SportsLine's model simulated the 2026 Masters 10,000 times and revealed its surprising PGA Tour picks for Augusta National
By Ross Kelly Apr 7, 2026 at 10:00 pm ET • 4 min read 
Imagn Images Augusta National Golf Club received 91 accepted invitations to the 2026 Masters, and there are 17 past champions in the field this week, including world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. The 2022 and 2024 Masters champion has topped the Official World Golf Ranking for nearly three consecutive years now and collected his 20th career PGA Tour victory earlier this year. Now he'll seek to become only the sixth golfer of all-time to win a third green jacket and the 22nd to win at least five major championships.
Scheffler finished solo fourth last season and has finished top 10 in four straight trips to the Masters with two wins, so it comes as little surprise that he's the +500 favorite in the 2026 Masters odds. He's followed on the board by Jon Rahm (+1000), Bryson DeChambeau (+1000), Rory McIlroy (+1300) and Xander Schauffele (+1500), with the first tee times coming at 7:40 a.m. ET on Thursday. Before locking in any 2026 Masters picks, be sure to see the 2026 Masters predictions and projected leaderboard from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
SportsLine's proprietary model, built by DFS pro Mike McClure, simulated every PGA Tour event 10,000 times and reveals golf betting picks that have a history of being extremely profitable.
This same model has also nailed a whopping 16 majors entering the weekend, including the 2025 Masters -- its fourth Masters in a row -- as well as last year's PGA Championship and Open Championship. Anyone who has followed its sports betting picks could have seen huge returns on betting sites.
Now that the 2026 Masters field is locked in, the model simulated the tournament 10,000 times, and the results were surprising. Head to SportsLine now to see the projected leaderboard.
2026 Masters predictions
One major surprise the model is calling for at the Masters 2026: Ludvig Aberg, one of the favorites and a golfer who has had two strong Masters appearances, finishes well outside of the top 5 this year. Despite never finishing higher than T12 at any other major, Aberg has been extremely comfortable at Augusta, finishing solo seventh and solo second in his only two appearances.
Strokes gained: approaching the green, however, is a critical stat at Augusta, and Aberg has been mid-tier in that area this year, ranking 36th on the PGA Tour. Aberg only finishes in the top 5 around 25% of the time in McClure's simulations for the Masters 2026, making him a golfer to fade in Masters best bets. See who else to fade here.
Another surprise: Tommy Fleetwood, a +2200 longshot, makes a strong run at the title. He has a much better chance to win it all than his odds imply, so he's a target for anyone looking for a huge payday. Fleetwood is currently the No. 4 player in the Official World Golf Ranking and has recorded top-10 finishes in four of the last five events that he's played.
The 35-year-old Englishman finally got the monkey off his back with his first PGA Tour win at the Tour Championship last season and now he'll look to right another wrong with his first major championship. Fleetwood has made the cut in each of his last eight trips to Augusta and recorded a career-best T-3 finish at the Masters in 2024. His short game should come in handy this week as well, as he's second on tour in strokes gained: around the green (0.712). See who else to pick here.
How to make 2026 Masters picks
The model is also targeting two more stunning longshots higher than +4000, including one going off around +8000, to surge to the top of the leaderboard, potentially bringing a massive return. You can only see who they are at SportsLine.
Who will win the 2026 Masters, and which massive longshots will stun the golfing world? Check out the 2026 Masters odds below and then visit SportsLine to see the projected leaderboard, all from the model that's nailed 16 golf majors, including three in 2025.
2026 Masters odds, field, favorites
Get full 2026 Masters picks, best bets and predictions here. (odds via FanDuel and subject to change)
Scottie Scheffler +500 Bryson DeChambeau +1000 Jon Rahm +1000 Rory McIlroy +1300 Xander Schauffele +1500 Matt Fitzpatrick +1800 Ludvig Åberg +1800 Cameron Young +2200 Tommy Fleetwood +2200 Hideki Matsuyama +2700 Justin Rose +2700 Robert MacIntyre +3000 Min Woo Lee +3300 Collin Morikawa +3500 Patrick Reed +4000 Brooks Koepka +4000 Chris Gotterup +4500 Russell Henley +4500 Si Woo Kim +4500 Jordan Spieth +4500 Viktor Hovland +5000 Shane Lowry +6000 Nicolai Højgaard +6000 Jake Knapp +6500 Justin Thomas +6500 Akshay Bhatia +6500 Maverick McNealy +6500 Adam Scott +7000 J.J. Spaun +7000 Patrick Cantlay +7000 Sepp Straka +8000 Tyrrell Hatton +8000 Jacob Bridgeman +8000 Jason Day +8000 Sungjae Im +10000 Sam Burns +10000 Harris English +10000 Corey Conners +10000 Cameron Smith +10000 Marco Penge +10000 Daniel Berger +12500 Kurt Kitayama +12500 Gary Woodland +12500 Rasmus Højgaard +15000 Ben Griffin +15000 Keegan Bradley +15000 Aaron Rai +15000 Alex Noren +15000 Ryan Gerard +15000 Sam Stevens +17500 Harry Hall +17500 Wyndham Clark +17500 Aldrich Potgieter +17500 Brian Harman +17500 Max Homa +17500 Ryan Fox +22500 Casey Jarvis +22500 Kristoffer Reitan +22500 Nick Taylor +25000 Dustin Johnson +25000 Nicolas Echavarria +25000 Carlos Ortiz +25000 Michael Kim +25000 Max Greyserman +35000 Sergio Garcia +35000 Haotong Li +35000 Matt McCarty +35000 Andrew Novak +35000 Tom McKibbin +35000 Sami Valimaki +50000 Michael Brennan +50000 Bubba Watson +50000 John Keefer +50000 Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen +50000 Charl Schwartzel +50000 Zach Johnson +50000 Davis Riley +75000 Angel Cabrera +100000 Mason Howell +100000 Fifa Laopakdee +100000 Ethan Fang +100000 Brian Campbell +100000 Vijay Singh +100000 Jose Maria Olazabal +100000 Brandon Holtz +100000 Naoyuki Kataoka +100000 Danny Willett +100000 Jackson Herrington +100000 Fred Couples +100000 Mateo Pulcini +100000 Mike Weir +100000
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