SportsLine's model simulated the 2026 Masters 10,000 times and revealed its surprising PGA Tour picks for Augusta National
By Ross Kelly Apr 8, 2026 at 3:15 pm ET • 4 min read 
Imagn Images We're only a day away from the beginning of the 2026 Masters at Augusta National Golf Club, and there are 91 talented players in the field this season. The first tee time on Thursday is scheduled for 7:40 a.m. ET, and defending champion Rory McIlroy goes off at 10:31 a.m. ET in a group that includes Cameron Young and amateur Mason Howell. McIlroy completed the career grand slam last season, while Young is up to No. 3 in the world after winning the Players Championship. Howell won the 2025 U.S. Amateur.
The latest 2026 Masters odds list McIlroy at +1300 to defend his title, while Young is also one of the favorite at +2200 and Howell is a +100000 longshot. Meanwhile, two-time green jacket winner Scottie Scheffler is the +550 favorite with Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm following on the odds board at +1000. 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: Ludvig Aberg, one of the favorites and a golfer who has had two strong Masters appearances, finishes well outside of the top 5 this year. The 26-year-old has already racked up five worldwide wins in his career and he's finished solo second and solo seventh in two career starts at Augusta National.
However, he's down to No. 17 in the Official World Golf Ranking after peaking at No. 4 last year because of a string of bad starts late last season and early in 2026. He's also missed the cut in four of his eight career major championship starts and an afternoon-morning stagger on Thursday and Friday is likely to have him playing in firmer and faster conditions than most. See who else to fade here.
Another surprise: Tommy Fleetwood, at +2200, is a great longshot for anyone looking for a massive payday. Fleetwood, who ranks No. 4 in the OWGR, has been one of the hottest players on tour, and his +2200 odds do not currently reflect that.
Fleetwood has finished in the top 20 six times over his last 10 appearances at Augusta. Fleetwood has also made seven straight cuts at Augusta National. The 35-year-old Englishman ranks 14th on tour in strokes gained: total with an average of 1.343 this season. He has broken par in 40% of his career rounds at the Masters. Fleetwood is one of the best in the world at iron play, and that is the exact play this tough Augusta course rewards. See who else to pick here.
How to make 2026 Masters picks
The model is also targeting two more stunning longshots higher than +4000, including one going off around +8000, 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 +550 Bryson DeChambeau +1000 Jon Rahm +1000 Rory McIlroy +1300 Xander Schauffele +1500 Ludvig Åberg +1700 Matt Fitzpatrick +2200 Cameron Young +2200 Tommy Fleetwood +2200 Hideki Matsuyama +2700 Robert MacIntyre +2700 Justin Rose +3000 Min Woo Lee +3000 Patrick Reed +3500 Collin Morikawa +3500 Si Woo Kim +4500 Jordan Spieth +4500 Brooks Koepka +4500 Chris Gotterup +5500 Russell Henley +5500 Nicolai Højgaard +5500 Viktor Hovland +5500 Akshay Bhatia +6500 Maverick McNealy +6500 Jake Knapp +7000 Shane Lowry +7000 Patrick Cantlay +7000 Justin Thomas +7000 Adam Scott +7500 Jason Day +7500 Sepp Straka +8000 Tyrrell Hatton +8000 Corey Conners +8000 J.J. Spaun +8000 Jacob Bridgeman +8000 Sam Burns +10000 Harris English +10000 Rasmus Højgaard +10000 Cameron Smith +10000 Marco Penge +10000 Sungjae Im +12500 Gary Woodland +12500 Kurt Kitayama +15000 Daniel Berger +17500 Ben Griffin +17500 Alex Noren +17500 Ryan Gerard +17500 Sam Stevens +20000 Keegan Bradley +20000 Harry Hall +20000 Aldrich Potgieter +20000 Kristoffer Reitan +22500 Max Homa +22500 Ryan Fox +25000 Casey Jarvis +25000 Aaron Rai +25000 Wyndham Clark +25000 Brian Harman +25000 Sergio Garcia +30000 Dustin Johnson +30000 Nicolas Echavarria +30000 Carlos Ortiz +30000 Michael Kim +30000 Max Greyserman +40000 Nick Taylor +40000 Haotong Li +40000 Matt McCarty +40000 Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen +40000 Andrew Novak +40000 Tom McKibbin +40000 Sami Valimaki +50000 Michael Brennan +50000 John Keefer +50000 Bubba Watson +75000 Charl Schwartzel +75000 Zach Johnson +75000 Davis Riley +100000 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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