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 2:43 pm ET • 3 min read 
Imagn Images The first major on the PGA Tour schedule tees off on Thursday when the 2026 Masters gets underway from Augusta National Golf Club. Rory McIlroy is the defending champion after completing the career Grand Slam with a dramatic victory last season. McIlroy will be part of a loaded 2026 Masters field, which also features former Masters champions like Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm and Jordan Spieth.
According to the latest 2026 Masters odds, Scheffler, the No. 1 ranked player in the world, is the +500 favorite, followed by Rahm (+950), Bryson DeChambeau (+1000) and Rory McIlroy (+1200). McIlroy, who's recorded seven top-10 finishes at the Masters, is priced at -105 (risk $105 to win $100) to crack the top 10 this week. Before locking in any 2026 Masters picks, be sure to see the 2026 Masters 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 huge 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: Rahm, the 2023 Masters champion and the second favorite at +950, doesn't even crack the top 5 on McClure's projected leaderboard. He's a golfer to fade at Augusta this week. Rahm has finished T45 and T14 in his two Masters appearances since his 2023 win.
He also hasn't finished higher than T7 in any major in the past two seasons. He has one professional win since the beginning of the 2025 season, so the model doesn't recommend laying this price on an outright pick on Rahm. See who else to fade here.
Another surprise: Tommy Fleetwood, a +2200 longshot, makes a strong run at the title. He has a much better chance to win it all than his odds imply, so he's a target for anyone looking for a huge payday.
Fleetwood broke through and recorded his first victory on the PGA Tour at the 2025 Tour Championship. The 35-year-old Englishman will now enter the 2026 Masters full of confidence after finishing T-10 or better in four of his five starts this season. Fleetwood has the all-around game to compete at Augusta National, ranking 14th in driving accuracy (64.29%), 14th in strokes gained: total (1.343) and 28th in strokes gained: approach to green (0.459). If he can find his stroke on the putting green, he'll have a great shot at winning his first major championship. See who else to pick here.
How to make 2026 Masters picks
The model is also targeting two more stunning longshots higher than +4000 to surge to the top of the leaderboard, potentially bringing a massive return. You can only see who they are at SportsLine.
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, field, 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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