2026 Masters Tournament Preview: Everything You Need To Know About Augusta National

The first major of the 2026 season is finally here, as we head to Augusta for the 2026 Masters Tournament. Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, and Jon Rahm project as the top favorites for this upcoming tournament.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year — the Masters! After putting in the hours this year grinding research for non-signature events on the PGA Tour, like the Valero Texas Open and Texas Children’s Houston Open, we are finally rewarded with the first Major of the year. It’s the Super Bowl of golf, and the odds of the 2026 Masters have been shifting for months.

All the traditions and constants are what help make the Masters such a fan-favorite event. With so much the same, it’s our job to identify what’s different this time. This year, the elephant in the room is officially no more. Rory McIlroy will stroll down Magnolia Lane as a Masters champion, and for the first time, we’ll have to dedicate new air space to another topic other than “Is this the year McIlroy completes the Grand Slam? With neither Tiger Woods nor Phil Mickelson playing for the first time since 1994, this Masters has the feel of a blank slate. Perhaps a changing of the guard, and the start of new traditions unlike any other.

Given its history, tradition, and significance, every golfer worldwide aspires to win this tournament. And for golf obsessives like ourselves, it’s one of the few times we can take our casual sports friends under our wing each year and soak in this tournament together. I couldn’t be happier to dive into the research and preview for this year’s festivities. Without further ado, let’s get into everything we need to know about Augusta National ahead of the 2026 Masters!

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2026 MASTERS ODDS: FAVORITES

Scroll to the bottom of the article to compare full outright Masters odds. Find players with odds shorter than 20-1 at Augusta National below. Click on the odds to place a bet.

REVISITING MCILROY’S 2025 MASTERPIECE

How To Watch Rory McIlroy: The Masters Wait | Golf Monthly

I’ve watched the Amazon documentary. I’ve watched The Masters documentary. I’ve re-watched the Final Round broadcast multiple times. I’ve contributed a non-inconsequential portion of the 2.1M views to the Every Single Shot From Rory McIlroy’s Final Round YouTube video. I’ve killed many hours in my simulator trying to emulate the miraculous shots Rory pulled off in his final round.

I am not a Rory McIlroy stan, but as a pure enjoyer of the sport, watching Rory achieve his ultimate goal – in the fashion he did – was as emotional as I have ever been watching a golf tournament. My heart was pounding on every shot he hit on the back nine, and I stood to gain nothing from a betting standpoint.

The story of McIlroy’s 2025 win is one of triumph over enormous expectations. It would be as if LeBron James won championships with the Miami Heat early in his career, and then brought Cleveland to the brink of their first championship for 16 seasons before finally breaking through. But it would also be as if the Cavaliers had a 3-point lead and he was on the free throw line with 5 seconds left in the championship, he missed both of his free throws, and then fouled a 3-point shooter, allowing it to go into overtime. And then he scored every point in overtime to win.

Or in tennis, if Novak Djokovic solidified himself as the most winningest player of his era without ever winning Wimbledon. Then sustained a 10-year drought. Then, finally came through at Wimbledon. But he double-faulted each serve in the first game, went on to win the first two sets, had match point in the third, blew it, and then went on to win in a nauseating tie-break in the fifth set.

I never thought we would see a moment in our lifetime that rivaled Tiger’s comeback story in 2019. Tiger’s triumph was a story of resilience: bouncing back from adversity and defying Father Time.

Rory’s story was defined by catharsis.

The immense weight of expectations, finally realized. Achieving what fans and golf historians have collectively tried to will into existence for decades. The mental grapple of chasing the one thing you covet most without allowing nerves or scar tissue to get in the way.

Rory finally did it. When the final putt dropped, Jim Nantz exclaimed, “McIlroy has his Masterpiece”. The truth is, it was anything but a masterpiece. A masterpiece signifies perfection. This was something entirely different. A beautiful disaster. A tragedy with a happy ending.

Rory won his Masters in a way only Rory McIlroy could. He executed shots no other players in the field were capable of, like his approaches into 15 and 17. He escaped from trouble in ways no other player would dare to attempt, like on 7. He found trouble from the most innocuous positions, like on 1, 13, and 18. But when faced with the opportunity at redemption in the first playoff, he seized the moment like we knew the 5-time major champion was capable of all along.

He later compared the feat of winning The Masters to the other greatest days of his life, saying his wedding day and the birth of his daughter were pure joy. Winning The Masters, on the other hand, was pure relief.

THE FIELD AT A GLANCE

As of this writing, the field consists of 91 players. If we see a winner at the Valero Texas Open who is not already qualified, the final number would be 92 before any withdrawals.  

As is tradition (unlike any other) at the Masters, any previous winner holds a lifetime spot in the field. Top amateur players in the world also gain entry. There is a long list of qualifying criteria, but, in summary, the field of entrants consists of:

  • Past Masters Champions
  • OWGR top-50 players through the week of the Texas Children’s Houston Open
  • Major winners over the last five years
  • PGA Tour winners since last year’s Masters Tournament
  • International qualifiers
  • Amateur qualifiers
  • Special invitations

Those criteria make the Masters the most exclusive Major to earn an invite to.

LIV Players are Back

Check out our full breakdown of all LIV players in the field here!

Players on the LIV golf tour have made a slow comeback in terms of OWGR rankings, with a new ruling this season allowing the winner of LIV events to accrue a similar amount of OWGR points as a DP World Tour event winner. That hasn’t helped them much from a representation standpoint, however, as only 10 LIV players will tee it up this week. Last year, for reference, 12 LIV golfers qualified by way of the top 50 OWGR ranking, previously winning the Masters, another Major within the last five years, or special invitation.

The breakdown of LIV contenders is very simple this year. Two players are serious threats to win this event in peak form with excellent history at Augusta. Seven remaining players enter with very questionable form and may simply have their hopes set on making the cut. 

The two contenders, of course, are Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau. They’ve won each of the last three LIV events between them, and have effectively played a factor in every LIV event this season. I side ever so slightly with Rahm, the 2023 Masters champion, as the LIV player to beat this week, as the proven ability to conquer Augusta National in an important intangible to have. Bryson continues to take steps towards glory, however. After failing to finish inside the top-20 in his first seven attempts at The Masters, he’s now finished T6 and T5 in his last two.

Breaking Down the Field

Between all the tours, here is a breakdown of where the field of 91 is sourced from:

  • PGA Tour: 66
  • LIV: 10
  • Amateurs: 6
  • Senior past champions: 6
  • DP World Tour: 2
  • Japan GT: 1

If we remove the ceremonial group of 12 seniors and amateurs, we are essentially working with a field of 79 contenders. The descent of the DP World Tour over recent years has never been more evident, as Casey Jarvis is the lone full-time DP World Tour member in the field this week. Patrick Reed is also listed as DP World Tour member, but is clearly using the league as a stepping stone to regain entry back onto the PGA TOUR.

The Favorites

This year, there is a very clear first tier of contenders: Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, and Bryson DeChambeau. All four of these players can be found at 10/1 odds or shorter, but each carries a conceivable reason as to why this may not be their year.

In recent years, Scottie Scheffler has come into the Masters week in a tier of his own. This year is a bit of a different story. He’s finished outside the top-20 in each of his last three starts, something he has not done since 2022. Even still, he has one win under his belt this season, and has finished top-10 in each of his last four appearances at The Masters.

The track record for first-time Masters champions in their first title defense is an ugly one. It can be a disorienting feeling driving down Magnolia Lane, no longer fantasizing about what it may feel like to achieve a golfer’s ultimate dream. Add in the media obligations, hosting the champions dinner, multiple documentaries, and a lingering back injury, and it’s safe to say expectations for Rory McIlroy may be tempered for the first time ever at The Masters.

As mentioned earlier, Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau have been in a class of their own on LIV and are in better form at the moment than Scheffler or McIlroy. Rahm has underperformed at the Masters since joining LIV (T45, T14). Bryson has yet to rise to the occasion at The Masters, still chasing the green jacket, wilting to a T5 finish after holding the outright lead through 2 holes on Sunday last year. 

Other Notable Field Notes

In the second tier of favorites, we have recurring contenders seeking their first career Masters win, including Xander Schauffele, Ludvig Aberg, Tommy Fleetwood, Collin Morikawa, Cameron Young, and Matt Fitzpatrick. Each of the last two Masters champions won THE PLAYERS earlier the same season. That would be a good omen for Young, who is set to make his first start since winning at TPC Sawgrass.

Looking beyond the favorites, Patrick Reed, Adam Scott, Justin Rose, Min Woo Lee, and Robert MacIntyre have picked up steam as popular future bets on the merit of their surging form in 2026.

The Masters is the most exclusive major of the year, which can, at times, backfire by not truly pitting all of the best golfers in the world against each other. Notable players who would be in the conversation to contend if they qualified, but will instead be watching from home, include: Sahith Theegala, Rickie Fowler, Tony Finau, Michael Thorbjornsen, and Joaquin Niemann. 

INTRODUCTION TO AUGUSTA NATIONAL

Check out our hole-by-hole breakdown of Augusta National here!

The one course each year that needs no introduction is Augusta National. But, we’ll dive on in for good measure.

The Masters has been played on these same grounds every year since its inception in 1934. Horton Smith won with a prize of $1,500 that year, and over the last 92 years, we’ve watched that purse grow 10,000-fold—$21M in prize money was distributed across the field in 2025, with McIlroy taking home the grand prize of $4.2M. The official 2026 purse will be announced later this week.

Augusta National is a massive property, stretching to 7,565 yards on the scorecard. 2023 and 2024 were mired with wet and relatively soft conditions at Augusta National. Conditions could not be better for 2026 though, as a steady forecast of low-70s and sunny weather persists from Thursday through Sunday, similar to 2025. 

 

Creativity Required

Augusta National features some of the most dramatic undulations and elevation changes in its fairways and around the greens complexes. It demands creativity from shot makers off uneven lies.

Amen Corner (No. 11, 12, and 13) will be prominently featured on this week’s broadcast. Tournaments have been won or lost here on these three iconic holes. This stretch includes a 500-yard Par-4, a treacherous 155-yard Par-3, and a risk/reward 545-yard Par-5, where a good tee shot can set up eagle opportunities. It is the first stretch where water hazards are introduced on the routing, and Rae’s Creek has claimed countless victims over the years on this three-hole stretch. It never disappoints on Sunday.

The simple summation would be elite, in-form players who can work the ball in both directions on drives and approach shots and possess crafty touch around the greens. The grounds favor lefties with a right-to-left ball flight, anchored by wins from Bubba Watson, Phil Mickelson, and Mike Weir, as well as a top-10 finish from Robert MacIntyre in his 2021 debut. Modifications to the tee box on the 13 emphasize right-to-left tee shots more than ever. 

The beauty of Augusta National is that many holes are set up for a left-to-right approach after a right-to-left tee shot. You must be comfortable abandoning your stock shot shape here to create the most scoring opportunities.

How It Breaks Down

  • Course: Augusta National Golf Club
  • Location: Augusta, GA
  • Par: 72 (10 Par-4s, 4 Par-3s, 4 Par-5s)
  • Yardage 7,565
  • Fairways/Rough: Ryegrass
  • Greens: Bentgrass
  • Architect: Alister MacKenzie and Bobby Jones (1933)
  • # of Bunkers: 44 (2nd fewest on PGA Tour)
  • # of Water Hazards: 6

Augusta National is a Par-72, 7,565 yards this go around. It features four reachable risk/reward Par-5s, each featuring a scoring average under par. Players who take advantage of birdie-or-better opportunities on these four holes usually go on to find the most success. There’s an advantage for longer hitters who can hold these greens in two. 

As we’ve come to expect from Major championship venues, the par-4s are much longer than what we typically see on tour. That partly helps make Augusta one of the most challenging golf venues. Nine of the 10 par-4s play over 440 yards, and three of the par-4s play over 490 yards. The 350-yard 4th hole joins the par 5s as the only holes to feature a scoring average under par. It’s no gimme birdie, however, as the green requires approaching from precise angles in order to avoid bogey. 

Augusta features some of the widest fairways we see all year. Although players hit them much higher than the tour average rate (~70%), hitting the correct side of the fairway is essential to set up your next shot. Augusta is still far from a second-shot course, as specific pin locations are only accessible from one side of the fairway. 

We also see top-five difficulty among PGA Tour courses regarding par 4, par 3, putting, and around the green. Players who excel in long par-4 scoring and short games have distinguished themselves.

Augusta’s Greens

Bentgrass makes up the greens at Augusta National, playing extremely firm and fast. This is the first pure Bentgrass setup PGA Tour players see on the calendar. Tour pros and caddies cite them as the most complex and nuanced greens to read. That emphasizes course experience; course history is more predictive of future success for Masters odds than any other course on Tour.

Given how complex these greens are to read, there is an argument that it plays to the advantage of weaker putters just as much as the elite putters in the field. Players like Scottie Scheffler, Hideki Matsuyama, and Sergio Garcia picked up victories in recent years despite being notoriously poor putters at that time. Corey Conners and Cameron Champ also regularly played well at the Masters despite being two of the statistically worst putters on Tour. 

New Course Adjustments

While the grounds at Augusta National are one of the few constants in golf year to year, it is notable that three holes – 11, 13, and 15 – incurred modifications over the last few years.

The change to No. 13 was the most notable in 2023. The 510-yard par-5, which has traditionally been reachable with less-than-driver, now stretches to 545 yards and is no gimme to reach in two if players play more conservatively off the tee. It’s a far more claustrophobic tee shot now and will primarily reward players who comfortably hit a right-to-left tee shot with their driver. 

In 2022, modifications were also made to holes No. 11 and No. 15.

The tee box on the Par-4 11th was pushed back and to the left by 15 yards. They re-contoured the fairway and removed several trees on the right. The tee box on the par-5 15th was also pushed back by 20 yards with additional re-contouring of the fairways, adding an extra club for players to challenge the green in two. These are not significant changes, but they add a challenge to some of the few “gettable” holes at Augusta National.

The second hole at Augusta National was lengthened by 10 yards in 2024. This is a marginal change that should not dramatically alter scoring. However, it was made to add a bit more bite to the easiest-scoring hole.  

For even more detail on Augusta National course specs, hole-by-hole breakdown with yardages, Player Profile write-ups, Masters champion odds trends with their pre-tournament odds and more, visit our Masters odds page.

EVENT HISTORY AND COURSE COMPS

No professional golf tournament has a more predictive course history than the Masters. Whether that be a credit to the pressure-packed atmosphere, its consistent fixture on the schedule, or the intricacies and nuances of the greens, it proves to be a course that players either thrive at with great consistency or a code they never crack. This helps narrow down the list of potential contenders.

Over the last five years, 14 players finished in the top 10 multiple times: Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Jordan Spieth, Ludvig Aberg, Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Rose, Patrick Reed, Sungjae Im, Cameron Young, Corey Conners, and Cameron Smith. Given what we know about the sticky course history, it would be a safe bet to consider any of these players to contend once again in 2026. 

Conversely, notables who failed to crack the top 15 at the Masters with multiple starts over the last five years include Nick Taylor, J.J. Spaun, Sepp Straka, Akshay Bhatia, Keegan Bradley, Sam Burns, Daniel Berger, Sergio Garcia, and Adam Scott.

Assessing The Debutants

I always like to dabble in the Top Debutant prop market in Masters week. You’ll hear the timeless adage that a debutant has not won the Masters since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979, but that doesn’t mean first-timers are immune from playing into contention. Since 2014, Jordan Spieth, Jonas Blixt, Sungjae Im, Will Zalatoris, and Ludvig Åberg have all finished runner-up in their Masters debuts. Åberg posted one of the most impressive Masters debut performances in the event’s history, clearing the rest of the field not named Scheffler by three strokes.

Chris Gotterup will be a fascinating player to watch this week. I’m always hesitant to back a debutant outright, but Gotterup’s game is ideal for Augusta National. With wins at the Sony Open and WM Phoenix Open already this season, it remains to be seen how he handles his first looks at Augusta.

Gotterup will be the favorite in the Top Debutant market, but others to monitor include: Tom McKibbon, Marco Penge,  Harry Hall, Jacob Bridgeman, Ryan Gerard, Michael Brennan, Andrew Novak, Johnny Keefer, and Sami Valimaki.

Others Excelling At The Masters

The top 10 in total strokes gained Course History at Augusta National over the last 10 years include Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, Justin Rose, Hideki Matsuyama, Ludvig Aberg, Collin Morikawa, Dustin Johnson, and Patrick Reed.

Meanwhile, 11 players avoided missing the cut in four consecutive trips to the Masters: Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, Patrick Cantlay, Collin Morikawa, Hideki Matsuayma, Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Patrick Reed, Matt Fitzpatrick, Shane Lowry, and Max Homa. Of that group, only Scheffler and Morikawa finished inside the top 30 each of the last four years.

Course Comps

It’s sacrilegious to compare any golf course to Augusta National, but we’ve got to try or risk going back to 2020 for a 24-round sample size of Course History. Simply looking for courses with similar characteristics to Augusta National, I consider Muirfield Village, Memorial Park, Plantation Course at Kapalua, Bay Hill, Riviera CC, Accordia Golf Narashino, Torrey Pines, Quail Hollow, Pinehurst No. 2, Southern Hills, and Los Angeles Country Club as top comps.

I wouldn’t single out any of these courses as a one-to-one comp, with the atmosphere at Augusta National standing on its own. Muirfield Village, Torrey Pines, Bay Hill, and Quail Hollow each share similar lengths and difficulty in scoring conditions. That tends to reward the top all-around players, though each features far more prevalent and penal rough than Augusta.

Riviera CC is another difficult test featuring a strong field that asks players to shape the ball in both directions off the tee and on approach. We’ve seen crossover winners at both events: Jon Rahm, Hideki Matsuyama, Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott, and Mike Weir. Seven of the last 10 Genesis Invitational winners have crossed over as Masters Champions; Joaquin Niemann, Max Homa, and JB Holmes are the only exceptions. 

Although the Plantation Course at Kapalua has become more birdie-heavy in calm conditions, it does feature a massive property of wide and severely undulated fairways, bearing plenty of similarities to Augusta when not flooded.

The top 10 players in terms of SG: TOT across these comp courses are Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa, Cameron Smith, Ludvig Aberg, Bryson DeChambeau, Tyrrell Hatton, Xander Schauffele, and Corey Conners.

KEY STATS TO CONSIDER WITH MASTERS ODDS

  • SG: T2G
  • Driving Distance
  • SG: ARG
  • SG: APP
  • Par 4: 450+ / Prox 200+
  • Par 5 Scoring
  • 3-Putt Avoidance / SG: Short Game (Firm & Fast Conditions)
  • SG: TOT (Majors L5 Years) / SG: TOT (Difficult Comp Courses)
  • Course History

We don’t have the luxury of strokes gained data quickly available to model top correlated stat categories. However, there is a clear profile of players who found repeatable success at Augusta National. Some modeled stats may need to be taken with a grain of salt, considering the 10 LIV players have been playing off the grid for 2+ years absent the four majors.

Experience With Greens

Starting with the basic stats, SG: ARG, Driving Distance, Par 5 Scoring, Prox: 200+, and Course History are the five main pillars I’m looking for. Past winners are consistently elite in at least four of these five boxes. With these greens being the most intricate and challenging to read in golf, veterans who have seen these breaks before without a greens book have a distinct advantage.

The firm and fast qualities of these greens also make SG: Around The Green and 3-Putt Avoidance crucial, as players will need deft touch to save par on a course that yields only 60% greens in regulation. Five players rank in the top 30 in SG: ARG, 3-Putt Avoidance, and SG: Short Game (Firm & Fast Greens): Scottie Scheffler, Robert MacIntyre, Patrick Reed, Cameron Smith, and Harry Hall.

Driving, Par-5 Scoring

Distance is not required (see: Danny Willett, Jordan Spieth, Zach Johnson), but it provides a massive advantage to hold these greens on approach shots if players can loft a shorter club into them. The top 10 players in Driving Distance in this field are Bryson DeChambeau, Marco Penge, Michael Brennan, Aldrich Potgeiter, Chris Gotterup, Rory McIlroy, Rasmus Hojgaard, Nicolai Hojgaard, Gary Woodland, and Jake Knapp.  However, I’m more likely to weed out the bottom half of this field in Driving Distance when refining down a player pool.

The four Par 5s are the only holes at Augusta with a scoring average under par, so distance will go hand-in-hand here for players who can generate Eagle opportunities. The top 10 players in Par-5 Scoring entering this week are Rasmus Neergaard Petersen, Scottie Scheffler, Sepp Straka, Sungjae Im, Tommy Fleetwood, Andrew Novak, J.J. Spaun, Jon Rahm, Rasmus Hojgaard, and Cameron Young.

Long par-4s are a staple of Major championship venues. All 10 par-4s measure over 440 yards at Augusta National, so identifying the players who played long par-4s well across standard events can be a great way to identify contenders. The top 10 players in terms of Proximity 200+ over the last 36 rounds are Ludvig Aberg, Sami Valimaki, Si Woo Kim, Keegan Bradley, Aldrich Potgieter, Adam Scott, Jake Knapp, Hideki Matsuyama, Rory McIlroy, and Gary Woodland.

Couple these key stats with Course History, and we’re left with just five players in this week’s field to rank above average in each: Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Ludvig Aberg, Xander Schauffele, and Keegan Bradley.

Scoring In Difficult Conditions

What makes a Major course unique from the typical week-to-week venues (legacy-defining stakes and of the world’s best in the field aside)? Major venues are designed to test a player’s all-around skillset from tee to green, expose the players’ flaws, and ultimately reward the best all-around golfer that week.

Uncertainty surrounds the recent form of the 10 LIV players, so it’s a good starting point to reference performance in Majors over the last five years to establish common ground across the entire field. The top 10 in SG: TOT in Majors over that span are Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa, Tommy Fleetwood, Patrick Cantlay, and Tyrrell Hatton.

Most importantly, nine players ranked in the top 30 in Recent Form (SG: T2G L36), Course History, Major History, and Comp Difficult Course History: Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, Collin Morikawa, Tommy Fleetwood, Russell Henley, and Ludvig Aberg.

There are infinite ways to splice the data this week and hone in on the top candidates to play at the Masters. The perfect formula consists of a player above-average in Masters & Major History, Driving Distance, Par-5 Scoring, and Prox 200+, Recent Form (SG: T2G) & SG: ARG.

Only eight players satisfy that criteria: Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood, Russell Henley, Ludvig Aberg, Si Woo Kim, and Tyrrell Hatton.

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: PATRICK REED

Patrick Reed Wins the Masters in a Breakthrough Performance - The New York Times

Brace yourselves, folks. You may not like it, but this is what peak performance at Augusta National looks like. 

“Freedom” is the word I keep coming back to when it comes to Captain America at the 2026 Masters. Reed has the freedom to set his own schedule this year, opting to leave LIV behind for a stint on the DP World Tour instead. Reed immediately won two of his first three starts on his new Tour, effectively guaranteeing himself a pathway back to the PGA Tour next season. Those two wins also give Reed the freedom to set his own schedule for the rest of the year, something he was never afforded on LIV.

With that freedom, Reed has elected to take a month off to prep for the Masters, having last been seen finishing T10 at the Joburg Open. That may seem like a long layoff, but it’s the same amount of shelf time as a player like Cameron Young, who was last seen winning The Players Championship.

Establishing yourself as a proven Masters champion also enacts a sense of freedom when navigating this course. Reed has very little scar tissue to worry about and has already proven he has the game to conquer this course. Relative to other hopefuls in Reed’s odds range this week, there is no question whether Reed has what it takes to handle the pressure of Augusta National.

Through his first six starts of 2026, Patrick Reed is on pace to have the best SG: Approach season of his decorated career. While Reed has historically leaned on his world-class short game and driving accuracy despite his average approach play, he seems to have unlocked a new gear with the irons in 2026. It’s that very improvement that fueled Reed’s decision to bet on himself and leave LIV for a chance to get back to the PGA TOUR, and ultimately win more consequential golf tournaments.

Reed’s track record at Augusta National since his 2018 win is unmatched. No player in this field has more top-12 finishes over the last eight years than Reed (6). He is a fixture on my betting card already, and a strong value at any odds north of 30/1.

2026 MASTERS ODDS: DFS PLAYER POOL

With all the course-fit profiles in mind, I’m leaning early toward the below player pool. Naturally, I’m looking their way in the 2026 Masters odds, as well. I’ve broken the list by actualized pricing/odds tier for DraftKings, with odds and pricing released earlier this week.

Screenshot 2026 04 04 at 2.24.16%E2%80%AFPM

THE MASTERS MODEL RESULTS & BREAKDOWN

In my model this week, I’ve emphasized SG: T2G, SG: ARG, Par-5 Scoring, and SG: TOT (Majors L5 Years), followed by a more balanced mix of SG: APP, Prox 200+, Driving Distance, Course History, SG: TOT (Comp, Difficult Conditions), SG: Short Game (Firm & Fast Greens), and 3-Putt Avoidance (Fast Greens).

Model Favorites

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler takes the No. 1 spot in my model this year. This is the same model that forecasted Rory McIlroy as the eventual 2025 winner. Scheffler’s form has developed a bit of an unfair reputation, as three consecutive top-25 finishes would be nothing to panic about for the other mortals in this field. He’s pushing a streak of 30 consecutive top-25 finishes into this week, and will look to add to his active streak of four straight top-10s at Augusta National.

After Scottie, the rest of the top 10 is rounded out by Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood, Bryson DeChambeau, Ludvig Aberg, Xander Schauffele, Cameron Young, Russell Henley, and Matt Fitzpatrick. 

As it stands, I have placed two futures bets to win the 2026 Masters over the last week: Patrick Reed (44/1) and Min Woo Lee (66/1). I will continue to round out my betting card and post as my bets are placed in Lineups’ free Discord channel.

We’ve got a long weekend of Masters odds content ahead. Still to come this week:

  • Masters Past Champion Analysis
  • Player Profiles: How To Bet Scheffler, McIlroy, DeChambeau, Rahm, Koepka, Rose, and more
  • Masters Prop Bets To Consider
  • Masters DFS Picks
  • Masters Pools Strategy
  • Lineups Masters Video Preview with Matt Brown
  • Masters Matchups Analysis
  • My full Masters betting card
  • Post-Round Live Betting Analysis

Thank you for reading this far. Best of luck navigating 2026 Masters odds!

 

 

Photo Credit: AP/George Walker IV

Post
John Haslbauer writes about golf betting and DFS strategy for Lineups. He is a passionate golf fan, golf writer, and (casual) golfer. A graduate of Syracuse University, John works full-time in Social Influencer Marketing Strategy and is based out of Long Island, N.Y. He created thepgatout.com at the start of 2021 and co-hosts the Preferred Lines weekly podcast.

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