SportsLine's model simulated the 2026 Masters 10,000 times and revealed its surprising PGA Tour picks for Augusta National
By Ross Kelly Apr 7, 2026 at 9:03 am ET • 3 min read 
Imagn Images Rory McIlroy begins his title defense when the 2026 Masters gets underway on Thursday, April 9, at Augusta National Golf Club. McIlroy, who beat Justin Rose in a playoff last season, looks to join Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods as the only golfers to win back-to-back Masters. McIlroy has racked up seven top 10 finishes at the Masters in his illustrious career, but is coming off a T-46 finish at the Players Championship in his last start.
Scottie Scheffler, a two-time Masters champion and the No. 1 ranked player in the world, is the +500 favorite in the latest 2026 Masters odds. He's followed by Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau at +1000 and McIlroy (+1300) on the PGA odds board. Should your 2026 Masters picks include backing one of the favorites, or should you target a longshot like Jordan Spieth (+4500), Justin Thomas (+6500) or Jason Day (+8000)? 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 last 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 co-second favorite at +1000, 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 has fared well at Augusta National throughout his career. He secured a T3 finish at the Masters in 2024 and has finished inside the top 25 in five of the past eight years. He's made the cut in eight of his nine appearances at the Masters, and will enter the first major of 2026 having cracked the top 10 in four of his five starts this season. Fleetwood certainly has the game to compete at Augusta National, making the Englishman a longshot worth targeting for the first major of the year. 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 Bryson DeChambeau +1000 Jon Rahm +1000 Rory McIlroy +1300 Xander Schauffele +1500 Matt Fitzpatrick +1800 Ludvig Åberg +1800 Cameron Young +2200 Tommy Fleetwood +2200 Hideki Matsuyama +2700 Justin Rose +2700 Robert MacIntyre +3000 Min Woo Lee +3300 Collin Morikawa +3500 Patrick Reed +4000 Brooks Koepka +4000 Chris Gotterup +4500 Russell Henley +4500 Si Woo Kim +4500 Jordan Spieth +4500 Viktor Hovland +5000 Shane Lowry +6000 Nicolai Højgaard +6000 Jake Knapp +6500 Justin Thomas +6500 Akshay Bhatia +6500 Maverick McNealy +6500 Adam Scott +7000 J.J. Spaun +7000 Patrick Cantlay +7000 Sepp Straka +8000 Tyrrell Hatton +8000 Jacob Bridgeman +8000 Jason Day +8000 Sungjae Im +10000 Sam Burns +10000 Harris English +10000 Corey Conners +10000 Cameron Smith +10000 Marco Penge +10000 Daniel Berger +12500 Kurt Kitayama +12500 Gary Woodland +12500 Rasmus Højgaard +15000 Ben Griffin +15000 Keegan Bradley +15000 Aaron Rai +15000 Alex Noren +15000 Ryan Gerard +15000 Sam Stevens +17500 Harry Hall +17500 Wyndham Clark +17500 Aldrich Potgieter +17500 Brian Harman +17500 Max Homa +17500 Ryan Fox +22500 Casey Jarvis +22500 Kristoffer Reitan +22500 Nick Taylor +25000 Dustin Johnson +25000 Nicolas Echavarria +25000 Carlos Ortiz +25000 Michael Kim +25000 Max Greyserman +35000 Sergio Garcia +35000 Haotong Li +35000 Matt McCarty +35000 Andrew Novak +35000 Tom McKibbin +35000 Sami Valimaki +50000 Michael Brennan +50000 Bubba Watson +50000 John Keefer +50000 Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen +50000 Charl Schwartzel +50000 Zach Johnson +50000 Davis Riley +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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