Club: Augusta National Golf Club

Location: Augusta, Georgia

Date: April 2-8, 2012

PGA Tour Golf Betting Odds: Although the US Masters Golf Tournament is an invitational event limited to a small field of golfers, it is nonetheless one of the most remarkable golf tournaments on the PGA tour - both in terms of prize money and in opportunities for PGA golf betting fans.

The excitement is palpable, the course in magnificent condition and the top golfers have been polishing their talents before the next confrontation at US Masters Augusta National Golf Course. And BookMaker Sportsbook is prepared with a full line-up of golf betting options and betting props for this tournament.

The Masters Tournament is one of the four Major tournaments in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, it is the first of the majors to be played each year. Unlike the other major championships, the Masters is held each year at the same location, Augusta National Golf Club, a private golf club in the city of Augusta, Georgia. The tournament is an official money event on the PGA Tour, the European Tour, and the Japanese Tour. The field of players is smaller than those of the other major championships because it is an invitational event, entry being controlled by the Augusta National Golf Club.

As with the other majors, winning the Masters gives a golfer several privileges which make his career more secure. Masters champions are automatically invited to play in the other three majors ( the US Open, the British Open, and the PGA Championship ) for the next five years, and earn a lifetime invitation to the Masters. They also receive membership on the PGA Tour for the following five seasons and invitations to The Players Championship for five years. Put it this way, you win the Masters and it changes your life forever.

The tournament has a number of traditions. A green jacket has been awarded to the winner since 1949; which must be returned to the clubhouse after a year. The Champions dinner, inaugurated by Ben Hogan in 1952, is held on the Tuesday before each tournament, and is only open to past champions and certain board members of the Augusta National Golf Club. And since 1960, a semi-social Par 3 Contest, on a par-3 course on Augusta National's grounds, has been played on the day before the first round of each Masters Tournament.

Jack Nicklaus has won more Masters Tournaments than any other golfer, winning six times between 1963 and 1986. Other multiple winners include Arnold Palmer and Tiger Woods, with four each. Gary Player, from South Africa, was the first non-American player to win the tournament in 1961.

CBS Sports has televised the Masters in the United States every year since 1956, when it used six cameras and covered only the final four holes. Tournament coverage of the first 8 holes did not begin until 1993 because of resistance from the tournament organizers, but by 2006, over 50 cameras were used. The club mandates minimal commercial interruption, currently limited to four minutes per hour (as opposed to the usual 12 or more); this is subsidized by selling exclusive sponsorship packages to three companies. If you like non-stop golf with limited interruptions, the Masters is by far the best tournament to watch.

I can't wait for the 2012 Masters and to see who will be putting on the green jacket. Check back the week of April 2-8 and Bookmaker Sportsbook will have all the action available for you to bet on, including Odds to win, head-to-head matchups, and props.

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2012 Masters Winner - Bubba Watson defeats Oosthuizen to win 2012 Masters Tournament

Bubba Watson defeated Louis Oosthuizen on the second hole of a playoff to win the Masters Tournament, his first victory at one of golf’s four annual major championships.

Watson won after hooking an approach shot from out of the trees to 10 feet (3 meters) of the cup on the par-4 10th hole. Watson’s shot off matted pine straw set up a two-putt for the victory after Oosthuizen came up short of the green on his second shot and made a bogey.

The playoff was the 15th in the 76-year history of the Masters and the ninth since the tournament went to a sudden- death format in 1976. The last playoff was in 2009, when Angel Cabrera defeated Kenny Perry and Chad Campbell on the second extra hole.

Watson shot a 4-under-par 68 in today’s final round at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, to finish the tournament at 10-under par. Oosthuizen also finished 10 under after a final-round 69.

Watson entered the fourth round at 6-under par, three shots behind Peter Hanson of Sweden, two behind three-time champion Phil Mickelson and one back of Oosthuizen, the 2010 British Open winner from South Africa. Oosthuizen got a double eagle at the second hole today, the fourth score 3-under par on a hole in the 76-year history of the tournament, to move into the lead.

2011 Winner - Schwartzel emerges from unknown to win Masters

Charl Schwartzel? If this were the NCAA Tournament, he probably would have been a double-digit seed in the Midwest.

So what was the 26-year-old South African doing closing with four consecutive birdies late yesterday afternoon at Augusta National, which nobody has ever done before, to win a green jacket when it looked for the longest time as if things were headed for a 10-man playoff? It seemed like the only guy who didn't have a chance was Jack Nicklaus, with a leader board that resembled a United Nations convention. The only continent not represented on the turbulent back nine was Antarctica.

But the last fellow standing was perhaps the least likely of them all.

It was 50 years ago to the day since South African Gary Player became the first international to win this tournament. So maybe this was supposed to be. It often is.

Schwartzel, who becomes the second South African to win a major in the last 9 months, had never finished higher than 14th in a grand-slam event. That was last July, in the British Open that fellow countryman Louis Oosthuizen won going away. The two of them have been sharing a residence in Florida the last month, working on their games.

2010 Masters Winner

The 76th Masters has ended and Phil Mickelson, who won the Tournament in 2004 and 2006, obtained his third Green Jacket with a 16 under par score of 272. Mr. Phil won a close match and he dedicates the victory to his sick wife.

Last May his was diagnosed with breast cancer and her battle goes on. This was her first visit to a tournament since the diagnosis last May. His wife and mother used a pink breast cancer badge in order to remind the fight they have been on.