Robert TheodorsonThe 91st Masters at Augusta National Golf Course is now upon us.
The Masters marks the start of the major championship season. It’s a special time of year when underdogs and unknowns look to make a name for themselves, grizzled veterans vie for that elusive first major on one of golf’s most famous and recognizable courses, and former champions look to add to their resumes and earn a chance for immortality in the record books.
Last season, Rory McIlroy completed the career Grand Slam, winning his first Masters tournament, the one major championship that had eluded him over his illustrious career.
We saw surprise contenders climb the leaderboard and old favorites fade away below the cut line.
The 91st Masters in 2026 has an incredible opportunity to live up to and surpass the hype and excitement that McIlroy brought in 2025.
We take a look at some tournament history and facts, our projected Top 25 contenders, and some final thoughts on where this Masters will take us!
Table of Contents
The 91st Masters: Facts and Stats You Should Know Before Thursday
The Rankings:
25th – 21st – The Outsiders
20th – 16th – Cannot Be Counted Out
15th – 11th – A Betting Chance
10th – 1st – The Favorites
Just Missed the Cut
Conclusion
The 91st Masters: Facts and Stats You Should Know Before Thursday
- In the last ten seasons at Augusta (2016 – 2025), a first-time winner has captured the green jacket eight times. The only previous winners were Tiger Woods (2019) and Scottie Scheffler (2024).
- In the past five seasons, golfers from four different countries have won The Masters.
- With Rory McIlroy winning in 2025, there are no other active golfers who can complete the career Grand Slam with a win at Augusta. Next in line is Jordan Speith with The PGA Championship.
- This is the first time The Masters won’t feature Phil Mickelson or Tiger Woods at The Masters since the 1994 season.
- A third win would tie Scottie Scheffler with Phil Mickelson, Nick Faldo, Gary Player, Sam Snead, and Jimmy Demaret. Bubba Watson is the only other active participant with two Masters wins to his name.
- 18-Year-Old Mason Howell, the 2025 U.S. Amateur Champion is the youngest member of the field.
- 66-Year-Old Fred Couples, the 1992 Masters Champion, is the oldest member of the field.
- The last two champions from The Players: Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler, went on to win The Masters. Cameron Young has a chance to make it three in a row.
- The last golfer to lose a playoff at The Masters and win the next year was Gay Brewer who lost to Jack in 1966 and then proceeded to win the 1967 Masters. Justin Rose has a chance to be the first man since Brewer to accomplish that feat.
- Hideki Matsuyama is the last player to not win a PGA Tour event prior to winning The Masters (2021).
25th – 21st – The Outsiders
25th
Name: Jordan Speith
Representing Country: USA
Previous Masters Champion: 2015
2025 Masters Finish: T14; 3-under par
Major Championships Won: The Masters (2015), U.S. Open (2015), The Open (2017)
Wins on PGA Tour in 2026: N/A
Analysis and Reasoning: People are frustrated with Jordan Speith’s lack of winning in recent years, but if there’s one major championship that favors former winners it’s The Masters. If you set aside the lack of recent trophies for a moment, you’ll see that Speith has remained incredibly competitive in most tournaments as of late and is still a world-class golfer.
24th
Name: Brooks Koepka
Representing Country: USA
Previous Masters Champion: N/A
2025 Masters Finish: CUT
Major Championships Won: PGA Championship (2018, 2019, 2023), U.S. Open (2017, 2018)
Wins on PGA Tour in 2026: N/A
Analysis and Reasoning: Slowly but surely, Big Game Brooks is rebuilding his form after suffering a disastrous 2025 season on LIV Golf.
A couple of Top 25 finishes including a T13 at The Players is encouraging and likely signals that Koepka will eventually return to championship form before the 2026 season has concluded.
I wouldn’t put too much stock into Koepka missing the cut at Augusta last season. He knows the course and has come very close to winning as recently as 2023 when he finished T2 behind Jon Rahm.
Koepka shows up for the big ones, and for most, Augusta is the biggest tournament of the entire season.
23rd
Name: Min Woo Lee
Representing Country: Australia
Previous Masters Champion: N/A
2025 Masters Finish: 49th; 6-over par
Major Championships Won: N/A
Wins on PGA Tour in 2026: N/A
Analysis and Reasoning: Min Woo is one of the best chippers I’ve ever seen and has been appropriately titled, Doctor Chipinski. DataGolf.com has Min Woo’s star trending up in a big way over the past couple months and has me believing that he will win again in 2026.
22nd
Name: Corey Conners
Representing Country: Canada
Previous Masters Champion: N/A
2025 Masters Finish: T8; 5-under par
Major Championships Won: N/A
Wins on PGA Tour in 2026: N/A
Analysis and Reasoning: Conners is one of those PGA Tour professionals that always seems to be in the mix. He doesn’t get a ton of press coverage and is sometimes an afterthought even though he’s one of the best in the world. 2026 could be the year the Canadian finally breaks through for the crowning achievement of his career after finishing in The Top 10 an amazing four times out of eight that he’s played Augusta National, including four out of his last six trips to Georgia.
21st
Name: Russell Henley
Representing Country: USA
Previous Masters Champion: N/A
2025 Masters Finish: CUT
Major Championships Won: N/A
Wins on PGA Tour in 2026: N/A
Analysis and Reasoning: I view Henley in very much the same lens as a Corey Conners: an established golfer with a nice career who had a couple of wins and plenty of close calls, but never really came all that close to winning a major. Henley has one Top 5 finish at Augusta to his name from the 2023 season and has only been cut twice in his career – once in 2013 and unfortunately last season as well.
20th
Name: J.J. Spaun
Representing Country: USA
Previous Masters Champion: N/A
2025 Masters Finish: 50th; 7-over par
Major Championships Won: U.S. Open (2025)
Wins on PGA Tour in 2026: Valero Texas Open
Analysis and Reasoning: The last man to win a major championship, Spaun had struggled mightily throughout the 2026 season before a surprise win in Texas a week before the Masters.
Despite the win, most of Spaun’s season has consisted of a couple missed cuts mixed in with some mediocre finishes that won’t necessarily make him a favorite. However, if someone is going to come out of nowhere and make a surprise push to win a major championship, we’ll take Spaun to be that guy for a second time in as many years.
20th – 16th – Cannot Be Counted Out
19th
Name: Justin Thomas
Representing Country: USA
Previous Masters Champion: N/A
2025 Masters Finish: T36; 2-over par
Major Championships Won: PGA Championship (2017, 2022)
Wins on PGA Tour in 2026: N/A
Analysis and Reasoning: JT’s return from injury netted him a T8 finish at The Players which was a nice surprise considering how long he’s been out. It was around this time last season (one week after The Masters) that JT won his first tournament in some time, The RBC Heritage. I like JT as a legitimate threat to win his 3rd major championship.
18th
Name: Sahith Theegala
Representing Country: USA
Previous Masters Champion: N/A
2025 Masters Finish: T29; even par
Major Championships Won: N/A
Wins on PGA Tour in 2026: N/A
Analysis and Reasoning: Theegala has bounced back in a big way after an injury-riddled 2025. Though he hasn’t won in 2026, Theegala is making his way back to the top of the OWGR after several great finishes at top tournaments throughout the short season.
Theegala is one of those several young, incredibly talented golfers who seems to be on the cusp of winning their first major championship. 2026 could very well serve as his comeback and breakout season, concurrently.
17th
Name: Viktor Hovland
Representing Country: Norway
Previous Masters Champion: N/A
2025 Masters Finish: T21; 2-under par
Major Championships Won: N/A
Wins on PGA Tour in 2026: N/A
Analysis and Reasoning: Hovland is close to winning a major championship, very close. I’m just not sold on the fact that The Masters will be his first. Hovland’s last win was the Valspar almost exactly one year ago to the date. Since then, he’s been solid as evidenced by hanging around The Top 25 in the OWGR despite the lack of winning.
16th
Name: Robert MacIntyre
Representing Country: Scotland
Previous Masters Champion: N/A
2025 Masters Finish: CUT
Major Championships Won: N/A
Wins on PGA Tour in 2026: N/A
Analysis and Reasoning: A great golfer, but not necessarily a great closer. MacIntyre has two wins in his PGA Tour career however neither of them have come on American soil.
A superb competitor who really makes you think that he has a shot at winning once the leaderboard closes on Saturday night, MacIntyre has all the skill in the world but seems to constantly get bested late in tournaments.
15th – 11th – Betting Chance
15th
Name: Jacob Bridgeman
Representing Country: USA
Previous Masters Champion: N/A
2025 Masters Finish: DNP
Major Championships Won: N/A
Wins on PGA Tour in 2026: Genesis Invitational
Analysis and Reasoning: If you’ve watched any golf this season, you’re likely aware of Jacob Bridgeman who leads the money list as of late March.
One of the better younger players on tour this season, Bridgeman has a win to his credit and has finished in the Top 25 a number of times showing off his consistency.
2026 will be Bridgeman’s first showing at Augusta and like Chris Gotterup I am 100% taking him seriously as one of the top favorites to win despite the lack of experience.
14th
Name: Hideki Matsuyama
Representing Country: Japan
Previous Masters Champion: 2021
2025 Masters Finish: T21; 2-under par
Major Championships Won: The Masters (2021)
Wins on PGA Tour in 2026: N/A
Analysis and Reasoning: A winner on the last event of the 2025 season, it feels like Matsuyama has already won this year. Hideki consecutively records respectable finishes in whatever tournament he commits to and is a true threat to win on any given Sunday.
13th
Name: Chris Gotterup
Representing Country: USA
Previous Masters Champion: N/A
2025 Masters Finish: DNP
Major Championships Won: N/A
Wins on PGA Tour in 2026: Sony Open, Waste Management Phoenix Open
Analysis and Reasoning: Gotterup’s season started off with a bang, winning two of the first six tournaments. Gotterup propelled himself up the rankings to 5th overall in the OWGR.
Noticed by his colleagues early in the season, Gotterup’s form landed him several surprise appearances on TGL’s Atlanta Drive, the league’s team champions from the 2025 inaugural season.
One of the most intriguing things about Gotterup is that this will be his first appearance at Augusta National. There have only been three men to win the green jacket in their first appearance: Horton Smith (1934), Gene Sarazen (1935), and Fuzzy Zoeller (1979).
12th
Name: Cameron Young
Representing Country: USA
Previous Masters Champion: N/A
2025 Masters Finish: CUT
Major Championships Won: N/A
Wins on PGA Tour in 2026: The Players
Analysis and Reasoning: Young has used the past two seasons plus the 2025 Ryder Cup to cement his position as one of the best players on tour after being a relative unknown just a few years back.
Despite missing the cut last season, Young has recorded T7 (2023) and T9 (2024) finishes at Augusta, indicating that he’s not that far away from winning his first major in what would be just his third ever pro victory.
The past two Players champions (McIlroy, Scheffler) have gone on to win The Masters, can Cam Young make it three in a row?
11th
Name: Matt Fitzpatrick
Representing Country: England
Previous Masters Champion: N/A
2025 Masters Finish: T40; 3-over par
Major Championships Won: U.S. Open (2022)
Wins on PGA Tour in 2026: Valspar Championship
Analysis and Reasoning: Fitzpatrick is having a renaissance season in 2026 after several ho-hum seasons in which he was a shadow of his former self from his 2022 & 2023 seasons. For those watching Tomorrow’s Golf League (TGL), one could see the turnaround in Fitzpatrick even before he took the field for his first PGA Tour event of the year. All aspects of the Englishman’s game are officially back as evidenced by a close second place finish at The Players, and his first win since 2023 at the Valspar Championship.
The Top 10 – The Favorites
10th
Name: Xander Schauffele
Representing Country: USA
Previous Masters Champion: N/A
2025 Masters Finish: T8; 5-under par
Major Championships Won: PGA Championship (2024), The Open (2024)
Wins on PGA Tour in 2026: N/A
Analysis and Reasoning: I don’t see a lot of buzz about Xander Schauffele’s chances to win a major this season. That was the same story back in 2024 when he captured both The PGA Championship and The Open for his first and second majors of his storied career.
With a few Top 10 finishes to his credit this year, Xander is most definitely back in form, but just not championship form for now (despite winning The Baycurrent Classic at the end of 2025). Still, X will be one of the favorites at Augusta, and a win would surprise almost no one.
9th
Name: Collin Morikawa
Representing Country: USA
Previous Masters Champion: N/A
2025 Masters Finish: T14; 3-under par
Major Championships Won: PGA Championship (2020), The Open (2021)
Wins on PGA Tour in 2026: Pebble Beach Pro Am
Analysis and Reasoning: No one suffered more criticism for their selection to the 2025 Ryder Cup squad than Collin Morikawa.
It’s clear he took that criticism to heart and used it to rejuvenate his career, resulting in a monstrous 2026 not only on The PGA Tour but also helping his TGL team The Los Angeles Golf Club to become the Season 2 champs.
After a long hiatus, Morikawa once again finds himself as one of the betting favorites to win a major championship after a five-year drought.
8th
Name: Patrick Reed
Representing Country: USA
Previous Masters Champion: 2018
2025 Masters Finish: 3rd; 9-under par
Major Championships Won: The Masters (2018)
Wins on DP World Tour in 2026: Hero Dubai Desert Classic, Qatar Masters
Analysis and Reasoning: There’s few golfers in the world who feel as comfortable at Augusta as Reed who won multiple college championships there.
Exiting LIV was likely the correct decision for Reed as he made drastic moves up the OWGR after his two DP World Tour wins which basically ensured he will be back on The PGA Tour in 2027.
7th
Name: Tommy Fleetwood
Representing Country: England
Previous Masters Champion: N/A
2025 Masters Finish: T21; 2-under par
Major Championships Won: N/A
Wins on PGA Tour in 2026: N/A
Analysis and Reasoning: Still looking for that elusive first major championship, 2026 may be the year for the popular Fleetwood who is playing some solid golf this season and the later part of 2025 which included his PGA Tour Playoffs championship win.
His best Masters finish, 3rd in 2024, Fleetwood will need a little luck to go with his skill as that 3rd place finish his only Top 10 finish at Augusta in his entire career. Though the course may not favor his style of play, folks would not be entirely surprised if the 35-year-old finally broke through this season and captured his first career major.
6th
Name: Ludvig Aberg
Representing Country: Sweden
Previous Masters Champion: N/A
2025 Masters Finish: 7th; 6-under par
Major Championships Won: N/A
Wins on PGA Tour in 2026: N/A
Analysis and Reasoning: I originally had Aberg as high as 3rd overall before Masters week kicked off. Yes, he remains a favorite to win at Augusta, but the red flags are popping up everywhere for the young Swede at the worst possible time.
Aberg is an extremely skilled golfer who can jump to first place on Saturday with relative ease and consistency, but has glaring issues with closing out tournaments, not unlike fellow Ryder Cup teammate Robert MacIntyre.
The issues were all too apparent at The Players where Aberg quickly lost the lead early on Sunday morning, and again at the recent Valero Texas Open where he once again led on Sunday, but had a number of miscues to drop down the leaderboard.
Having said all that, the reasoning behind Aberg’s high placement is not simply because he’s one of the best players on tour, it’s because the youngster looks and feels so naturally comfortable at Augusta. Finishes of 2nd and 7th in his only two appearances at Augusta signal that the course is almost tailormade for Aberg’s style of play. There are some players that just are so naturally good at Augusta, like Aberg, and most of them eventually go on to win, at least once.
5th
Name: Rory McIlroy
Representing Country: Northern Ireland
Previous Masters Champion: 2025
2025 Masters Finish: 1st; 11-under par, won playoffs against Justin Rose
Major Championships Won: The Masters (2025), PGA Championship (2012, 2014), U.S. Open (2011), The Open (2014)
Wins on PGA Tour in 2026: N/A
Analysis and Reasoning: Winning The Masters two years in a row is a feat that has not been accomplished since Tiger did it in 2001- 2002. It’s the main reason why I was hesitant to favor Scheffler in 2025 and why I believe Rory is not the favorite to repeat.
Last season Rory was in dominant form, winning Pebble Beach and The Players before going to Augusta as one of the favorites despite his major championship drought. The Grand Slam winner is absolutely capable of winning at Augusta again, but history tells us that he will, in all likelihood, have to wait at least one more year to earn his second green jacket.
4th
Name: Justin Rose
Representing Country: England
Previous Masters Champion: N/A
2025 Masters Finish: 2nd; 11-under par, lost playoffs to Rory McIlroy
Major Championships Won: U.S. Open (2013)
Wins on Tour in 2026: Farmers Insurance Open
Analysis and Reasoning: Rose has been playing some of the best golf of his career in his mid-40’s over the past two seasons. Rose has flirted with winning the green jacket a few times and will be a top contender in 2026 once again.
Unfortunately for Rose, history is likely not on his side. The last golfer to lose a playoffs at The Masters and win the next year was Gay Brewer who lost to Jack in 1966 and then proceeded to win the 1967 Masters. Sufficed to say, it’s been awhile since a playoff loser has come back and won the next year, but at least it has happened!
3rd
Name: Jon Rahm
Representing Country: Spain
Previous Masters Champion: 2023
2025 Masters Finish: T14; 3-under par
Major Championships Won: The Masters (2023), U.S. Open (2021)
Wins on LIV Tour in 2026: LIV Hong Kong
Analysis and Reasoning: If you haven’t been watching LIV Golf this season, we won’t blame you as the increasingly international tour makes for difficult viewing for an American audience. What you need to know is that he is easily one of the best players on tour and is in first place in the standings seeking his third straight individual championship.
Rahm had several chances to win his 3rd major last season but struggled time and time again to score on Thursdays and Fridays which had the Spainard playing catchup during the weekend.
2nd
Name: Bryson DeChambeau
Representing Country: USA
Previous Masters Champion: N/A
2025 Masters Finish: T5; 7-under par
Major Championships Won: U.S. Open (2024, 2021)
Wins on LIV Tour in 2026: LIV Singapore, LIV South Africa
Analysis and Reasoning: DeChambeau came close to winning his third major several times during the 2025 season, but his best attempt was at the 2025 Masters where he actually led for a short while on championship Sunday before imploding. Bryson’s win in Singapore one month before Augusta let the world know that he’s in championship form. One of the two LIV Golfers who receive a Top 10 spot in the rankings from us, Bryson is likely to take home a third major this season if he’s not overtaken by his LIV colleague in Jon Rahm.
1st
Name: Scottie Scheffler
Representing Country: USA
Previous Masters Champion: 2024, 2022
2025 Masters Finish: 4th; 8-under par
Major Championships Won: The Masters (2024, 2022), PGA Championship (2025), The Open (2025)
Wins on PGA Tour in 2026: The American Express
Analysis and Reasoning: The presumed and obvious favorite for The 2026 Masters, Scottie Scheffler has been the World’s Number 1 Golfer for some time with nobody coming close to challenging for his number one spot. We’ve become so used to seeing Scheffler win again and again and in dominant form that T12 and T24 finishes (Genesis and Arnold Palmer) feel like letdowns when in fact they are great personal accomplishments.
Perhaps we expected too much of Scheffler after his early win at The American Express, but any notion of being let down will be lost for another calendar year when Scheffler takes home his 3rd green jacket and 5th major championship.
Just Missed the Cut
Sepp Straka – Straka’s recent record in the majors is a huge concern. The Austrian continues to stay competitive in other big tournaments, but his 2025 form was much better than 2026. It’s worth pointing out that Straka is also the highest golfer in the OWGR who isn’t on my Top 25.
Si Woo Kim – Si Woo’s season started tremendously with a number of Top 10 finishes, but his form has dropped like a rock since then.
Jason Day – Day’s T8 finish last year was one of a number of surprises in the field of the 90th Masters. Day was quite good last season and had one of his best seasons in recent memory.
Tyrrell Hatton – In 2025 I predicted Hatton to win a major championship. In 2026 I’m not so sure he’s capable of winning a tournament on LIV.
Akshay Bhatia – A winner on the 2026 PGA Tour, I’m not a fan of how he’s handled himself at major championships. I think 2026 will serve as a education year where he gets closer and better at majors but isn’t a real threat to win one at 24 years old.
Conclusion
For those of us who have watched every tournament this season, we’ve noticed a real parity on The PGA Tour. Other than Chris Gotterup, nobody has won more than one tournament.
Last season we had a pretty good idea that it was going to be some variation of a Scottie vs. Rory situation.
This year it truly is anybody’s guess as to who is going to kick of majors’ season with a win. Scottie doesn’t feel like the dominant player he was in 25’, but he’s already won on the season and honestly nobody is even close to usurping his mantle as the world’s number one golfer.
I have a couple of LIV (and former) Golfers in DeChambeau, Rahm, and Reed who all have a very good chance at winning and making a lot of purists mad.
The sentimental favorites will of course be a pair of Englishmen in Fleetwood and Rose, the later of which suffered his second playoff loss at Augusta, but is playing some tremendous golf in his 40’s.
It’s also a great year for relative unknowns, despite being champions, like Jacob Bridgeman and Chris Gotterup who are making their first-ever trip to Augusta.
To conclude, this is shaping up to be a very interesting tournament, and while my top pick in Scottie Scheffler is an obvious and safe pick, there is such a good chance that we’ll receive a first-time winner, and a surprise one at that!
Enjoy the 91st Masters and best of luck to the entire field!
