📍 Part of our Masters 2026 Hub — pick tool, odds board, watch party guide, and more.
The Masters starts April 10th. That gives you roughly 12 days to get your pool organized before the first tee shot echoes down Magnolia Lane.
Here's exactly how to run one — with a free tool to handle the picks.
Why a Masters Pool Over Any Other Tournament
The Masters is the one major where everyone has an opinion. Your uncle who only watches golf twice a year still knows who Scheffler and Rory are. The storylines write themselves: defending champion trying to go back-to-back, the young Swede who nearly won on his debut, Tiger at 50.
That shared cultural context is exactly what makes Masters pools more fun than generic weekly pools. People are actually invested in how their picks shake out across all four rounds.
The 8-Category Format (140 Points)
This is the format we use at Bogeylicious. It's designed to stay interesting through Sunday even if someone has the winner picked correctly.
| # | Category | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tournament Winner | 25 |
| 2 | Pick a Top-5 Finisher | 20 |
| 3 | First-Time Major Winner? (yes/no) | 20 |
| 4 | Lowest Single Round | 15 |
| 5 | Tiger Makes the Cut? (yes/no) | 15 |
| 6 | Rory Finishes Top 5? (yes/no) | 10 |
| 7 | Will There Be a Playoff? (yes/no) | 10 |
| 8 | Tiebreaker: Winning Score (under par) | 5 |
| Total | 140 |
Why this works: Categories 4-7 give people something to root for even if their winner pick is eliminated by Saturday. The Tiger cut question is particularly fun — it generates debate every time.
How to Collect Picks
Option A: Group chat (easiest) Share the Masters 2026 Pool Picks tool with your crew. Everyone fills it out, hits "Copy to share," and pastes their picks into the group chat thread. No spreadsheet, no Google Form, no chasing people down.
Option B: Paper pick sheet Download our free printable pool sheet, print enough copies, and collect them physically before Thursday. Old school but it works.
Option C: Google Form If you have a big group (12+ people), a Google Form with the same 8 categories works well. Set it to close at 10:00 AM ET Thursday April 10.
The Payout Structure
Keep it simple:
| Pool Size | Entry | 1st Place | 2nd Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6-8 people | $20 | $100 | $30 |
| 9-12 people | $20 | $140 | $60 |
| 13-16 people | $25 | $200 | $90 |
| Any size | $10 | 70% | 30% |
Venmo works. Cash at the turn works better.
Tiebreaker rule: If two people are tied after all 8 categories, whoever predicted the winning score closest without going over wins.
The Field to Know Before Picking
You don't need to study tour stats to fill out a pool. Here's the short version:
Pick as your winner if:
- You want the most likely winner → Scottie Scheffler (+300)
- You want the defending champ angle → Rory McIlroy (+650)
- You want the best value bet in the field → Ludvig Åberg (+1400) — T2 on his Masters debut in 2024
Yes on Tiger's cut: He's made the cut in 4 of his last 7 Masters starts. Augusta is the one course on tour where age seems to move slower. Lean yes.
Yes on Rory top 5: He's finished T8 or better in four of his last six Masters starts. The defending champion angle, plus the monkey-off-the-back energy from his 2025 win — he's going to be in the mix.
Playoff: Historically about 1 in 8 Masters ends in sudden death. Say no unless you have a feeling.
Winning score: Recent history says somewhere between −10 and −15 under par. We'd say −12 is the sweet spot.
Lock Your Picks Before Thursday
The free picks tool is at the Masters 2026 Hub. Fill out all 8 categories, enter your name and email, and use the "Copy to share" button to drop your picks in the group chat.
Deadline: Thursday April 10 · 10:00 AM ET
Good luck. May your winner putt out on Sunday.
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