The Masters 2026 betting preview and free tips | It’s time to cook
Welcome to our betting preview for the 2026 Masters at the magnificent Augusta National course. We have run the rule over the market favourites and conclude this is an open edition with the live chance of a first-time major winner.
We will delve further into their prospects below, but in short Scottie Scheffler has not been in great form and has taken recent personal leave with his wife expecting their second child; defending champion Rory McIlroy has been fighting a dodgy back; Jon Rahm shines at Augusta but his game may have been blunted playing shorter events on the LIV Tour; the same could apply to Bryson DeChambeau, though we expect him to be in the mix; and Ludvig Aberg needs to show the killer instinct he lacked at the recent Players’ Championship, when we were all in on him to win and he came so close. Sigh.
The Masters, the first golf major of the year, tees off Thursday (US time), and we are increasingly confident in he chances of power-swinging Australian ace Min Woo Lee to break through, even if he is not even the best golfer in his own family.
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Lee has shown previously that his long driving and towering irons are perfectly suited to this course; at his Masters debut in 2022 he fired an astonishing 30 on the more difficult front nine. He’s had a few issues there since, including playing the event with a broken finger in 2024, but he’s getting close to the peak of his powers now and this could be his year at a juicy price.
The Masters tends to be a tournament where players who have done well in the past step up again in spite of recent form, and we have found a couple of other value contenders to step up alongside Min Woo Lee.
Read on for our thoughts on what we think is the best major in golf, or at least in a photo finish with the British Open for the honour.
American Scottie Scheffler is the $5 favourite to win the tournament, ahead of the likes of Bryson DeChambeau ($11), Rory McIlroy ($12)and Jon Rahm ($13) at betting sites.
The Masters details & betting
Dates, venue and tournament info
- Start: Thursday, April 9
- Venue: Augusta National Golf Club
- Sport: Golf
- Favourite: Scottie Scheffler ($5)
- Last year: Rory McIlroy
Masters outright winner odds
- Scottie Scheffler $5
- Bryson DeChambeau $11
- Rory McIlroy $12
- Jon Rahm $13
- Ludvig Aberg $15
- Xander Schauffele $15
- Tommy Fleetwood $23
- Cameron Young $23
- Collin Morikawa $26
- Matt Fitzpatrick $26
The Masters leading contenders
- Scottie Scheffler Best finish: 1st (2022, 2024): Scheffler is the modern ‘‘Master’’ of Augusta National. In six professional starts, he has never finished outside the top 20. He has two green jackets and his ball-striking is perfectly suited to the course. A newborn may disrupt his preparation but is still the world No.1.
- Rory McIlroy Best Finish: 1st (2025): After years of teasing – most notably his 2011 collapse and a runner-up finish in 2022 – McIlroy finally reached the mountaintop last year. By winning the 2025 Masters in a play-off against Justin Rose, he completed the career Grand Slam, joining the most elite club in golf. But he has been hampered by a lower back injury and has not played at his best for a while.
- Jon Rahm Best finish: 1st (2023): His four-shot victory in 2023 made him the fourth Spaniard to wear the green jacket (joining Rodriguez, Olazábal, and Garcia). He remains a perennial threat due to his high ball flight and aggressive putting. He has recorded five top-10 finishes at Augusta in just nine starts.
- Bryson DeChambeau Best finish: T5 (2025): For years, DeChambeau’s ‘‘par 67’’ comments and analytical approach seemed at odds with Augusta’s nuances. However, he has recently cracked the code. After a strong T6 in 2024 where he held the first-round lead, he followed it up with a career-best T5 in 2025. His game has evolved from pure power to a more disciplined strategy.
- Ludvig Åberg Best finish: 2nd (2024) The Swedish phenom has had a historic start to his Masters career. In 2024, he finished solo second in what was not only his Masters debut but his first start in a major championship. He proved it was no fluke by finishing seventh last year after being tied for the lead late on Sunday. He is widely considered the ‘‘next’’ first-time winner.
The Masters betting tips
Our golf betting expert has assessed the markets and found some value betting tips for the Masters:
Best bet: Min Woo Lee to win at $46, top five at TBA
The Chef is cooking lately. This fan favourite has a booming game and he is growing all the time in consistency. He has not missed a cut on the PGA tour this season and his standout performance was a T2 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, where he pushed for the win late on Sunday. He has maintained that momentum through the “Florida Swing” and beyond, recently recording a T6 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and a T3 at the Texas Children’s Houston Openjust last week. He has a huge social media following and we feel his time has come to let the reality match the hype.
Best Masters roughie: Jake Knapp at $61
What an emotional story it would be if the 31-year-old could make his big breakthrough in this event. Knapp is a powerful player well suited to the course. He lost his girlfriend Makena White to a heart condition in September last year. Knapp sizzled home with an eight-under-par final round at the Houston Open last week, and he is a player who can really go low. He might also be worth backing in categories such as low first round. Knapp is a real talent who is ready to enter the game’s upper echelons.
Best value bet: Corey Conners each-way
Ultra consistent Canadian. If his putting ever catches up to his ball-striking, he will be a top five player in the world. In any case, Conners is a great bet to finish in the top 10.
Past 10 Masters winners
| Year | Winner | Score |
| 2025 | Rory McIlroy | 277 (-11) |
| 2024 | Scottie Scheffler | 277 (-11) |
| 2023 | Jon Rahm | 276 (-12) |
| 2022 | Scottie Scheffler | 278 (-10) |
| 2021 | Hideki Matsuyama | 278 (-10) |
| 2020 | Dustin Johnson | 268 (-20) |
| 2019 | Tiger Woods | 275 (-13) |
| 2018 | Patrick Reed | 273 (-15) |
| 2017 | Sergio García | 279 (-9) |
| 2016 | Danny Willett | 283 (-5) |
