The 2026 US Masters gets underway on Thursday, and the first major of the year is always one of the most keenly anticipated events of the golfing season. The Masters has a magic about it that makes it extra special, with the iconic and mesmerically beautiful Augusta National a huge part of that.
This year’s tournament is set to be a cracker in our humble opinion, and while world number one Scottie Scheffler is the firm favourite with the bookies, we believe we are set for a really open event. Good luck to all those having a bet on the Masters, because there are just so many top players in great form right now, whilst quite how LIV’s finest will get on is always an extra added dimension to try and factor in.
Scheffler’s Dip
Scheffler, who won the Masters in 2022 and again in 2024, is the only player priced at single-digit odds in 2026. If he can claim a third Masters victory, he would move level with legends such as Sam Snead and Gary Player, as well as Nick Faldo and Phil Mickelson. Some firms price him at just 5/1, which broadly speaking suggests he has around a 15% chance of completing a hat-trick of Green Jackets.
Given his form over the last six weeks or so, we would suggest that is a touch optimistic and we certainly wouldn’t be backing him at 6/1, let alone 5/1. Of course, the best players aim to produce their finest golf in the biggest tournaments. Scheffler is a worthy favourite but in a field stacked with players in better form, those odds look a shade short.
The world number one is without a top-10 finish in his last three events, finishing T12, T24 and, last time out, T22 at The Players. By normal standards, that is not such a poor run, and earlier in the season and at the end of last season he was back to his brilliant best, having endured a similar stutter around 12 months ago.
He was particularly out of sorts at Sawgrass, where he opened with rounds of 72 and 73 to barely make the cut and never looked in contention. He has taken pretty much a month off since then, though, and will be focused on Augusta. It is a course that he loves and he has never finished outside the top 20 in six appearances at the Masters, his last four finishes reading 4-1-T10-1. If he gets a good start, he may take some stopping, but there are plenty of great players capable of pushing him all the way.
What of Rory?
The emotion of winning last year was incredible for Rory McIlroy, and it took him a little while to get over landing the career Grand Slam and putting his Masters woes to bed. Only three players have ever defended the Masters, but McIlroy will feel he has a chance. His form was solid but he had to withdraw from the Arnold Palmer due to injury and was rusty, to say the least, on his rushed return at The Players. Like Scheffler, he hasn’t played since Sawgrass.
The strategy, the decisions and the emotions. Relive every hole of Rory McIlroy’s 2025 final round, as told by the Masters champion himself.
Now available on the Masters YouTube channel: https://t.co/L9dlXq0qwn pic.twitter.com/5sJHl8mCIL
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 3, 2026
He finished tied 46th there, and given the history of past champions trying to hold onto their title and any lingering issues from his back problem, he also looks short in the betting. Of course, he may find that he can play with great freedom now that he finally has that Green Jacket hanging in his closet. Equally, we wouldn’t be overly surprised if he were to miss the cut.
The Form Players
If the top two in the OWGR pecking order are not exactly in the best shape ever heading to Augusta, the chasing pack certainly looks strong. Cameron Young is up to third in the world and arrives having won The Players and finished T3 at the Arnold Palmer (he tied for seventh at the Genesis prior to that). His Masters form is mixed, with two missed cuts and two top 10s from four appearances, but we expect him to contend.
Tommy Fleetwood is next in the rankings and has arguably been the form player in the world over the past six months or so. He boasts four top 10s in his last five tournaments and tied for third at the Masters in 2024. His Ryder Cup teammate Matt Fitzpatrick is sixth in the world and could hardly be in better shape, having won the Valspar last time he played and finished second in The Players before that.
In between those two Englishmen in the world rankings is JJ Spaun, the 2025 US Open champion. Spaun has never challenged at Augusta but is set to produce his best finish this year, having warmed up with a win in the Valero Texas Open.
Aside from these players, there are a host of Americans who have the game and ability to win this year’s first major. Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele and lesser-known players such as Genesis victor Jacob Bridgeman are worth watching. However, the European challenge looks stronger than ever, with Ludvig Aberg regularly challenging without getting over the line, Robert MacIntyre arriving after consecutive top-four finishes on the PGA Tour and Justin Rose sure to be the pick of many English golf fans having lost to Rory in the play-off 12 months ago. What a tournament we have in store.