Masters 2016: Dates, Tickets, Schedule, Betting Odds For Golf's Biggest Tournament

Jordan Spieth made history when he won his first ever Grand Slam tournament last year, and he's favored to win a second straight title at Augusta. A little more than two weeks away from the start of the 2016 Masters, no golfer has better betting odds to win the event than the defending champion.

Spieth tied the record last year by winning the green jacket at 18-under par, matching Tiger Woods’ performance from 1997. The 22-year-old didn’t stop there, winning the 2015 U.S. Open two months later. He followed those wins up with a fourth-place finish at The Open Championship and a second place finish at the PGA Championship. Spieth is the No.1 ranked golfer in the world, though he’ll face some stiff competition as he looks for another championship.

Spieth’s +800 odds are the best in the field, but they are tied with Rory McIlroy and Jason Day. McIlroy won the final two Grand Slams of 2014, and he finished in fourth place at the 2015 Masters. He’s ranked third in the world behind No.2 Jason Day, who won the 2015 PGA Championship.

Day hasn’t finished better than 20th at the Masters in either of the last two years, but he’s coming off a victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Day finished at 17-under par, while McIlroy finished tied for 27th with six double-bogeys in the tournament.

"Up and down," McIlroy said after his disappointing finish. "It's been the story of the week and sort of been the story of my year, as well. I've played some great golf and not great golf. I've made a lot of mistakes.

"It's just something I need to work on going into next week at the Match Play, but the sort of golf I'm playing, that tends to do well in match play. Lot of birdies, lot of mistakes, but I need to figure it out going into Augusta."

Spieth, McIlroy and Day have separated themselves as the world’s top three players, but Bubba Watson isn’t far behind. He’s won the green jacket twice since 2012, and he has the fourth-best odds. He’s followed by Adam Scott and Rickie Fowler, who are No.6 and No.5, respectively, in the world golf rankings.

For the second time in three years, it looks like Woods won’t compete at the Masters. He’s still recuperating from back surgery late last year, and it’s unknown when he’ll return back to action.

“Health-wise, I continue to improve. I'm working hard on my short game at my outdoor practice facility and on my indoor Full Swing golf simulator. Still no timetable on my return, but I'm excited to get back out there with the guys,” Woods said on his website on March 11.

The 2016 Masters will run from April 7 through April 10. Tickets to the event are the most difficult to acquire in all of sports since they are only given to select patrons, consisting of members of Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta residents and past winners of the tournament.

Fans can pay a premium for tickets on the secondary market. Vivid Seats offers tickets for Thursday through Friday for $2,507, while the cheapest single day tickets at StubHub are going for $989.

ESPN will have live coverage of the Masters from 3 p.m. ET to 5 p.m. ET on Thursday, followed by 4.5 hours of live coverage on Friday starting at 3 p.m. ET. CBS takes over on Saturday at 3:30 p.m ET, and coverage of the final round begins on CBS at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday. The Golf Channel also has live coverage every morning.

2016 Masters Betting Odds [Bovada]

Rory McIlroy +800

Jordan Spieth +800

Jason Day +800

Bubba Watson +1100

Adam Scott +1150

Rickie Fowler +1700

Dustin Johnson +2000

Justin Rose +2000

Phil Mickelson +2100

Henrik Stenson +2800

Hideki Matsuyama +3300