Masters 2026 Big Board: Scheffler, McIlroy, and the top favorites

Any rating of Masters contenders should begin with the man who’s received this title in every of the final two even-numbered years, although Scheffler decidedly enters this week with maybe extra questions than in current reminiscence. He’s failed to complete inside the top 10 in his final three begins and inside the top 20 in his final two, whereas a closing tune-up two weeks in the past in Houston was canceled as a result of the start of his household’s second youngster. Even so, he’s nonetheless simply the world’s greatest participant and is aware of what it takes to win at Augusta.

With a Wikipedia web page suffering from yellow packing containers denoting top 10s at main championships, Schauffele lastly received his first two in 2024. Still, it’s tough to argue that he hasn’t performed the Masters higher than each the PGA Championship and The Open. In the final seven years, he has had a pair of top-three outcomes and 5 top 10s — and contemporary off top fives in his final two begins, he simply may be peaking at the proper time as soon as once more.

If confidence begets extra confidence, then Young is swimming in certainty proper now. He appeared like a unique individual after lastly profitable ultimately 12 months’s Wyndham Championship, then parlayed that into a superb week at the Ryder Cup. Now that he’s a Players Championship winner, having received because of a pair of clutch tee photographs on the closing two holes at TPC Sawgrass, he needs to be brimming with fearlessness when he steps onto the first tee on Thursday.

If you suppose this spot in the rating is simply too excessive for the 2015 champion, you then haven’t been paying consideration. It’s been 10 years since Spieth misplaced a five-shot lead on the again 9, which might’ve enabled him to go back-to-back, however he has three top-five finishes right here since then. His ball-striking has been very stable recently, and if he can keep away from an premature double-bogey — large if, in fact — then he has a good chance of being in the combine as soon as once more on a Sunday afternoon in Augusta.

When Thomas returned from offseason again surgical procedure at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, he acknowledged that his purpose was to be totally wholesome and in type for the Masters. After a 79-79 begin to miss the reduce, that appeared like a pipe dream, however he went T-8 and T-30 in his subsequent two begins and enters this week having seemingly shaken off any rust and different residual results from that damage. It stays a head-scratcher that on a second-shot course comparable to Augusta National, considered one of the world’s greatest iron gamers owns simply two top 10s and has missed the reduce in two of the final three years.

After returning to the PGA Tour at the starting of this season, Koepka appeared rusty for his first few begins earlier than a putter change appeared to take maintain, pairing with some strong-tee-to-green work to say three top 20s. Of course, any examination of Koepka’s efficiency earlier than the main championship season begins is completely incomplete, as the five-time main champion has by no means been shy about addressing how rather more the large ones imply to him than all the others.

What a distinction one follow swing could make. Four weeks in the past, Morikawa entered The Players contemporary off a win and two different top-seven outcomes, making him amongst the favorites to win that occasion. On the second gap of his week, although, he felt a tweak in his again and instantly withdrew. As they are saying on late-night infomercials: But wait, there’s extra. After committing to the discipline for final week’s Valero Texas Open, he was a Tuesday WD, as his supervisor informed Golf Channel he wasn’t but able to return. That’s an extended layoff, with loads of cause for skepticism heading into this one.

It doesn’t usually — OK, ever — occur {that a} participant wins a whopping 4 occasions on the PGA Tour earlier than making his first profession Masters look. Gotterup’s first victory got here at the alternate-field Myrtle Beach occasion two years in the past, which didn’t include an invite. And since final 12 months’s version of the event, he’s added three extra victories, together with two this season. He’s rapidly established himself as a no-nerve nearer who shouldn’t be overwhelmed by his first trek round this course.

In 2010, Henley completed T-16 to say low novice honors at the U.S. Open. Upon turning professional the following 12 months, he failed to complete inside the top 10 in his subsequent 31 main begins, however his main fortunes have paralleled his stand up the world rating, as he owns 5 top 10s in the previous three years. It’s tough to imagine he has what it takes to win, nevertheless it’s equally robust to suppose he received’t be someplace close to the top of the leaderboard.

Last 12 months, it was Ben Griffin who seemingly got here out of nowhere to claim himself as considered one of the PGA Tour’s brightest stars. This 12 months, it’s Bridgeman who’s adopted an identical flight path, having received at Riviera, which is so usually a harbinger of success in Augusta, and ending inside the top 20 in all eight begins thus far. It’s laborious to imagine he’s not solely making his Masters debut this week, however simply his third main championship look, with solely two missed cuts on his résumé thus far.

It takes a beefy tee-to-green sport to win at brutally robust Bay Hill, however Bhatia proved you possibly can overcome any deficiencies by making each putt you take a look at for 4 days. That may not be the system he needs to depend upon, nevertheless it’s not as if the lengthy sport has been a problem for him this season. He’s completed sixteenth or higher in every of his final 5 PGA Tour begins. His main championship document, although very early in his profession, stays a bit regarding, although, as he owns only a single top 25 in 9 profession begins.

There’s an adage stating {that a} participant had higher carry his A sport to Augusta, as a result of he’s not going to seek out it whereas driving down Magnolia Lane. Knapp is amongst the many nice surprises over the season’s first few months. His candy swing isn’t the solely envious asset, as he’s posted a half-dozen top 11 outcomes already this season. The subsequent step is to take this talent set to the majors, the place he’s but to publish a top-50 end in 4 profession begins.

Consider this considered one of the strangest finishing-position stats we’ve seen in recent times: English has made eight PGA Tour begins thus far this season and owns seven top 30 outcomes, however no top 20s. That’s proper, apart from a missed reduce at The Players Championship, he’s completed between twenty first and twenty eighth each single time, suggesting he may not have the firepower to contend for this week’s title — as he did at two majors final 12 months — however his ground is definitely palpable.