📍 Part of our Masters 2026 Hub — your complete guide to Augusta week.
Three weeks. That's the window between now and the first tee shot at Augusta National.
We've spent months watching the odds board, tracking form, and arguing about who's actually built for Augusta. Here's where we've landed — our full predictions, with the reasoning that either makes us look smart in April or provides evidence for your group chat.
The Winner: Scottie Scheffler (+300)
The short price hurts. But sometimes the answer really is just the best player in the world.
Scheffler at Augusta isn't a narrative — it's a pattern. Six appearances. Zero finishes outside the top 20. A win in 2024. Runner-up form everywhere he's played in 2025. His ball-striking numbers are from a different planet than the rest of the field, and Augusta rewards ball-strikers above all else.
The knock on Scheffler has always been putting. In 2025 his putting held him back just enough for Rory to edge him out. If his putter gets within 5% of average, nobody beats him at Augusta National.
Our call: Scheffler wins the 2026 Masters. At +300 you're not getting rich, but if you want the most likely outcome, this is it.
The Value Play: Ludvig Åberg (+1400)
This is the pick we feel best about for anyone building a Masters portfolio of bets.
Åberg finished T2 at Augusta in his debut. He didn't flinch, didn't look awed, didn't drop shots when the moment got big. He played Augusta National like he'd been there a hundred times.
He's 26 years old. His combination of controlled length and iron precision is exactly what Augusta rewards. His miss is a slight draw — manageable at a course that allows you to play away from the right side on most holes.
The world hasn't fully priced him in yet. Once he wins a major — and he will — the price on him at Augusta will never be +1400 again.
Our call: Åberg top-5, good chance at top-3. Best value bet in the field.
The Intriguing Longshot: Bryson DeChambeau (+1400)
Hear us out.
Bryson's length advantage at Augusta is real and significant. He can hit wedges into par-5s that the rest of the field is hitting mid-irons into. On 13 and 15 — the two reachable par-5s — he's essentially playing a different course.
His game since the PGA Tour reunification has been the best golf of his career. And Augusta's setup — firm, fast, demanding distance control — suits his pattern of attack.
The risk: his short game still goes missing on big weeks. If Augusta's greens are at their fastest, his wedge game and putting have to hold. On a good week? He could win this. On a bad short-game week? He misses the cut.
Our call: Top-20 ceiling with top-5 upside. Flier worth taking a unit on.
The Fade: Jordan Spieth (+2800)
The narrative is good. The 2015 champion, the Augusta legend, the guy who shot 64 on Sunday in 2014 as a 20-year-old. There's always a Spieth redemption arc available.
The reality: Spieth hasn't seriously contended at Augusta since 2018. His short game — the foundation of everything he does — has been the most inconsistent part of his game for years. His ball-striking doesn't generate enough advantage to carry a bad short week at a course that punishes every miss.
At +2800, there are better stories. Hideki Matsuyama at +3000 (former champion who knows those greens), Tommy Fleetwood at +1800 (the best iron player you're underrating), or Viktor Hovland at +3000 if his short game has genuinely turned a corner.
Our call: Don't build your Masters bracket around Spieth's comeback story.
The Dark Horse: Tommy Fleetwood (+1800)
Fleetwood is the most underrated player in the Masters conversation every single year.
He's the best iron player not named Scheffler. He hits it to specific yardages by design, not by luck. His misses are small. His scrambling is elite. And at Augusta, where the second shot into greens determines everything, Fleetwood's iron game is a weapon.
He's never won a major. That's the knock. But his Augusta results (multiple top-15s) have been quietly excellent, and at +1800 you're getting legitimate contender odds on a player the casual betting market consistently undervalues.
Our call: Fleetwood top-10, real chance at top-5.
The Full Scorecard: Our Confidence Rankings
| Player | Odds | Our Rank | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scottie Scheffler | +300 | 1 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Ludvig Åberg | +1400 | 2 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Tommy Fleetwood | +1800 | 3 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Bryson DeChambeau | +1400 | 4 | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Rory McIlroy | +650 | 5 | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Xander Schauffele | +1600 | 6 | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Hideki Matsuyama | +3000 | 7 | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Jon Rahm | +1600 | 8 | ⭐⭐ |
| Viktor Hovland | +3000 | 9 | ⭐⭐ |
| Jordan Spieth | +2800 | 10 | ⭐ |
How to Play Your Bracket Pool
If you're filling out a pool sheet — use ours, it's free to download — here's a tiered strategy:
If your pool is winner-take-all: Pick Scheffler. Don't get cute. He's the most likely winner, and if you're splitting a pot, you want the guy most likely to win it.
If your pool awards points for top-5/top-10: Diversify. Scheffler in the top slot, Åberg second, Fleetwood third. Build in the dark horses where it costs you less.
If you're in a pick-em pool (just pick the winner): This is your spot to take a risk. Åberg at +1400 looks like the best risk/reward.
The One Prop Bet Worth Making
Ludvig Åberg top-5 finish.
Not the outright winner — we're not asking you to go all-in at any price. But top-5 for a player who finished T2 in his Augusta debut, has been playing elite golf, and is entering his peak at 26? That number will be meaningful.
Most books have this around +225 to +300 for a top-5. That's real value on a player who deserves to be shorter than Bryson DeChambeau in the field conversation.
Final Thoughts
The 2026 Masters has everything. The world No. 1 trying to add a second green jacket. The defending champion trying to do something almost no one does — repeat. A 26-year-old from Sweden who almost won his debut and doesn't look like he's going away. A villain in DeChambeau who the course suits in ways that are uncomfortable to admit.
Augusta in April. The azaleas in bloom. The patrons dressed like they're going to a very elegant church. There's nothing like it.
Pick Scheffler if you want to be right. Pick Åberg if you want to win money. And enjoy April 10th when it gets here — because no matter who's on the back nine Sunday, it's going to be worth watching.
→ Fill out your bracket here | Free pool sheet download | Full betting guide
Watch the Valspar Championship (March 19-22) for Masters form clues — our Valspar picks cover who's peaking heading into Augusta.
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