Twelve months on from Rory McIlroy’s career Grand Slam-clinching victory, the world’s best golfers return to the famous fairways of Augusta National this week for the 90th edition of the Masters. McIlroy’s long-awaited day in the sun – surely one of the great all-time sporting moments – may well prove impossible to top, but the Masters has always delivered storylines by the barrel load, and this year’s tournament is unlikely to be any different. With that in mind, let’s break down my golf predictions for The Masters 2026, along with the latest odds and how the contenders stack up.
The Masters 2026 odds
Odds courtesy of bet365 and available at time of publishing.
- Scottie Scheffler +480
- Jon Rahm +1050
- Bryson DeChambeau +1300
- Rory McIlroy +1300
- Ludvig Aberg +1700
- Xander Schauffele +1700
- Cameron Young +2100
- Matt Fitzpatrick +2100
- Tommy Fleetwood +2400
- Justin Rose +3000
- Hideki Matsuyama +3200
- Robert MacIntyre +3200
- Min Woo Lee +3500
- Collin Morikawa +3700
- Patrick Reed +4000
- Brooks Koepka +5000
- Jordan Spieth +5000
- Russell Henley +5000
- Viktor Hovland +5000
- Chris Gotterup +5500
The Masters 2026 contenders
As always seems to be the case heading into the year’s first Major, there are questions that need to be answered, not least by Scottie Scheffler, who has suddenly become an uneasy favorite following some lackluster recent showings by his monumental standards. Scheffler, who announced the birth of his 2nd son over the weekend, cut a frustrated figure in the Florida Swing. He will have spent time on the range working on his game, but he was forced to skip his usual prep in Houston a fortnight ago. As a 2-time Green Jacket recipient, he could still make a mockery of +600 quotes, but 24th place at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and 22nd at the Players Championship, both events he had won twice, do not inspire confidence.
McIlroy, in the meantime, came into last year’s Masters in red-hot form, having won at 2 other golfing cathedrals, Pebble Beach and Sawgrass, before issuing the definitive response to those who questioned whether he could cope with the strain of chasing immortality at Augusta National. This time, he returns without a win to his name in the calendar year, in markedly worse form than 12 months ago, and his 2 most recent starts resulted in a back-injury-induced withdrawal at Bay Hill and a 46th-place finish at Sawgrass. Reigning champions have a poor record at Augusta, with Tiger Woods the last to mount a successful defence in 2002, and while a freed-up McIlroy is exactly the type of player who could buck that trend, it’s current form which is the real worry.
That’s not an issue for LIV Golf’s big 2, Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm, both of whom are shorter than McIlroy in the betting thanks to a series of magnificent performances on the breakaway circuit – Rahm has form figures of 2-2-1-5-2 this year, and DeChambeau has won the last 2 events. However, a globetrotting schedule works against them, with neither playing competitive golf in the US since the 2025 LIV season concluded with the Team Championship in Michigan last August.
The Masters golf picks and predictions
The Masters 2026 best bet: Xander Schauffele (+1800)
Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing.
With the exception of an additional 10 yards tacked on to the tough par-4 17th, Augusta National is as we knew it for this year’s tournament. The 7,565-yard par-72 masterpiece remains among golf’s ultimate tests, and while certain skills – approaches and scrambling in particular – are more important than others, this is a course that tests all facets of the game. Few boast a better Augusta skill set than Xander Schauffele, who can capitalize on an ideal preparation to claim the Green Jacket this week.
Schauffele’s 2024 campaign, in which he won the PGA Championship and the British Open, was always going to be tough to beat, and he never found top gear last season after suffering a rib injury early in the campaign. However, he was still able to finish 8th at Augusta on just his 5th start of the year, and signed off 2025 with victory in the Baycurrent Classic in Japan. Schauffele finished in a share of 2nd spot behind Tiger Woods in the 2019 Masters, in just his 2nd appearance, and he has since compiled form figures of 3-MC-10-8-8 in the tournament.
His last 15 Major starts have resulted in 14 top-20 finishes, and his performances on the PGA Tour this year have all the hallmarks of someone who has been building to this week. Schauffele started slowly on the West Coast Swing, found form to finish 7th at Riviera, then a productive three weeks in Florida resulted in 24th at Bay Hill, 3rd at Sawgrass and 4th at the Valspar Championship.
Get the best odds on Xander Schauffele, our best bet for The Masters with DraftKings Sportsbook, where new users can click here to sign up now and receive $300 in bonus bets instantly after making their first $5 wager — win or lose!
The Masters prediction: Ludvig Aberg (+1800)
Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook at time of publishing.
While last year’s finish centred around McIlroy and his Ryder Cup colleague Justin Rose, it’s easy to forget that Ludvig Aberg hit the front in the closing stretch, and it would come as no surprise if the Swede is involved on the back 9 on Sunday.
Having let the Players Championship slip through his grasp, Aberg experienced more Sunday frustration at the Texas Open last week, and he does have something to prove when it comes to converting winning opportunities. However, he is arguably the form player on the PGA Tour, finishing 3rd, 5th and 5th in his last 3 starts, and he is made for the Masters, as course form figures of 2-7 underline.
Texas Open pick: Min Woo Lee (+3500)
Odds available at bet365 and DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing.
It’s easy to make cases for several others near the front of the market, with Cameron Young, Matt Fitzpatrick and Robert MacIntyre all likely to prove popular with bettors, but at slightly bigger odds, it’s worth focusing on 2 rising stars who could be ready to make the leap forward at Augusta this week.
The first of them is Australia’s Min Woo Lee, who has long looked to have the tools for this test and has finished in the top 12 in 4 of his last 5 PGA Tour appearances. The power-packed Perth man was 14th on his Masters debut in 2022, and his touch around the greens – he is nicknamed Dr Chipinski for good reason – will be a massive asset around Augusta’s devilish dancefloors.
The Masters 2026 longshot pick: Nicolai Hojgaard (+8500)
Odds available at bet365 at time of publishing.
Nicolai Hojgaard lacks Min Woo Lee’s finesse, but the Dane led the Masters at one stage in the 3rd round on debut in 2024, eventually fading into 16th, and last year’s missed cut came when he was in poor form. Hojgaard comes into this year’s Masters on a much more impressive run of results, finishing 3rd in Phoenix, 6th in the Cognizant Classic and was a runner-up behind Gary Woodland in the Texas Open last time out. The 25-year-old produced his best Major result when 14th at the British Open, and while he still has to prove he can cut it in the heat of a Major Championship Sunday, his ability is not in doubt.
Click here to add us to your Google preferred sources and never miss a story
