The 2026 Masters runs from April 9th to April 12th at Augusta National. The field is set at 91 players, and the usual Augusta rules apply: two rounds to make the cut, four rounds to win the Green Jacket. The tournament is listed in every sportsbook as one of the key events on the 2026 calendar.  

By April, the season has had enough time to show real trends, but not enough time to distinguish true favorites and possible upsets. However, we do see some early signs. Scottie Scheffler, Cameron Young, Akshay Bhatia, Collin Morikawa, and Matt Fitzpatrick have all already won in 2026, so plenty of big names are arriving at Augusta with real form behind them. This season has moved past the early feeling out stage and into something much more serious which is clear just by looking at US Masters picks and predictions.  

The rankings also paint a picture. Scottie Scheffler is still world No. 1, Rory McIlroy is No. 2, and Cameron Young has climbed to No. 3. Tommy Fleetwood sits fourth. That alone tells you what kind of Master's this could be. It’s not just about old Augusta specialists. It’s also about the fact that several of the players arriving in Georgia have spent the first few months of 2026 proving that their games are sharp enough to win a heavyweight event right now.

What Is Stake Signaling?

On Stake’s Augusta National golf betting preview, Scottie Scheffler is listed as the betting favorite, Rory McIlroy as the second favorite, and Jon Rahm as the joint third favorite, with Ludvig Aberg also highlighted as one of the leading threats. Golf experts also push the same message: this week is built around the major names, recent form, and the usual Augusta bias toward players who can drive it long, hit high level approach shots, and stay patient for four days.

Betting odds reflect the fans’ sentiment, Scottie Scheffler at +500, Jon Rahm at +900, Bryson DeChambeau at +1000, Rory McIlroy at +1200, Ludvig Aberg at +1400, Xander Schauffele at +1600, Cameron Young and Matt Fitzpatrick both at +2000, Tommy Fleetwood at +2200, Justin Rose at +2800, and Collin Morikawa at +3000.  

Scheffler is still the man everyone has to beat. Rahm and DeChambeau carry the LIV threat. McIlroy comes in as defending champion, but not as a favorite this year. Aberg is still treated like someone who could win this tournament any year now. Cameron Young and Fitzpatrick are being priced like genuine contenders. In all, that’s a strong board with big names and plenty of possibilities.  

Rory McIlroy Arrives with the Green Jacket

Rory won the 2025 Masters in a playoff over Justin Rose to complete the career Grand Slam. That was one of the biggest storylines in golf last year. Now he comes back trying to become the first repeat Masters champion since Tiger Woods in 2002. He’s making headlines but also carrying a massive pressure. On the other hand, the career Grand Slam chase is over. He’s no longer turning up to Augusta with that one huge unfinished item hanging over him.  

There’s still pressure, just a different version of it. McIlroy is the defending champion, and that changes the feel of the week. Every round gets compared to last year. Every bogey gets treated like a signal. Every stretch of poor play gets turned into a theory about a title defense going wrong. That’s part of why some markets have been a bit colder on him than you might expect for the reigning champion. One market even had him around +1200 to win, behind Scheffler, Rahm, and DeChambeau. That is respect, but not blind faith.

The other thing working against Rory is that Augusta usually punishes any small weakness in preparation. The good news for him is obvious: he knows how to win here now. The bad news is just as obvious: defending is harder. Also, he gets a Thursday morning start alongside Cameron Young and amateur Mason Howell, which puts him in one of the most watched groups right out of the gate. That can be an advantage if he finds his pace early, and a major setback if he doesn’t.  

Scottie Scheffler Is Still the Safest Pick

Scheffler comes into Augusta as world No. 1, a two time Masters champion, and already a winner on the PGA Tour in 2026. He has finished in the top 10 in each of his last four Masters starts and goes into this week as the clear favorite, including in Stake.com tournament preview.

Scheffler might have a successful Masters in Augusta because the course doesn’t ask him to cover up any of his obvious weaknesses. He doesn’t need an unusually hot start or a perfect putting week just to stay in the mix. He is strong tee to green, patient, and comfortable on this course. He was priced around +500 before the tournament, and even the talk about a slow start to his season says a lot when that run still included a win and several top finishes. That’s just the level he is judged by now.

Scheffler is the strongest outright pick on the board. There may be better value elsewhere, and there may be longer shots with more upside at bigger prices, but the straight question “Who is most likely to win the 2026 Masters?” still points back to him. That’s why he is a favorite almost everywhere you look, and why Stake put him at the top of its preview as well.

Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau Are the Big Non-PGA Threat

Rahm is a former Masters champion and one of the few players in this field who is completely familiar and comfortable in Augusta. Stake’s preview calls him a joint third favorite and points to his LIV Hong Kong win in March. Public market boards this week have put him as high as second favorite behind Scheffler at +900 which means that fans and bettors see him as a true threat this year.  

There’s also a simple Augusta truth with Rahm. He doesn’t need perfect conditions to play well here. He’s strong enough to handle the course when it gets heavy, precise enough to score when it opens up, and experienced enough not to get carried away when the middle of the round is going through an upset.  

Then there is Bryson, who might be the biggest problem for the rest of the field. Public odds have him around +1000 which puts him in third place. He has won the two most recent LIV events and is arriving at Augusta still doing Bryson things, including working on his own equipment and experimenting on the spot. That approach might look ridiculous right until it works. At Augusta, where so much of the course rewards confidence and commitment, that makes him a real problem.  

Bryson is not the automatic pick because Augusta can still expose reckless runs. But if you are looking for a player who could overpower parts of this tournament, he is one of the obvious answers. He’s not priced as a flier. He is priced as someone the market genuinely fears.

The Younger Wave

Ludvig Aberg has already finished second and seventh in his first two Masters starts, and that is a ridiculous beginning for any Augusta career. Stake’s preview brings him up for exactly that reason. He didn’t have the smoothest 2025, but this tournament could very well change that. Public odds around +1400 say the market still sees him as a near top tier threat, not just a promising name. That’s fair.

Cameron Young is another name we can’t leave out. He’s world No. 3, and he won THE PLAYERS Championship in March after rallying on Sunday at TPC Sawgrass. That’s a huge plus in his career before the Masters even starts. He is also in Rory’s group for the opening round, which means he will be under the spotlight immediately. Public odds of around +2000 are a real contender price. If his driver behaves and his putter stays cooperative, he absolutely has the game to sit on the first page of the leaderboard.

Akshay Bhatia’s game is more volatile. He won the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March, which is not a small thing. Bay Hill is one of the tougher tests on the schedule, and winning there says a lot about his ability to survive a hard golf course for four days. At around +6000 in the public market snapshot, he sits in the high risk, high reward section of the board.

The Value Section

If you don’t want to pay the favorite prices, the first place to look is usually the experience of players. Augusta is not impossible for newcomers, but it’s still a course where previous trials help. You need to know where misses become disasters, where the wrong side of a ridge turns a simple putt into a mess, and which pins are worth leaving alone. Stake’s own Master's betting tips point directly at course experience as one of the biggest factors this week.

That brings Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood, Hideki Matsuyama, Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed, and Matt Fitzpatrick into the spotlight. Rose pushed McIlroy all the way to a playoff last year. Fleetwood is one of the highest ranked players in the world and continues to hover around the edge of a major breakthrough. Matsuyama has already won this tournament. Spieth knows how to score at Augusta, so he can still be dangerous even when his week is not fully under control. Reed is a past champion. Fitzpatrick comes in off a March win at the Valspar and sits around +2000 in the public market, which is not bad at all for a player with discipline and control.

Morikawa is the tricky one. On pure quality, +3000 looks tempting. He won Pebble Beach in February, and when his iron play is right, he is one of the best in the world. The problem is health. PGA Tour reporting said he has been managing a back injury and is taking things day by day after the issue forced him out of THE PLAYERS. That doesn’t mean he can’t compete, but it does mean you are buying some uncertainty with the number.

Top Picks for This Year’s Masters

The first pick is Scottie Scheffler. Augusta already likes him. The ranking still likes him. The market still likes him. Stake’s own preview likes him. He is the most stable top end choice in the field by far.  

The second pick is Jon Rahm. He has the course history, the temperament, and enough recent form to justify the price. When he is fully locked in, no one can throw him off balance. That’s exactly the kind of player that has a chance to win here.  

The third pick is Cameron Young as the stronger value to play. A lot of people will naturally drift toward Aberg in that range, and for good reason, but Young arrives with a massive March win and a world No. 3 ranking. If he putts well for four days, he can absolutely win this tournament.

The fourth pick, for a longer shot than the main names, is Matt Fitzpatrick. The price is still good, he won recently, and Augusta doesn’t require one single style of golfer. Sometimes it rewards control and patience. Fitzpatrick has those things on his side.  

What To Expect at Augusta

This Master's does not feel like a one man show. Scheffler is the most logical winner, yes, but the week has more bite than that. McIlroy comes in with the Green Jacket and a very different emotional setup than last year. Rahm and Bryson pose a real danger to the top of the board from outside the PGA Tour Lane. Aberg and Cameron Young are young enough to bring some new energy to the tournament.  

The realistic forecast looks like this: Scheffler is the best outright pick, Rahm is the best alternative near the top, Cameron Young is the value name I like most, and Fitzpatrick is the more aggressive outside play. And if Augusta does what Augusta often does, at least one very famous name will spend the weekend trying to explain how a round that looked fine for 14 holes still fell apart.