Funny ol’ game.

While we all look forward to majors, particularly the nuances of Augusta, the limited field causes its own problems.

With so much set in stone and so many proven formulae, it’s difficult to look beyond the obvious 20 or so, most of whom will take up a place inside the top-10, leaving us with very little.

Still, after a couple of enjoyable weeks, let’s see if we can add to wins at the Corales and Texas Open and make it a hat-trick.

Xander Schauffele Top 10 finish +185

As I bang my head against the wall each year, bemoaning my outright wager on Xander, folk chuckle and mention how he ‘can’t’ win anymore.

That debate is for another page, but in a limited field that requires form in majors and quality approach play, he is tough to oppose in a place market.

Not only is Xander playing well enough to compete, his record here and in Georgia, as a whole, is undeniably impressive.

East Lake is clearly the 28-year-old’s first love, with two wins, a runner-up, third and seventh places from five starts, but he repeats form at a couple of other places, including at the WM Pheonix Open, where he had chances to win in each of the last two years before finishing tied-second and tied-third, respectively.

At Augusta, the 28-year-old has a second and third from four attempts, the runner-up to Tiger Woods in 2019 courtesy of an impressive final round 68, whilst he held every chance last season until the 16th hole on Payday, where a triple-bogey ruined his chance of winning.

In between, an untimely rain delay put him off his stride during the softer conditions of the ‘lockdown’ Masters, and ultimately he did well to finish well inside the top-20 after making some strange decisions during a rain break during the second round.

The former top-10 amateur was, like so many, baffled by Kiawah Island last year but otherwise has a 16th at Bethpage Black and a 10th at Harding Park where, at both, he was never outside the top-20 at any stage. And he can boast even better at the US Open.

Only a victory is missing from Xander’s profile at the toughest of the US majors, with a record that reads 7/5/3/6/5, and in-running punters should note that in four of his five attempts at the title he has been closer at the end of Sunday play than he was at any stage.

Currently ranking in the top six for his approaches from 50 to 125, 100 to 125 and 175 to 200 yards, it seems that it is only his mental approach that’s the difference between another place and the big win.

For this bet to cop, though, the world ranked number 10 merely has to add an impressive 10th top-10 (how many 10s can one have?) from 19 major starts.

Paul Casey Top 20 +200

Playing arguably the best golf of his career at 44, the Englishman would surely be a few points shorter in all markets but for a slight injury worry.

Casey has been continuing some impressive ball-striking, consistently appearing in the top echelons of the tee-to-green stats. Indeed, in six completed events since the Dubai Championship in November, he has ranked in the top-10 four times, whilst at The Players his strong iron play led to being just inside the top-15.

Go back to 2020, around when the run starts and Casey boasts 10 front-page finishes that included a three-event run from Pebble Beach to Bay Hill and Sawgrass, while he also recorded a top-5 at Kiawah Island, The Olympics and at St Jude. All that leaving out a tied-seventh at the US Open at Torrey Pines.

The latest results have seen ‘Case’ finish 15th at Riviera, 72nd at Bay Hill (was sixth at halfway before the weather came in), and third at Sawgrass, an event that again was badly weather-affected and one that clearly took its toll and caused him to withdraw from last week’s Valspar.

For those that haven’t seen, the 19-time professional winner was extremely unlucky down the stretch at The Players, his perfect tee-shot finding the bottom of a pitch mark at the final par-5, and although the result on paper is still not far off being top-class, it could, and should, have been an even better guide to his chance at The Masters.

Results in majors? Five top-10 finishes and three further top-20s at Augusta; two top-7 finishes at the U.S Open with the last five years reading T7/T17/T21/T16/26, and a pair of top-4s in the last two runnings of the USPGA.

Looking at the Valspar, the event itself is an excellent guide to Augusta, with Vijay Singh, Jordan Spieth and Charl Schwartzel winning both, whilst the likes of Jim Furyk, KJ Choi and Retief Goosen have strong places at each.

Casey, of course, went back-to-back at Copperhead in 2018 and 2019, preceding Sam Burns, who completed the feat over the last two years. The younger man is making his debut here, so is instantly red-lined, but Casey, now world ranked 25, has five top-10s and a further three top-20 finishes in 15 starts at Augusta.

He is keen to show the younger brigade that he can still hack it – after all, he was just behind Collin Morikawa in the 2020 PGA and could have beaten Cam Smith at Sawgrass – so it’s all about fitness.

Reports suggest he is moving absolutely fine this week, and he has already dismissed claims he was ‘injured’ – “Purely, it’s a thing when you get to your 40s. But that’s I guess what’s causing the pain in the spasms up the back. I’ve had it, I’ve probably had this like four, five times in 20 years, so it’s not an injury, it’s just, what is it? Fatigue? (It) could be back from the Players and the cold weather and all sorts of stuff and traveling.”

Padraig Harrington Top Senior +145

Bernhard Langer Top Senior +300

The market for top senior may well have eight runners, but, in reality, can be cut down to two.

Start with a few easy deletions, all of whom will be 100-yards off the pace from the tee peg:

Sandy Lyle, winner in 1988 but with 10 missed cuts here in his last 12 starts and doing nothing of note on the Champions Tour; Larry Mize, just as bad around here with three mid-50 finishes and nine missed-cuts in 12, and Jose-Maria Olazabal, better than those two but another too short off the tee and with no claim to doing anything bar miss the cut on a wet, long, Augusta track.

Mike Weir is a fourth that is far too short off the tee to count in this grade and whilst Vijay Singh has a handful of mid-20/30 finishes in the mid-2010s, latest efforts here have seen rounds of 76, 78 and three scores of 80, and current form is flailing.

Then there were three.

Freddie Couples went through a stage from 2010 to 2017 when top-20 backers were in clover but, as the event has increasingly relied on length, his frailties have come to the fore, particularly a career-long back problem that hinders his movement and is worse in damp weather. Having played just once in October and November, this is surely close to a last hurrah.

The column is here to make a profit, and whilst the 50-year-old Irishman is much preferred in this market after a host of splendid efforts, it’s hard to forget how Langer continues to churn out performances that often widely separate him from his peers.

Fourteen years the older man, Langer remains metronomic from tee-to-green and continues to win trophies and seasonal championships.

In 2021, the 64-year-old won the Charles Schwab Cup for the fifth time in seven years (six in total), whilst in 2022 he lists one win, a runner-up, eighth and 10th in just five starts, his last win coming at 64 years and five months – a record for the oldest winner on the Champions Tour.

Having made the cut at Augusta in three of the last four seasons, Langer looks the only danger to Harrington, rightly a short priced favourite.

Lest we forget Phil Mickelson winning the PGA at 50 years of age – why can’t Pod do the same at Augusta?

Yeah, ok, I know.

The three-time major winner comes here in significant form, with high finishes in better events to those his rivals compete in and all summed up with his current world ranking, some 1100 places higher than his principal rival in this market!

Tied-fourth behind Phil at Kiawah before tied-18th in the Scottish Open reads different level, but 2022 form is just as convincing. Over the last six months, Pod has tied in 12th behind Thomas Pieters in Portugal and tied ninth behind Viktor Hovland in Dubai – convinced yet?

The midfield finish at Bay Hill would win this market by a mile, whilst he warmed up for this with a runner-up last weekend on the Champions Tour, miles ahead of Langer.

Pod can still mix it off the tee at the higher level and still possesses the short game that keeps him alongside the younger players.

Whilst he hasn’t payed here since 2015, he looks refreshed after the pressure of being Ryder Cup captain and says he isn’t here to make up the numbers.

Making the cut might not be enough for him, but it may well be all he needs to do to win this market.