Our Weekend best bets will score you some green on the greens as we make our two Masters picks. Saturday is the huge UFC card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. There’s lots of talk of just what the best fight on the card is the real Main Event, but we will go with the actual Main Event with our best pick on Pereira vs. Hill for the light heavyweight belt.
Best Bets of the Weekend for All Sports | April 13-14
The Masters: Top 10 Best Bet
Brooks Koepka (+190) at DraftKings
Koepka was a breakout star in the Netflix Full Swing series about the PGA Tour, but not for a great reason. Personality wise, well, Koepka came off like a jerk. On the golf course though, the dude has serious game.
Koepka is a former World No. 1 who already owns five major titles in just six years as a pro. He should be a fan favorite at Augusta, but wait, he’s one of the players who took the big money (and we mean Big Money) to join the LIV Tour in June of 2022. Then he showed up at The Masters in 2023 and honestly should have won, with a big lead entering Sunday, but fell apart.
When healthy and focused, Koepka is the strongest players on any Tour. Golf is golf. Yes, count me in the camp that thinks the LIV Tour is a bit watered down, but golf is an individual sport. A birdie on LIV is a birdie on the PGA. Koepka is 33 for 38 making cuts at Majors. He’s got the game and motivation to do well this weekend.
The Masters: Top 10 Best Bet
Xander Schauffele (+200) at DraftKings
Xander looked poised for superstardom in the golf world when he finished second at the 2019 Masters and then won the Olympic Gold Medal.
But in recent years his career has plateaued. Don’t get me wrong, the 30-year old from San Diego is still really good. He earned over $8 million last year on the PGA Tour. And this season he’s 8 for 8 in making cuts, he tied for second at the Players Championship and was fifth at the Valspar Championships two weeks ago. He took last week off to prep for the Masters.
At Augusta, Schauffele has finished tied for 17th (in 2020) tied for third (2021), missed cut (2022) and tied for 10th (2023). His game is classic 21 st century. He has every shot in his bag. He rarely makes a big mistake. Hover around 5-under entering Sunday and you’re in good shape to make some noise. I think that’s exactly what Schauffele does.
UFC 300: Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill Best Bet
Hill +100 at BetMGM
This is the headliner for UFC 300 in Las Vegas, a fight for the Light Heavyweight title. Can you believe we’re really on the 300th UFC card?
Pereira is one of the greatest combat fighters of all time, one of just nine individuals to ever hold belts in two different weight classes. He beat Jiri Prochazka in November for the light heavyweight title via TKO and is 9-2 overall in hisXan UFC career (He’s also boxed and kickboxed).
Hill is the underdog coming in. He took down Glover Teixeria at UFC 283 in the Fight of the Night almost 18 months ago, but they had to drop the title because he got hurt playing basketball.
I like Hill because he’s younger (30 to 36) and has had a long rest. I think he will be sharper and quicker than Pereira. That gives him the edge in a good fight.
Born and raised in Louisiana, Darren Cooper has a fond appreciation for bayous, Mardi Gras beads and the sports betting industry. Darren has worked for multiple print and online publications since 1998, primarily as a sports columnist in the Northeast. He’s covered a Super Bowl (it was a blowout), the World Series (same) and the NBA Draft (man, those guys are tall). For the last few years he’s dug deep into the sports gambling industry as it exploded across America, learning how the legal sausage is made and how while all the sportsbooks look the same, they all have different identities and styles. He’s learned to always bet within his means -- and take the under. When not in front of his computer creating, Darren spends time with his three boys. He runs, reads and is always looking for the next big thing to write about.
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- Weekend’s Best Bets and Picks April 13-14