Ninety-six players will tee it up in this week's Masters Tournament at Augusta National, including world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who has won two of the past three editions of the year's first major.
Despite missing some time with a hand injury earlier this year, Scheffler still has not finished outside the top 25 this year. And while he hasn't won since the Hero World Challenge last December, there's no reason that Scheffler shouldn't be the favorite to win a third green jacket.
Augusta National looks a little different this year, mainly because of the many trees that were lost during Hurricane Helene. There are also four new greens, according to Rory McIlroy (Nos. 1, 8, 15 and 16). But it's still the same second-shot golf course that will favor elite approach play, crafty scramblers and strong putters, especially those who lag it well. With Scheffler coming off a strong putting performance in Houston, that bodes even better for him.
Starting with Scheffler, here's how I'd ranked the entire field:
1-10
1. Scottie Scheffler: Hasn’t gotten in the winner’s circle recently, but coming off a T-2 in Houston shows the two-time green jacket winner is primed to add to his dazzling record here. He’s still top-10 in the major ball-striking stats and enters this week ranked in the top 50 in strokes gained putting after a turnaround week on the greens at Memorial Park.
2. Collin Morikawa: Coming off his best Masters finish, a T-3, his third straight top-10 here. He’s also the PGA Tour’s leader in strokes gained approach and proximity, and is the hottest player according to Data Golf. A win Sunday would put him just a U.S. Open away from the career grand slam.
3. Justin Thomas: The model ranked Thomas first among PGA Tour players, as he’s top 10 in strokes gained approach and top 40 in strokes gained putting. Plus, he’s got three top-10s in his last four starts, so you can ignore those two straight missed cuts at Augusta that came when he was slumping.
4. Rory McIlroy: Enters this week with questions to answer about a right-elbow injury that he casually mentioned in Houston. But if he’s healthy, he’s got as good a chance as he’s had in a while. He’s won three of his last seven worldwide events and is nearly top 10 in strokes gained putting, but he’s not hit it particularly close this season (No. 87 in proximity).
5. Jon Rahm: Sunday’s T-9 at LIV Miami was his worst finish of the season. He’s third on that tour in greens hit, and he’s got a win and two other top-7s in his last five Masters starts.
6. Shane Lowry: His run of four straight top-20s includes three finishes of T-11 or better. And though he was T-43 last year at Augusta, he was T-3 two years prior as part of a run of four straight top-25s. He’s sixth in both proximity and strokes gained approach and nearly top 10 in lag putting. He’s the best outside of the no-brainer picks.
7. Russell Henley: Uncharacteristically average off the tee (barely inside the top 100), but top 25 in the other three major strokes-gained categories. And he’s got a win and two other top-6 finishes in his last five starts as he heads to a place where he tied for fourth two years ago.
8. Patrick Cantlay: Statistically in a much better spot than a year ago before this tournament when he tied for 22nd. He’s No. 1 in par-5 scoring, too.
9. Will Zalatoris: He doesn’t have a top-20 since AmEx, but he remains a top-15 or so ball-striker and excellent lag putter. Plus, his record at the Masters is crazy good – a second, T-6 and T-9.
10. Bryson DeChambeau: Slid back to fifth on Sunday at LIV Miami, but it was still his best finish since the season opener. Now, does he have ...
