Picks for 2026 Masters golfers and the Masters favorite to win ahead of the year's first major at Augusta National
By Ross Kelly Apr 7, 2026 at 2:21 pm ET • 4 min read 
Imagn Images For players such as Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau, the 2026 Masters is about adding another major championship to their illustrious resumes. But for players like Tommy Fleetwood and Cameron Young, this event is about finding the career-defining major victory that has eluded them. Fleetwood enters the first major of the year full of confidence, having finished inside the top-10 in four of his last five starts. Young, meanwhile, enters the 2026 Masters fresh off his victory at the Players Championship.
The 2026 Masters get underway on Thursday, April 9, from Augusta National Golf Club. The 2026 Masters odds list Scheffler as the +500 favorite, followed by DeChambeau (+1000), Rahm (+1000) and McIlroy (+1300). Before locking in any 2026 Masters 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, simulates every PGA Tour event 10,000 times. 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.
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 pick from the model for the Masters 2026: Rahm (+1000), the 2023 Masters champion and one of this year's favorites, makes another strong run at the green jacket, but ultimately falls just short. Rahm historically plays some of his best golf at Augusta, finishing in the top 10 five times since 2018. He already has one professional win this season and hasn't finished worse than fifth this year in any event, so the model is expecting him to contend at Augusta, giving him a 10.5% chance of winning it all and a 41.3% chance to finish top 5.
The model has also locked in its projection for Scheffler (+500), the odds-on betting favorite and a two-time Masters champion. Scheffler has racked up 20 career victories on the PGA Tour, which includes a win at The American Express in January. However, Scheffler enters the 2026 Masters having failed to crack the top 10 in each of his last three starts on tour. He still ranks first on the PGA Tour in birdie average (5.38) and scoring average (68.33), and has finished fourth or better in three of his past four starts at Augusta National. He also has recorded top-seven finishes in each of his last five starts at a major championship, a big reason why he's the betting favorite this week.
The model has also examined McIlroy's (+1300) chances of becoming the fourth golfer to win back-to-back green jackets. The Irishman has completed just three PGA events this year, with a runner-up, a 14th place and a 46th place. He's played 62 competitive rounds at Augusta National with a 71.45 career scoring average that ranks as third-best in history (min. 50 rounds) and as the best among those in this year's field. However, McIlroy will have to find his putting touch if he wants to join the two-time Masters-winning club this year. He ranks 108th in strokes gained: putting this year after ranking ninth in the stat entering the 2025 Masters. See the full Masters projections from the model here.
How to make 2026 Masters picks
The model is also targeting two longshots of +4000 or greater, including one who is going off around +8000, who could make a stunning run at Augusta this year. 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 +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
Join the Conversation comments
