave and just five shots back, but I'm also hoping that value translates in finishing position markets.

Ancer was a bit off on approach on Thursday, which is really uncharacteristic for one of the better ball-strikers in the game. He found the short grass a lot off the tee but only hit 56% of his greens in regulation. It's encouraging to see him grind out an even par round as he really struggles around the greens typically. If he dials in the irons as he usually does, he'll be ready to make a move on Friday.

Rory McIlroy +150 3Ball over Brooks Koepka/Matt Fitzpatrick

I'm really just looking for a way to bet on Rory going into the second round, and right now this is the best thing available as of Thursday at 8 p.m. ET. He'll be a favorite play of mine in showdown, and I don't hate taking a shot on him to really make a run towards the top.

McIlroy was at his usual opening-round antics as he simply couldn't get any momentum going on Thursday. He was pure off the tee and even sharp in hitting greens on approach, but he couldn't get himself in position to make enough putts to score.

We have seen McIlroy time and time again lately make a move on Fridays after lackluster starting rounds. I expect to see that from him in Round 2 at Augusta tomorrow. This number is available at DraftKings, but keep an eye out on other ways to back Rory on Friday.

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