THE MASTERS: Though other tournaments can lay claim to being older, more challenging, or more democratic in nature, there is nothing in golf quite like The Masters, the springtime ritual begun by the great Bobby Jones nearly a century ago. Surely, Jones himself could have scarcely imagined that the torch he lit way back then would burn so brightly today, but indeed it does, and the course that he and Alister MacKenzie built to host the “masters of the game” has become one of the true cathedrals of the sport, a place people dream about visiting just so they can say they set foot on the grounds. Aside from possibly the Old Course, which is much more accessible, no other course in the world inspires such reverence.
Every living golfer has memories tied to The Masters, whether it’s watching the colors shine through the television screen as Jack or Tiger strode their way into the history books, or seeing players like Mickelson and McIlroy overcome by emotion as they washed away years of pent-up frustration and regret with ultimate triumph. Luckier still are those who have counted themselves among the patrons, navigating the hilly terrain and gazing in amazement at the immaculate grounds while enjoying a beer and a pimento cheese sandwich that costs less than a meal at McDonald’s. The Masters is about memories, about fathers and sons, about the rhythms of life and how, sometimes, sports and competition can be a window into something greater. Or maybe that’s hyperbole… I’m not trying to be Herbert Warren Wind here, and for some I’m sure this week carries no more significance than the Phoenix Open. For others, though, your humble author included, there’s nothing quite like Masters week.
The star of the show over the next four days, as it is every year, will be the golf course, the incomparable Augusta National. Known for its rolling hills, absence of rough, and freaky-fast greens, ANGC has been touched up, renovated, and lengthened several times throughout the years and is now once again a strenuous test after modern technology threatened to render it toothless. The layout favors a right-to-left shot off the tee, and though it’s not a bombers-only track, being long enough to reach all four par-5s in two is a tremendous advantage (I’d estimate that 60-70% of the field meet that criteria). The back nine may feature the most memorable stretch of holes in all of golf, Amen Corner (Nos. 11-13), but the front nine is a bit more difficult and lacks some of the risk/reward opportunities that are so prominent on the back. Iron play and a brilliant short game will be what’s required this week, as accuracy off the tee takes a bit of a backseat with the wide landing areas and minimal rough.
The field, as always, is smaller than what we see at any other major, and among the 91 players who will tee it up on Thursday are several amateurs and aging past champions. Defending champ Rory McIlroy (15.5) sits near the top of BETDAQ’s Win Market, with only Jon Rahm (13.5) and World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (7.6) saddled with shorter odds. Those three gentlemen are widely regarded as the top three players in the world and they happen to be the last three champions of this event, but there are other top-of-the-market types who are desperate to don the green jacket for the first time, Bryson DeChambeau (15.5) and Ludvig Aberg (19.5) foremost among them. And though we haven’t seen a true long-odds winner since Danny Willett in 2016 (tipped in this column, a decade ago), there are some very capable players with triple-digit prices next to their names. With that in mind, here’s what I’m thinking:
WIN MARKET
Recommendations to BACK (odds in parenthesis)
Ludvig Aberg (19.5)- Aberg seems to be a popular pick this week, and with good reason: after a lackluster start to the 2026 season he’s returned to form, with top-5 finishes in his last three starts, including a T5 at the Valero Texas Open last week. His ball-striking stats have been phenomenal over the past three weeks and he’s now up to 7th on Tour in strokes gained tee-to-green, while also ranking 14th in putting average and 15th in birdie-or-better conversion percentage. Most importantly, he’s shown great affinity for Augusta National in his two Masters appearances, finishing runner-up on debut in 2024 and solo 7th last year. Despite favoring a fade off the tee, Aberg has dominated the course tee-to-green and seems right at home in the high-pressure atmosphere. He’s my pick to win this week and I’m quite happy to get him anywhere around 20.0.
Patrick Reed (42.0)- Though he may not be everybody’s cup of tea off the course, Reed is a fierce competitor with a tremendous Masters record, having logged five top-15 finishes here since his victory in 2018, including a 3rd-place showing last year. An Augusta native whose game was seemingly built for Augusta National with his long draw off the tee and soft hands around the greens, Reed may have been largely out of sight for American golf fans these past few months, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been producing, as he’s logged two wins in five starts on the DP World Tour this season and is coming off a T10 in his most recent outing, the Joburg Open. He has a legit chance to win this week and is an absolute steal at better than 40/1.
Corey Conners (110.0)- Does Conners putt well enough to win The Masters? I think that’s always been the question with him, but it was asked about guys like Sergio Garcia and Hideki Matsuyama, too, until they broke through and silenced the critics. Conners certainly seems to have all the other ingredients, as his high, right-to-left ball-flight is perfect for navigating Augusta National and it’s led to some nice results here, as he’s found the top-10 in 4 of his past 6 appearances, including a T8 last year. He’s in good form, with top-15 finishes in his last two outings (Valspar, The Players), and his putting stats have been better than usual this season, particularly from 8-10 feet, where he ranks among the elite. Conners is a viable contender disguised as a longshot at a price like 110.0.
