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 11:00 pm ET • 4 min read 
Imagn Images The first major of the year will be decided when the PGA Tour heads to Augusta National Golf Club for the 2026 Masters. The tournament begins on Thursday, April 9, featuring a star-studded field where Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm are among the big names chasing the coveted green jacket. McIlroy enters the 2026 Masters as the defending champion and will look to become the first golfer to successfully defend his Masters title since Tiger Woods (2001-02).
Scheffler, the No. 1-ranked player in the world, is listed as the +500 betting favorite, according to the latest 2026 Masters odds. He's followed by Rahm (+1000), DeChambeau (+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 Brooks Koepka (+4000) and Jordan Spieth (+4500)? 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 continuously finds himself in contention at Augusta National, recording two wins, a fourth-place, and a 10th-place finish over the past four years.
He's been able to secure those impressive results thanks to his elite ball striking ability. The No. 1 ranked player in the world currently ranks ninth in greens in regulation percentage (71.30%) and 11th in strokes gained: off the tee (0.623). He's also been extremely effective with a putter in his hands this season, entering the 2026 Masters ranked second in putting average (1.662) and ninth in putts per round (27.67).
The model has also examined McIlroy's (+1300) chances of becoming the fourth golfer to win back-to-back green jackets. McIlroy cemented himself as one of golf's greatest players with his victory at the Masters in 2025. He became just the sixth man to win the career Grand Slam after defeating Justin Rose in a playoff last year.
McIlroy has played in four tournaments on the PGA Tour in 2026, finishing T-14 or worse in three of them. However, the 36-year-old still has the game to become the first repeat champion at the Masters since Tiger Woods in 2001-02. McIlroy enters the 2026 Masters ranked first in strokes gained: off the tee (0.799), 10th in strokes gained: approach to green (0.748) and 11th in greens in regulation percentage (71.03%). He has had struggles on the green this season, ranking 102nd in putts per round (28.86) and 136th in one-putt percentage (38.49%). 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
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