Picks for 2026 Masters golfers and the Masters favorite to win ahead of the year's first major at Augusta National
By Ross Kelly Mar 28, 2026 at 11:56 am ET • 4 min read 
Imagn Images Scottie Scheffler became the 18th golfer to win multiple green jackets two years ago, and several players are looking to become No. 19 at the Masters 2026. Reigning champion Rory McIlroy is among them, as are Jon Rahm, Hideki Matsuyama, Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth. Some will make their debuts at Augusta National when the 2026 Masters tees off Thursday, April 9. Chris Gotterup and Ben Griffin are hoping to join the three-man club of golfers to win the major in their first appearance.
The top-ranked player in the world, Scheffler is the +480 favorite in the latest 2026 Masters odds. McIlroy is +1000 to go back-to-back. Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm are both at +1200, with Ludvig Aberg and Xander Schauffele both at +1600. 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 that 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 for Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm
One shocker the model is calling at the Masters 2026: Rahm (+1200), the 2023 Masters champion and one of this year's favorites, stumbles and doesn't even crack the top five of the leaderboard. That 2023 victory is the Spaniard's only top 10 over his last four starts at Augusta, and he followed it up with a 45th (2024) and then a 14th-place finish (2025). On majors as a whole, Rahm hasn't been in the best of form, with just one top five over his last 10 major starts, as opposed to four finishes 34th or worse. Add in that Rahm has just one 72-hole tournament victory in the three years since slipping on the green jacket, and he's one to steer clear of given his short PGA odds.
The model has also locked in its projection for Scheffler (+480), a two-time Masters winner who is this year's favorite. Scheffler won in 2022 and 2024 with top 10s in each of his last four Augusta starts. He also won the PGA Championship and Open Championship last season as he was the PGA Tour Player of the Year for the fourth time in his career. However, Scheffler hasn't matched his 2025 success thus far and seems to be going in the wrong direction. He won his first start of 2026 and then had top fives in his next two, but he fell outside the top 10 in his ensuing start before not even placing in the top 20 in his last two starts. He then withdrew from the Houston Open, robbing him of potentially his last tune-up before the Masters 2026.
The model has also examined McIlroy's chances of becoming the fourth golfer to win back-to-back green jackets. Not only was last year's victory the crowning achievement of McIlroy's career, but it was his first major victory in 11 years. This year, his long game metrics are strong as he boasts top-5 rankings in strokes gained: total, SG: tee-to-green and SG: off-the-tee, but he's lagging on the greens by ranking outside the top 100 in SG: putting. The Irishman has had limited exposure to PGA events this year, having completed just three tournaments with varying success. He was runner-up at the Genesis and placed 14th at Pebble Beach but was 46th at the Players after winning the event in 2025. See the full Masters projections from the model 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, which massive longshots will stun the golfing world, and where will Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy finish? 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, and four straight Masters.
2026 Masters odds, favorites
Get full 2026 Masters picks, best bets and predictions here.
Odds via FanDuel (subject to change)
Scottie Scheffler +480 Rory McIlroy +1000 Bryson Dechambeau +1200 Jon Rahm +1200 Ludvig Aberg +1600 Xander Schauffele +1600 Matt Fitzpatrick +2200 Tommy Fleetwood +2200 Cameron Young +2500 Patrick Reed +2700 Justin Rose +2700 Collin Morikawa +2700 Brooks Koepka +3000 Hideki Matsuyama +3300 Jordan Spieth +3300 Robert MacIntyre +3500 Viktor Hovland +4000 Shane Lowry +4500 Justin Thomas +5000 Min Woo Lee +5000 Chris Gotterup +5000 Tyrrell Hatton +5500 Russell Henley +5500 Patrick Cantlay +5500 Akshay Bhatia +5500 Si Woo Kim +5500 Sepp Straka +6000 Joaquin Niemann +6000 Sam Burns +6500 Corey Conners +6500 Jason Day +6500 Adam Scott +6500 Sungjae Im +7000 Marco Penge +7000 Jacob Bridgeman +7500 Nicolai Hojgaard +8000 Cameron Smith +8000 Sahith Theegala +8000 J.J. Spaun +8000 Harris English +8000 Daniel Berger +8000 Maverick McNealy +10000 Thomas Detry +10000 Brian Harman +10000 Tony Finau +10000 Max Homa +10000 Will Zalatoris +10000 Ben Griffin +10000 Casey Jarvis +10000 Aaron Rai +12500 Tom Kim +12500 Dustin Johnson +12500 Ryan Gerard +12500 Ryan Fox +12500 Alex Noren +12500 Anthony Kim +12500 Keegan Bradley +15000 Rasmus Hojgaard +15000 Billy Horschel +15000 Max Greyserman +15000 Wyndham Clark +17500 Taylor Pendrith +17500 Byeong Hun An +17500 Davis Thompson +17500 Sergio Garcia +17500 Kurt Kitayama +17500 Aldrich Potgieter +17500 Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen +17500 Nick Taylor +17500 Matt McCarty +17500 Jayden Schaper +20000 Tom McKibbin +20000 Haotong Li +20000 Phil Mickelson +25000 Davis Riley +25000 Andrew Novak +25000 Pierceson Coody +25000 Carlos Ortiz +25000 Harry Hall +25000 Michael Kim +25000 Sam Stevens +25000 Johnny Keefer +25000 Denny McCarthy +30000 Danny Willett +30000 Bubba Watson +30000 Charl Schwartzel +30000 Michael Brennan +30000 Sami Valimaki +30000 Kristoffer Reitan +30000 Naoyuki Kataoka +30000 Zach Johnson +40000 Brian Campbell +40000 Angel Cabrera +50000 Fred Couples +100000 Vijay Singh +100000 Mason Howell +100000 Fifa Laopakdee +100000 Ethan Fang +100000
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