Masters props: Where there's a Will, there's a Zalatoris

Ah, Masters Week — the most anticipated four days on the golf calendar every year. The best players in the world from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf will reunite this week at the iconic Augusta National Golf Club, and we can't wait to plop on the couch and let Jim Nantz's soothing voice guide us through the first major championship of the year.

If you're looking for outright bets or long shots to target at Augusta, we already have you covered. For today, let's have some fun with a few juicy props we love for the 2024 Masters.

Will Zalatoris top-10 finish (+320 DraftKings)

Zalatoris is coming off a T74 at the Texas Children's Houston Open and a missed cut at The Players Championship, and his Masters price has plummeted as a result. No one seems to be interested in the 27-year-old anymore, but we'll gladly buy the dip.

How quickly bettors forget Zalatoris finished T13 at the Farmers Insurance Open, T2 at the Genesis Invitational and T4 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational before his recent cold streak. The American still ranks eighth on the PGA Tour this season in strokes gained on approach, the most important statistic at Augusta National.

The biggest reason he struggled at The Players and the Houston Open was poor putting, but he gained strokes on the green in four straight starts before that. Oh, and he also putts the lights out at majors. Zalatoris has finished solo second and T6 in his two career Masters appearances, and he gained more than 10 strokes from putting across those two starts. 

Cameron Smith top LIV player (+900 FanDuel)

It's intimidating to target this market with reigning champion Jon Rahm at the top, but we like the value on Smith here. The Australian still has the best short game of any player in the world, which is such a huge advantage at Augusta because of the lightning-fast greens and severe slopes. In seven career Masters starts, Smith has three top-five finishes and no missed cuts.

Brooks Koepka is a killer in majors, but he's not playing well and is coming off the worst finish of his LIV career last week. Joaquin Niemann has been incredible all season, but he has only one top-20 finish in 19 career major starts. Bryson DeChambeau is a terrible fit for Augusta with poor course history here, and Dustin Johnson hasn't looked good since his win in Las Vegas. 

Smith is more talented than every player below him in this market, so we'll take a shot on the +900 and hope Rahm has an off week.

In the news ...

Orioles calling up No. 1 prospect Jackson Holiday — The Baltimore Orioles are off to a 6-4 start to the season, and more reinforcements are on the way. According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, the O's plan to call up Jackson Holiday, the No. 1 pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, after his impressive start to the Triple-A season. The star prospect is already +300 to win AL Rookie of the Year. 

Giannis Antetokounmpo suffers calf injury, avoids Achilles injury — Milwaukee Bucks fans saw their lives flash before their eyes Tuesday night when Giannis Antetokounmpo went down with a leg injury and had to be helped to the locker room. Luckily, the superstar suffered only a left calf strain and avoided a serious Achilles injury, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. The Bucks are still +550 to win the Eastern Conference. 

Josh Allen inks five-year, $150 million deal with Jaguars — No, not that Josh Allen. Stay calm, Bills fans. Star pass rusher Josh Allen, though, did sign a five-year, $150 million contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars with $88 million guaranteed. Allen recorded a career-high 17.5 sacks last season and made the Pro Bowl for the second time in his career. He's 25/1 to win Defensive Player of the Year next season. 

Today's Bark Bets is written by Jack Dougherty