SportsLine's model simulated the 2026 Masters 10,000 times and revealed its surprising PGA Tour picks for Augusta National
By Ross Kelly Apr 6, 2026 at 7:48 am ET • 4 min read 
Imagn Images A trio of golfers can complete the third leg of the career grand slam with a victory at the 2026 Masters, which begins on Thursday, April 9. Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa and Brooks Koepka have won two of the other majors entering the Masters 2026. This extra incentive could up the interest in backing any of the three with PGA picks come Thursday, April 9 at Augusta National. The latest 2026 Masters odds via FanDuel Sportsbook list Scottie Scheffler as the +500 favorite (risk $100 to win $500), with Jon Rahm moving into the second spot on the Masters odds board at +950, followed closely by Bryson DeChambeau at +1000.
Other 2026 Masters contenders include defending champion Rory McIlroy (+1200), Ludvig Aberg at +1500 and Schauffele at +1600. Potential Masters sleeper picks who have had strong PGA seasons include Chris Gotterup (+4500) and Si Woo Kim (+5000). Before locking in any 2026 Masters picks, making any PGA DFS picks on sites like FanDuel or DraftKings, or entering any 2026 Masters one-and-done picks, be sure to see the golf predictions and projected leaderboard from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
SportsLine's proprietary model, built by DFS pro Mike McClure, simulated every PGA Tour event 10,000 times and reveals golf betting picks that have a history of being extremely profitable.
This same model has also nailed a whopping 16 majors entering the weekend, including the 2025 Masters -- its fourth Masters in a row -- as well as this year's PGA Championship and Open Championship. Anyone who has followed its sports betting picks could have seen massive returns on betting sites.
Now that the 2026 Masters field is locked in, the model simulated the tournament 10,000 times, and the results were surprising. Head to SportsLine now to see the projected leaderboard.
2026 Masters predictions
One major surprise the model is calling for at the Masters 2026: Schauffele, a two-time major winner and one of the favorites, stumbles and barely cracks the top 10. He's had a rough start to the 2026 PGA Tour, as he missed the cut in his first event before placing 41st in his second. A big reason for Schauffele's struggles lies on the green, where he ranks 76th in total putting after being third in 2024, when he won his two majors. When you factor in that Schauffele also has more missed cuts than top-fives over his last four trips to Augusta, he's one to steer clear of with 2026 Masters bets, considering his short PGA odds. See who else to fade here.
Another surprise: The model is high on Morikawa, even though he's a longshot at +3000 and has some concerns about his back after withdrawing from the Texas Open recently. He already has a PGA Championship and Open Championship on his resume, but Morikawa has been more consistent at the Masters than any other major. At no major does he have more top-fives (two), top 10s (three) or top 25s (five) than at Augusta National, which includes top-15 finishes in each of the last four years. The seven-time PGA Tour winner also enters in playing his best in years, as he prevailed at Pebble Beach in mid-February, ending a 45-start winless drought and then followed that up with a seventh place at the Genesis and then a fifth place at the Arnold Palmer. See who else to pick here.
How to make 2026 Masters picks
The model is also targeting two more longshots of +3000 or greater, including one of at least +5000 that could bring strong returns. You can only see the model's picks here.
Who will win the 2026 Masters, and which massive longshots will stun the golfing world? Check out the 2026 Masters odds below and then visit SportsLine to see the projected leaderboard, all from the model that's nailed 16 golf majors, including three in 2025.
2026 Masters odds, favorites
Get full 2026 Masters picks, best bets and predictions here. (odds via FanDuel and subject to change)
Scottie Scheffler +500 Jon Rahm +950 Bryson DeChambeau +1000 Rory McIlroy +1200 Ludvig Åberg +1500 Xander Schauffele +1600 Matt Fitzpatrick +2000 Cameron Young +2000 Tommy Fleetwood +2200 Collin Morikawa +3000 Justin Rose +3000 Robert MacIntyre +3300 Patrick Reed +3500 Hideki Matsuyama +4000 Min Woo Lee +4000 Chris Gotterup +4500 Jordan Spieth +4500 Brooks Koepka +4500 Si Woo Kim +5000 Shane Lowry +5500 Russell Henley +5500 Viktor Hovland +5500 Akshay Bhatia +6000 Patrick Cantlay +6500 Jacob Bridgeman +6500 Nicolai Højgaard +6500 Jake Knapp +7000 Adam Scott +7000 Sepp Straka +7000 Tyrrell Hatton +7000 J.J. Spaun +7000 Justin Thomas +7000 Corey Conners +8000 Marco Penge +8000 Sungjae Im +10000 Sam Burns +10000 Harris English +10000 Cameron Smith +10000 Jason Day +10000 Maverick McNealy +10000 Gary Woodland +10000 Brian Harman +12500 Max Homa +12500 Daniel Berger +15000 Rasmus Højgaard +15000 Ben Griffin +15000 Kurt Kitayama +15000 Aaron Rai +15000 Ryan Fox +17500 Casey Jarvis +17500 Keegan Bradley +17500 Dustin Johnson +17500 Alex Noren +17500 Harry Hall +17500 Ryan Gerard +17500 Sam Stevens +22500 Nick Taylor +22500 Michael Kim +22500 Wyndham Clark +22500 Max Greyserman +25000 Sami Valimaki +25000 Sergio Garcia +25000 Haotong Li +25000 Nicolas Echavarria +25000 Carlos Ortiz +25000 Aldrich Potgieter +25000 Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen +35000 Andrew Novak +35000 Tom McKibbin +35000 Michael Brennan +50000 Kristoffer Reitan +50000 John Keefer +50000 Matt McCarty +50000 Davis Riley +75000 Bubba Watson +75000 Charl Schwartzel +75000 Zach Johnson +75000 Angel Cabrera +100000 Mason Howell +100000 Fifa Laopakdee +100000 Ethan Fang +100000 Brian Campbell +100000 Vijay Singh +100000 Jose Maria Olazabal +100000 Brandon Holtz +100000 Naoyuki Kataoka +100000 Danny Willett +100000 Jackson Herrington +100000 Fred Couples +100000 Mateo Pulcini +100000 Mike Weir +100000
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