10 Golfers Who Could Win the 2026 Masters: Best Bets, Masters History and Stats

It's Masters week!

After Rory McIlroy got his long-awaited Masters title last year, what will the 2026 Masters have in store for us?

Using the 2026 Masters odds from FanDuel Sportsbook, let's look at 10 of this year's top contenders.

All golf odds come from FanDuel Sportsbook and may change after this article is published.

Masters Best Bets, Top Contenders for 2026

Scottie Scheffler is the current FanDuel favorite for the 2026 Masters at +380, with Rory McIlroy next at +1000. Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm are both listed at +1200, while Ludvig Aberg and Xander Schauffele sit at +1600.

That gives you the market’s top tier, but Augusta is never just about raw odds. Course history, iron play, short-game control and whether a player arrives with the right kind of form still matter more here than almost anywhere else.

Below is a shortlist profiling the top 10 potential winners entering Masters week -- based on history, recent results and stats.

Scottie Scheffler (+380)

Scheffler still starts as the most likely winner because his Augusta floor is absurdly high. The Masters’ official player page notes he is making his seventh start and has already won twice, in 2022 and 2024, while never finishing outside the top 20 at Augusta National. That is exactly the kind of course-history profile you want from the betting favorite.

The recent form is good enough to keep him at the top even if it has not been quite as relentless as peak Scheffler. Masters.com says he won at La Quinta earlier this year and finished inside the top four in both Phoenix and Pebble Beach. PGA TOUR stats also show he enters the week third in Strokes Gained: Total, third in scoring average, and first in birdie average.

The only pre-Masters wrinkle is logistical, not physical: Scheffler withdrew from Houston because he and his wife are expecting their second child. That is not an injury concern, but it does mean one fewer competitive rep before Augusta. Even so, nobody in the field combines this level of course comfort and baseline ball-striking.

Rory McIlroy (+1000)

McIlroy’s Augusta story changed completely last year. His Masters player page says he won the 2025 Masters in a playoff over Justin Rose to complete the career Grand Slam, becoming just the sixth player to achieve it. That matters because the old “can Rory handle the pressure at Augusta?” angle is gone now.

The form case is still strong even though the run-up has been a little uneven. PGA TOUR’s player profile lists McIlroy second in the world, fourth in Strokes Gained: Total, and 11th in driving distance. He also had one top-10 and two top-25 finishes through his first four PGA TOUR starts of 2026. Augusta remains one of the few places where elite driving can still separate even when everyone in the field is world-class.

The issue is the back. McIlroy said recently that he is still recovering, and reports around his Champions Dinner media session said the problem was improving but not fully gone. That does not take him off the board, but it does make him slightly harder to trust at a short number than Scheffler.

Bryson DeChambeau (+1200)

DeChambeau has become a much better Augusta fit than the old “bomb-and-gouge” caricature suggested. His Masters page says he has finished inside the top six in each of the past two years at Augusta National, which is a meaningful shift for a player who once looked mismatched with the course.

The recent form is exactly what you want to see from a LIV player heading into a major. Masters.com notes he won in Singapore in March and finished T3 in Australia in February. LIV’s own coverage adds that he won Singapore in a playoff after closing with a 5-under 66. That is not just decent form; that is genuine win equity arriving at the year’s first major.

The betting case is straightforward: if DeChambeau’s driver behaves, his combination of length and improved touch around Augusta’s greens makes him one of the most dangerous ceiling plays in the field. He is not as automatic as Scheffler, but he is absolutely one of the likeliest winners.

Jon Rahm (+1200)

Rahm remains one of the cleanest Augusta horses in the field. The Masters says he is making his 10th start, won here in 2023, has five top-10 finishes in his first eight Masters appearances, and has never missed the cut at Augusta National. That is elite course-history territory.

His LIV form has sharpened at the right time. Masters.com says he won in Hong Kong earlier this year and finished runner-up in Saudi Arabia, Australia, and South Africa. LIV’s Hong Kong recap says the win ended a 539-day individual drought and came with rounds of 66-62-65-64, a sign that the highest gear is back.

Rahm is one of the easier players to envision winning because he can contend at Augusta in more than one way. He can overpower it, but he can also plot around it. When his irons are sharp, the course sets up beautifully for him.

Ludvig Aberg (+1200)

Aberg is still looking for his first major, but Augusta already looks like one of his best major venues. The Masters’ player page notes that he finished runner-up in his Masters and major debut in 2024, then was tied for the lead with Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose late on Sunday in 2025 before finishing seventh. Two starts, two serious chances.

The current form is good enough to keep him in the top tier. Masters.com says he finished T3 at Bay Hill and T5 at THE PLAYERS this March, and his page also notes he won in San Diego last year. That is the profile of a player who is still building, not one who is searching.

The reason Aberg feels so live here is that Augusta rewards elite long-iron play and comfort on sloping greens, and he already looks natural in both departments. For a player with so little Masters experience, his course-read is unusually advanced.

Xander Schauffele (+1600)

Schauffele is almost always one of the safer major-championship bets because he brings such a high all-around floor. His Masters page says he has finished inside the top 10 at Augusta National in five of the past seven years. That kind of repeatability matters at a place where some elite players still never quite solve the puzzle.

The recent signs are encouraging. Masters.com says he finished third at THE PLAYERS in March, and a fresh report also notes he sits ninth in the FedExCup. PGA TOUR coverage around his recent starts shows he is building momentum rather than chasing it.

What keeps Schauffele in this top 10 is not mystery or upside theater. It is that his complete game travels, and Augusta rewards complete games. If you want someone who is very likely to put himself in position by Saturday night, he belongs near the top of the board.

Collin Morikawa (+2700)

Morikawa is one of the strongest pure ball-striking cases in the field. His Masters page says he is making his seventh start and has finished inside the top 20 at Augusta National in each of the past five years. He was also T3 here in 2024, which proved he can contend deep into a Masters, not just accumulate another tidy finish.

His recent results before the injury scare were excellent. Masters.com says he won Pebble Beach earlier this year and finished fifth at Bay Hill. PGA TOUR stats show he ranks second in SG: Approach and first in greens in regulation percentage, which is exactly the statistical shape you want for Augusta.

The caution flag is the back. Morikawa withdrew from THE PLAYERS after hurting it on a practice swing, and that is the kind of late lead-in issue you cannot ignore before Augusta. If healthy, he belongs on any contender list. If not fully healthy, the ceiling remains but the confidence level drops a notch.

Hideki Matsuyama (+2700)

Matsuyama is one of the easiest names to justify on Augusta history alone. His Masters page says he is making his 15th start, won here in 2021, has made the cut in each of the past 11 Masters, and has posted top-20 finishes in eight of the past 10 years. That is as sturdy an Augusta résumé as almost anyone in the field.

The current statistical profile is also quietly strong. PGA TOUR numbers show Matsuyama ranks 14th in SG: Approach, 17th around the green, second in scrambling, and 35th in SG: Total. His 2026 tournament results also include a runner-up in Phoenix and a top-10 at Pebble Beach. That blend of iron play and recovery is incredibly relevant at Augusta.

He is not the flashiest outright ticket on the board, but he makes a ton of sense as a realistic winner. Augusta tends to reward memory, discipline, and high-end approach play, and Matsuyama still checks all three boxes.

Justin Thomas (+5000)

Thomas is a tougher call than the players above him, but he still belongs on a top-10 contender board because the upside is obvious. His Masters page says he is making his 11th start and has top-25 finishes in six of his previous 10 appearances, including fourth in 2020 and T8 in 2022. The upside at Augusta has shown up, even if it has not yet become a truly sustained contending record.

The form case is more about trending than dominance. Masters.com says he won at Hilton Head in 2025 and also had runner-up finishes in La Quinta, Tampa, and Philadelphia last year. PGA TOUR coverage around this spring has kept him visible in the betting markets, and he was runner-up at Valspar in 2025.

Thomas is not as clean a fit as Scheffler or Rahm because his Augusta results have been more uneven, but if the irons spike for four days, he has the imagination and scoring ability to win this thing. He is more volatile than the top tier, yet the winning path is easy to see.

Brooks Koepka (+3000)

Koepka is the classic major-only inclusion: maybe not the best week-to-week bet, but still very dangerous when the biggest stages arrive. The Masters says he is making his 11th start, was runner-up here in both 2019 and 2023, and has top-seven finishes at Augusta in three of the past six years. That is enough course evidence to keep him firmly in the conversation.

The form line is less convincing than the top names, which is why he is down here rather than up with Rahm and DeChambeau. Masters.com highlights a fourth-place finish in the French Open and a T12 at the U.S. Open in 2025, but there is not the same recent momentum signal here that some of the others have.

Still, Augusta has already shown that Koepka’s power and major temperament translate. He is not the safest pick, but among the longer-odds elite names, he remains one of the more believable Green Jacket outcomes.

Conclusion

If I were ranking the best outright win cases entering the 2026 Masters, I would start with Scheffler, then McIlroy, then a second tier of Rahm, DeChambeau, Aberg, and Schauffele. After that, Morikawa would be next if his back checks out, followed by Matsuyama, with Thomas and Koepka rounding out the top 10. FanDuel’s current odds broadly agree with the top of that board, especially on Scheffler, McIlroy, Rahm, Bryson, Aberg, and Schauffele.

The most complete combination of Augusta history and current form still belongs to Scheffler. The most fascinating threat is McIlroy because the pressure dynamic is completely different now that he has already won here. And the two names I’d call most dangerous relative to public perception are Matsuyama and Morikawa, assuming Morikawa’s back is not a lingering issue.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.