Masters week is upon us and with that comes the biggest week of the year for golf gambling.
There are more golf-organized contests or pools than any other week during the year.
So, how do you win your office pool?
Just like the NCAA Tournament, find the Virginia, or better yet, the Texas Tech of this year’s Masters field.
RELATED: Fantasy golf power rankings
To find that pick this year, we used the Golfweek/Sagarin ratings as well as tournament results since Jan. 1, 2019, to create a Heat Index.
A year ago, Cameron Smith was that pick, as he posted a T-5 finish. This year, take a close look at Jason Kokrak.
Keep in mind a trend that has been developing at Augusta National. In seven of the last eight Masters, we have seen a first-time major winner.
Who fits into that mold this week? Matt Kuchar, Paul Casey, Rickie Fowler, Jon Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood, Tony Finau or Bryson DeChambeau.
Picking the normal big-name players is great and there are plenty to choose from, but the key lies in finding that player who may be able to earn you some bonus points, a player whom most people aren’t likely to pick.
No-brainers
Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose
Popular picks
Tommy Fleetwood, Francesco Molinari, Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas
Category of their own
Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jordan Spieth, Sergio Garcia
No surprises here
Bryson DeChambeau, Tony Finau, Jon Rahm, Paul Casey, Matt Kuchar, Bubba Watson, Patrick Reed
Solid picks
Xander Schauffele, Hideki Matsuyama, Ian Poulter, Adam Scott, Henrik Stenson, Adam Scott, Kevin Kisner
Win-your-pool picks
Jason Kokrak, Patrick Cantlay, Gary Woodland, Marc Leishman, Cahrles Howell III, Matt Wallace
Heat Index rankings
Using the Golfweek/Sagarin Ratings formula and looking only at tournaments since the start of 2019:
- Rory McIlroy
- Dustin Johnson
- Tiger Woods
- Justin Thomas
- Jon Rahm
- Hideki Matsuyama
- Matt Kuchar
- Charles Howell III
- Rickie Fowler
- Tommy Fleetwood
- Ian Poulter
- Bryson DeChambeau
- Francesco Molinari
- Xander Schauffele
- Sergio Garcia
- Justin Rose
- Kevin Kisner
- Marc Leishman
- Paul Casey
- Gary Woodland
- Matt Wallace
- Tony Finau
- Matthew Fitzpatrick
- Jason Day
- Brandt Snedeker
- Bubba Watson
- Justin Harding
- Cameron Smith
- Shugo Imahira
- Louis Oosthuizen
- Rafa Cabrera Bello
- Keegan Bradley
- Patrick Reed
- Martin Kaymer
- Adam Scott
- Billy Horschel
- Patrick Cantlay
- Si Woo Kim
- Haotong Li
- Webb Simpson
- Brooks Koepka
- Kevin Na
- Emiliano Grillo
- Jordan Spieth
- Phil Mickelson
- Keith Mitchell
- Lucas Bjerregaard
- Zach Johnson
- Branden Grace
- Eddie Pepperell
- Shane Lowry
- Tyrrell Hatton
- Henrik Stenson
- Danny Willett
- Jimmy Walker
- Patton Kizzire
- Thorbjørn Olesen
- J.B. Holmes
- Corey Conners
- Charley Hoffman
- Aaron Wise
- Andrew Landry
- Adam Long
- Kiradech Aphibarnrat
- Alex Noren
- Stewart Cink
- Charl Schwartzel
- Kyle Stanley
- Satoshi Kodaira
- Kevin Tway
- Vijay Singh
- Trevor Immelman
- Michael Kim
- Mike Weir
N/R. Devon Bling
N/R. Ángel Cabrera
N/R. Fred Couples
N/R. Viktor Hovland
N/R. Takumi Kanaya
N/R. Bernhard Langer
N/R. Sandy Lyle
N/R. Larry Mize
N/R. Kevin O’Connell
N/R. José María Olazábal
N/R. Alvaro Ortiz
N/R. Jovan Rebula
N/R. Ian Woosnam
