There have been 38 first-time major winners at the Masters; one of these 10 could add his name to that distinguished list
By Robby Kalland Apr 3, 2026 at 2:44 pm ET • 6 min read 
Getty Images The dominant figures entering the 2026 Masters are reigning champion Rory McIlroy and two-time champion Scottie Scheffler from the PGA Tour, along with Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm, who have been playing exceedingly well for LIV Golf.
Beyond those stars, the field for the first major of the season is deep with talent eyeing a coveted green jacket. That includes several players still looking to capture their first major championship, figures who would love to etch their names in Masters history and earn a permanent spot in the field each April at Augusta National Golf Club.
There have been 38 players who won their first major title at the Masters, and the variety -- in terms of player profiles -- makes it fascinating to try and project who could break through and become the 39th.
There are young players like Scheffler and Tiger Woods, who find quick comfort with the challenges of Augusta National and win early in their careers. Others, like Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia, spend more than a decade coming painfully close to tasting major success and then finally have it all click in that magical week amidst the Georgia pines.
Entering the 2026 Masters, 10 notable players are seeking their first major championship, and their names should be on your radar as legitimate threats coming into Augusta National.
Odds via Caesars Sportsbook
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Ludvig Aberg Åberg clearly falls into the category of young players who find quick comfort at Augusta National, as he has played in two Masters and finished 2nd and 7th, respectively. He's been rounding into form over the past month and seems to be regaining the ball-striking form that makes him a threat every time he tees it up. Closing out tournaments is the problem for Åberg, as evidenced most recently by his back-nine collapse at The Players, but whenever he sorts out the Sunday scaries, it feels like a matter of when, not if, he gets fitted for a green jacket. Odds: 16-12 
Cameron Young The man who beat Åberg at The Players is also in search of his first major, and Young's brief history at the Masters suggests Augusta National could be the perfect place to get that victory. Young has played in four Masters, missing the cut twice but finishing T7 and T9 when he's made the weekend. The way his game has been trending since missing the cut at last year's Masters, most anticipate he will be sniffing around the leaderboard once again on Sunday. Odds: 20-13 
Tommy Fleetwood After finally breaking through to win the Tour Championship and removing his name from the top of the "best player to never win on the PGA Tour" lists, Fleetwood has his sights set on getting off the "best player yet to win a major" list as well. Fleetwood's always been steady but rarely spectacular at the Masters. He's got just one top 10 (T3 in 2024) but has made the cut in his last eight appearances at Augusta National, his worst finish being T46 in that span. He'll need to find another gear to make the Masters the site of his first major win, but he's shown that level more often over the past 12 months. Odds: 22-14 
Russell Henley Henley is the oldest player on this list, but the 36-year-old has been playing the best golf of his career over the past couple of seasons. The Georgia native would surely love to capture his first major in Augusta, and he does have a T4 finish in 2023 that he can lean on as an example of the kind of performance he's capable at the Masters. The question for Henley is whether he can find that gear needed to beat the game's elite at the majors, but his steady approach and ability to grind out rounds tend to keep him in the hunt. Odds: 55-15 
Akshay Bhatia Lefties love Augusta National, and Bhatia could become the next left-hander to don the green jacket. He picked up the biggest win of his career to date a few weeks back at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which has an illustrious history of winners itself -- many of whom have gone on to find success at the Masters. He's played in two Masters and has made the cut both times but never finished higher than T35. A career-best finish in 2026 is certainly plausible given the way his game is trending, and if his comfort with the putter translates to the challenging greens at Augusta National, he could be a factor late on Sunday. Odds: 55-16 
Viktor Hovland We've been waiting on Hovland's breakthrough major victory for a few years now, as he went on a run of three straight top-seven finishes in 2022 and 2023 that seemed to point to him being one of golf's next big stars. Since then, success has been far more spotty than expected for the 28-year-old Norwegian, and his continued struggles to find his swing seem to have him further away now than ever before. Still, the talent is there, and when it all comes together, he's capable of contending anywhere -- as evidenced by a pair of third-place finishes in majors the last two years. He's only ever missed one cut at the Masters during his dismal 2024 campaign, has a T7 finish in 2023 and has been in the top 32 in his four other visits, including as an amateur. Odds: 40-17 
Tyrrell Hatton It took Hatton a while to figure out the puzzle that is Augusta National, but in recent years, we've seen much better performances from the Englishman at the Masters. He posted a career-best T9 finish in 2024 and backed that up with a T14 in 2025. Hatton would fall into the "late-bloomer" category of first-time major winners, but the 34-year-old has reclaimed his top form in recent years playing alongside Jon Rahm on LIV Golf. He's seemingly learned how to channel his temper on the course into better play rather than getting taken completely out of his game by a bad break, and perhaps 2026 can be the year he breaks through as a major champion. Odds: 55-18 
Chris Gotterup This will be Gotterup's first trip to Augusta National, which doesn't typically result in immediate success. However, Gotterup has rapidly risen in the PGA Tour's ranks with three victories since then and a third-place finish at last year's Open -- his first time playing in that championship. He certainly has the distance to handle Augusta National, and while it's unlikely he wins in his first visit, the 2026 Masters will give us a clue at how quickly he can produce his best at ANGC. Odds: 50-19 
Si Woo Kim Few players were hotter to start the season than Kim, and while he's cooled off a touch lately, he's still boasting the best ball-striking numbers on the PGA Tour in 2026. Kim also has had a solid career at the Masters, making seven straight cuts before missing out on an invitation last year. He's back at Augusta National after picking up his first top 10 in a major at last year's PGA Championship, and his talent says he should contend for a major win at some point. Odds: 55-110 
Jacob Bridgeman The other particularly notable Masters rookie, Bridgeman got his first career win at the Genesis Invitational and has been one of the most steady players on the PGA Tour in 2026. There are few better putters in the world than Bridgeman, and if he can quickly get his bearings on the greens at Augusta National, he can be a threat. Like Gotterup, a win seems unlikely in his first Masters start -- and just third major start overall -- but we'll get a sense of how he holds up under major championship pressure now that he's gained the confidence of winning a signature event earlier this year. Odds: 75-1 Join the Conversation comments 
