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 6, 2026 at 3:11 pm ET • 4 min read 
Imagn Images The 2026 Masters may look a little different to the most observant of golf fans thanks to a slight change at Augusta National. The 17th hole was extended 10 yards as the par 4 is now 450 yards in length. That is the only course change for the Masters 2026, compared to last year, as Augusta now plays at 7,565 yards. The length of the course is always a talking point as this yardage makes Augusta National the fifth-longest course in play during the 2026 PGA Tour season.
Scottie Scheffler ranks 37th on tour in driving distance but still comes in as the +500 favorite per the latest 2026 Masters odds. Play begins on Thursday, with other contenders including Jon Rahm (+950), Bryson DeChambeau (+1000) and Rory McIlroy (+1200). Aldrich Potgieter, who leads the tour in driving distance, is a +25000 golf longshot to win his first major. 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 shocker the model is calling at the Masters 2026: Rahm (+950), the 2023 Masters champion and one of this year's favorites, stumbles and doesn't even crack the top five of the leaderboard. Since winning two years ago, Rahm has just one other worldwide tournament victory over 72 holes. That lack of success has carried over to major tournaments, where he's simply been non-competitive more often than he'd like. Following the 2023 Masters, Rahm has four major finishes in 34th place or worse, compared to just one top 5. Given his such short PGA odds, the Spaniard is one to avoid with Masters bets.
The model has also locked in its projection for Scheffler (+500), 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 (+1200) 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 longshots of +4000 or greater 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 Jon Rahm +950 Bryson DeChambeau +1000 Rory McIlroy +1200 Ludvig Åberg +1500 Xander Schauffele +1600 Matt Fitzpatrick +2000 Cameron Young +2000 Tommy Fleetwood +2200 Collin Morikawa +3000 Justin Rose +3000 Robert MacIntyre +3300 Patrick Reed +3500 Hideki Matsuyama +4000 Min Woo Lee +4000 Chris Gotterup +4500 Jordan Spieth +4500 Brooks Koepka +4500 Si Woo Kim +5000 Shane Lowry +5500 Russell Henley +5500 Viktor Hovland +5500 Akshay Bhatia +6000 Patrick Cantlay +6500 Jacob Bridgeman +6500 Nicolai Højgaard +6500 Jake Knapp +7000 Adam Scott +7000 Sepp Straka +7000 Tyrrell Hatton +7000 J.J. Spaun +7000 Justin Thomas +7000 Corey Conners +8000 Marco Penge +8000 Sungjae Im +10000 Sam Burns +10000 Harris English +10000 Cameron Smith +10000 Jason Day +10000 Maverick McNealy +10000 Gary Woodland +10000 Brian Harman +12500 Max Homa +12500 Daniel Berger +15000 Rasmus Højgaard +15000 Ben Griffin +15000 Kurt Kitayama +15000 Aaron Rai +15000 Ryan Fox +17500 Casey Jarvis +17500 Keegan Bradley +17500 Dustin Johnson +17500 Alex Noren +17500 Harry Hall +17500 Ryan Gerard +17500 Sam Stevens +22500 Nick Taylor +22500 Michael Kim +22500 Wyndham Clark +22500 Max Greyserman +25000 Sami Valimaki +25000 Sergio Garcia +25000 Haotong Li +25000 Nicolas Echavarria +25000 Carlos Ortiz +25000 Aldrich Potgieter +25000 Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen +35000 Andrew Novak +35000 Tom McKibbin +35000 Michael Brennan +50000 Kristoffer Reitan +50000 John Keefer +50000 Matt McCarty +50000 Davis Riley +75000 Bubba Watson +75000 Charl Schwartzel +75000 Zach Johnson +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
