US Masters 2024: Dave Tindall's guide to the action at Augusta National

• Scottie Scheffler slashed to 4/15.00 favourite after Players win

• Thirteen LIV players will tee it up at Augusta National

• The par-5 2nd hole has been lengthened

• Bet on the Masters here on the Betfair Sportsbook and here on the Betfair Exchange

Masters field features 13 LIV golfers

It's unlikely anyone could have lived with Scottie Scheffler over the last two weeks but while golf remains splintered there is always that little bit of doubt as to what the LIV golfers would have done to stop the World No.1 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship.

But as the two tours continue to try and find a united way forward on a week-to-week basis, next month's US Masters will bring all the game's top players together again.

LIV players are allowed so by various routes, including a special invite for Joaquin Niemann, Scheffler will also be taking on defending champion Jon Rahm, Cam Smith, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Tyrrell Hatton, Adrian Meronk, Sergio Garcia, Patrick Reed, Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson and Charl Schwartzel.

This will be the 88th edition of the year's opening major. And, as always, the anticipation has been building for months given that it's July since punters last got the chance to watch their bets unfold in a major championship.

Last 10 US Masters winners

2023: -12 Jon Rahm (Spain) - won by 4 strokes
2022: -10 Scottie Scheffler (USA) - won by 3 strokes
2021: -10 Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) - won by 1 stroke
2020: -20 Dustin Jonhson (USA) - won by 5 strokes
2019: -13 Tiger Woods (USA) - won by 1 stroke
2018: -15 Patrick Reed (USA) - won by 1 stroke
2017: -9 Sergio Garcia (Spain) - won in playoff
2016: -5 Danny Willett (England) - won by 3 strokes
2015: -18 Jordan Spieth (USA) - won by 4 strokes
2014: -8 Bubba Watson (USA) - won by 3 strokes

• Americans have won 6 of the last 10
• 6 of the last 10 have been won by a winning margin of 3 or more
• In the last three editions, only the winner was double digits under par

2024 Masters facts

When: April 11-14
Where: Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Georgia
The Course: Par 72, 7,555 yards
Designers: Alister MacKenzie and Bobby Jones
Course record: 63 (Nick Price 1986, Greg Norman 1996)
Lowest winning score: 268 (-20) Dustin Johnson 2020
Most wins: 6 Jack Nicklaus, 5 Tiger Woods, 4 Arnold Palmer

Masters UK TV details

How to watch: All four days on Sky Sports, plus extra coverage. That includes the Augusta Drive, Chip and Putt tournament at 1pm on Sunday and the Masters Par 3 Contest at 7pm on Wednesday. Day one coverage of the tournament itself begins at 2pm on Thursday 11th.

Augusta National GC, Masters course details

It's the course golf fans probably know better than any other.

The tough opening par-4. The downhill par-5 2nd. The short par-4 3rd. The long par-3 4th. All of the back nine, including those enticing par 5s at 13 and 15 and the angled green of the par-3 16th.

The only major played at the same venue every year, we revel in the familiar sights and sounds.

Tinkering does go on but the one change this year is minimal: a lengthening of the 2nd hole - Pink Dogwood - by 10 yards. At 585 yards and playing downhill, it's still very reachable in two.

Par remains 72, of course, and handling the lightning-fast, undulating Bentgrass greens is perhaps the biggest challenge.

While the yardage has crept up to 7,555 yards, Augusta National will play longer that that due to the fairways being mown towards the tee.

Current betting and storylines

The front of the betting has changed significantly since I published my ante-post tips just before Christmas and it's all down to the red-hot form of Scottie Scheffler.

In December, 2022 Masters winner Scheffler was 9/110.00 third favourite behind Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm at 8/19.00.

But with Scheffler scoring back-to-back wins at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship, the odds have flipped.

In the wake of becoming the first man ever to defend at Sawgrass, Scheffler is the clear 4/15.00 favourite, with McIlroy and Rahm eased out to 9/110.00 and 12/113.00 respectively.

Rory's quest for a first Green Jacket to complete his Grand Slam remains one of the annual Masters storylines while Rahm - now playing in the far less competitive events over at LIV - is looking to become the first player to win back-to-back Masters since a certain Tiger Woods in 2002.

One other big mover in the betting since December is Will Zalatoris. The American - a Masters runner-up on debut in 2021 and tied sixth in 2022 - missed all four majors in 2023 due to injury.

But Zalatoris has made an impressive comeback in early 2024 with second place in the Genesis Invitational at Riviera and a top four in the Arnold Palmer Invitational seeing his odds crash to 18/119.00 from 40s.

Other movers include Wyndham Clark - cut from 50s to 28/129.00 following his win at Pebble and second places to Scheffler at both Bay Hill and Sawgrass - and Viktor Hovland, whose modest start to the year has caused a drift from 14s to 20/121.00.

One other big storyline for 2024 is could Ludvig Aberg be a trends buster and become the first player to win on his Masters debut since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979?

The Swede has continued his charge up the rankings and is now 9th in the OWGR after a top 10 at The Players Championship added to second place at Pebble Beach and ninth at Torrey Pines. Aberg is currently 20/121.00.

As the dust settled on a thrilling end to The Players Championship, the Masters betting looked like this:

4/15.00 Scottie Scheffler, 9/110.00 Rory McIlroy, 12/113.00 Jon Rahm, 18/119.00 Will Zalatoris 20/121.00 Viktor Hovland, Jordan Spieth, Brooks Koepka, Ludvig Aberg, Xander Schauffele, 25/126.00 Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay, 28/129.00 Cameron Smith, Collin Morikawa, Hideki Matsuyama, Joaquin Niemann, Wyndham Clark.

For context, the winner looks likely to come from this bunch as four of the last five Masters champions were priced at 16/117.00 or lower. The exception was Hideki Matsuyama at 45/146.00 in 2021.

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