Ah, the first Major of the year. Since 1934, Augusta truly has been a tradition unlike any other. It is the only major held at the same venue every year. Amateur golf champion Bobby Jones and investment banker Clifford Roberts founded the Masters Tournament and then Jones and Alister Mackenzie designed the former plant nursery into the iconic course it is today. From the iconic par 3 12th, to the green jacket awarded to the winner of the tournament, so many things make the Masters a truly special tournament. It is the only major that is invitation only, making the field smaller than the other majors. Before we tell you the 16 guys who can win, let’s cross a few names off the list…
6 Players Who Will Not Win The Masters (and Talor Gooch)
Bryson DeChambeau: In his last 16 rounds in the Masters, DeChambeau has racked up an incredible 15 double bogeys or worse. DeChambeau has missed the cut twice (2022 and 2023) in seven starts at Augusta. His best finish is T29. Bryson has had four top 10 finishes in a row on the LIV Tour, but in a 48-man field, that feels a lot less impressive. DeChambeau has the same problem he always does, he hits a monster drive and then his short game crumbles. You’ll see more of that at Augusta this year.
Xander Schauffele: Xander has had a very good start to his season – 6 top-10s in 8 tournaments this season with no missed cuts. He is 8th in strokes gained off the tee and 19th in strokes gained on approach. Schauffele has 3 top-10s in the last five years at the Masters. He just got a runner-up at The Players. But Xander just can’t seem to get an outright victory. Schauffele has never won a major, and this one will not be his first.
Patrick Cantlay: This will be Cantlay’s 8th Masters appearance. He’s made the cut 5/7 times with one top-10 finish in 2019. Last year, Cantlay finished T14. Cantlay has had a decent start to 2024 with 7/7 cuts made, 1 top-10, and 2 top-15 finishes. Cantlay has been solid putting this season, but is a putrid 149th in strokes gained on approach. That will not get it done at Augusta. Cantlay has also opted to miss the last three PGA events. That is a lengthier time away from competition before a major. Maybe it will help, but Cantlay’s track record says otherwise.
Collin Morikawa: Morikawa is 4/4 on cuts made at the Masters. Morikawa finished 5th at the Masters in 2022 and T-10 in 2023. Morikawa started this season boom or bust, either finishing top-20 or missing the cut in his first five tournaments. This season, Morikawa ranks 164th in putting. Putting is everything with the rolling greens at Augusta.
Justin Thomas: JT is without Bones for the first time since 2021. Although the duo only had one PGA Tour win together (2022 PGA Championship), changing caddies before a major is a very interesting move. Matt Minister will be JT’s temporary caddie and on his bag for the Masters. Minister was formerly Cantlay’s caddie and helped him for all 8 of his PGA Tour wins (no majors). JT is a heck of a golfer, but with his slump the past two years and a brand new caddie, Augusta may look rough for him. JT missed the cut at the Masters last year.
Dustin Johnson: DJ won the 2020 Masters. In his 13 appearances at the Masters, he has 5 top-10s (including his win). However, in the last three years, he finished cut, T-12, and T-48. Since joining LIV, DJ only has three wins (albeit one of them recently– Feb 10, 2024). Fans keep waiting for DJ to be the dominant golfer they remember, but he just doesn’t seem to have the same fire he once used to. He has struggled with driving accuracy for much of his career and he’s only hitting about 50% of fairways this year on LIV. The thick rough at Augusta is going to make things very difficult for DJ.
Talor Gooch: Talor Gooch is not even in the field this year, but we had to make the point that even if he was, he would have no shot. Gooch made the bold statement that if Rory McIlroy were to complete the Grand Slam by winning the Masters in April, it will come with an asterisk. This is because “some of the best players wouldn’t be in the field.” He was referring to himself, but Gooch has never been one of the best players and would have no shot at winning the Masters even if he was in the field. So no, Talor, you will likely never win a Masters and if Rory wins, there is definitely no asterisk since all of the actual best players were invited.
Ok, now that that’s out of the way, here are the only 16 guys with a chance to earn a green jacket this weekend.
Scottie Scheffler
8 PGA Tour Wins (2022 Masters, 2023 & 2024 Players)
Well, the world number 1 has been on an absolute tear this year. How about being the first golfer in history to win back-to-back times at The Players Championship? Scheffler has played in seven tournaments this year and has six top 10 finishes. His worst tournament? A T-17 at The American Express. That is ridiculous. Scottie has 2 wins already this season.
Scheffler has played at Augusta four times and has finished top-20 every single time, including a win in 2022 and T-10 in 2023. This is only Scheffler’s third year on tour and he will definitely win another major this year. When his putter is on, the rest of the field has no chance.
Cam Smith
6 PGA Tour Wins (2022 The Open, 2022 Players), 3 LIV Golf Wins
Cam Smith left the PGA Tour at the height of his greatness. He has remained consistent on LIV and picked up 3 wins and a recent runner-up in a playoff loss in Hong Kong. In seven appearances at the Masters, Cam has four top-10s. Last year, Smith finished a disappointing T-34. On the LIV Tour this year, Cam is first overall in putting. Putting is always the magic stat that seems to predict success. If the putter is hot and Smith is driving the ball with accuracy, this could be a massive week for him.
Joaquin Niemann
2 PGA Tour Wins, 2 LIV Golf Wins
Speaking of someone who’s been playing lights out, how about 4 top 10s in 5 tournaments, including 2 wins for the Chilean? Niemann was incredibly skilled when he started on the PGA Tour and has only gotten better since he moved to LIV. Niemann ranks 2nd in driving distance, 4th in greens in regulation, and 10th in putting on the LIV Golf League this year. He had his best Masters finish ever last year (T-16) and has gotten better each year he’s participated in the tournament. If Niemann brings any of that firepower to Augusta this week, watch out.
Jon Rahm
11 PGA Tour Wins (2021 U.S. Open, 2023 Masters),Â
Rahmbo has played in five LIV tournaments so far, and has finished top 10 in every single one of them. You don’t really need me to convince you that last year’s champ has a shot at the Masters this year, but in case you forgot about his greatness, Rahm is 2nd in approach on LIV and first in birdies. His driving distance and putting have been very solid this year, and you already know Rahmbo can perform under pressure. He will likely be coming to Augusta with a chip on his shoulder, ready to remind the world that Scheffler isn’t the only badass in town.
Viktor Hovland
6 PGA Tour Wins
Hovland has had 3 top 10s at three different majors in his career. That first major win has eluded Hovland thus far, but this may be his year. Hovland has never missed a cut in his four Masters appearances, and last year was his best finish yet (T-7). Although Hovland doesn’t have any wins to start 2024, he has not missed a cut in the five events he’s played. At the end of last season, Hovland went on a heater, winning the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship back-to-back. Hovland has been good off the tee and putting this year, but needs to get his approach shots back to where they were last season. We give Hovland an outside shot to win the 2024 Masters.
Hideki Matsuyama
9 PGA Tour Wins (2021 Masters)
After a winless 2023 campaign, Hideki had a big win at The Genesis Invitational in February. Hideki has made the cut in all nine tournaments he’s played this year, and in the last three tournaments, has finished T-12, T-6, and T-7. His T-7 was last week at the Valero Texas Open. There is something to be said about momentum in golf and Hideki certainly has it right now. His drives are looking similar to that of his impressive Masters run in 2021. He looks very comfortable on the golf course this season and seems to be playing at the top of his game. Hideki would certainly like to add to his list of big tournaments won and another Masters would be a huge win to add to the trophy case.
Tyrrell Hatton
1 PGA Tour Win
You may be wondering why a guy with 1 PGA Tour win is on this list as a guy who can win the Masters. Especially when that one win was in 2020. Well, Hatton was a very good golfer his final year on the PGA Tour before joining LIV in 2024. In his final PGA season, Hatton was 7th in strokes gained putting, 15th off the tee, and 30th on approach. Every aspect of his game was firing and he had some impressive finishes, including a 2nd at the 2023 Players (which is arguably one of the hardest courses on the PGA). Now on LIV, he has remained strong in the short game (4th in putting, 8th in scrambling) and has picked up a T-4 and T-8 in his first 5 starts. Hatton has proven he can perform in the bigger tournaments and we like him as another outside shot looking in to win this thing.
Wyndham Clark
3 PGA Tour Wins (2023 U.S. Open)
I think it’s fair to say Wyndham Clark is at the top of his game. After two PGA Wins in 2023 including a major, his 2024 campaign is off to a sizzling start. Clark won the Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February and took 2nd at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and T-2 at The Players. Clark has never played in the Masters, but was able to win the U.S. Open after missing the cut twice. Inexperience may be a hindrance, but for a guy playing this well and a clear ability to win the big tournaments, you cannot count Clark out right now. And just for full transparency, Clark is 3rd overall in strokes gained this year.
Brooks Koepka
9 PGA Tour Wins (2017 & ’18 U.S. Open, 2018, ’19, ’23 PGA Championship), 3 LIV Wins
You already know how good Koepka is. He has five majors. While he has not won the Masters yet, he has two T-2 and a T-7 finish at the Masters. In his T-2 at last year’s Masters, Koepka gave it all away on the last day. This kind of collapse is likely still haunting him. Koepka will come back with a fire we haven’t seen before, ready to claim his first green jacket.
Lucas Glover
6 PGA Tour Wins (2009 U.S. Open)
Lucas Glover is experiencing a bit of a resurgence. Glover won his first PGA event in 2005. Last year, he capped off the season with back-to-back wins at the Wyndham Championship and the FedEx Championship. Glover is a fantastic iron player and one of the most accurate golfers out there. At Augusta, you need all the tricks in your bag and accuracy is no exception. If Glover can putt like he did toward the end of last season, he is a contender this weekend.
Sahith Theegala
1 PGA Tour Win
Why is Sahith on this list? Because everyone likes the guy and it is only a matter of time before the young golfer collects his first major. Last year was his first appearance at Augusta and Sahith finished 9th. Theegala has played in nine events this year and has four top-10 finishes. He is 13th in putting and 14th in strokes gained off the tee this year. Sahith’s final round at Augusta last year was his best (67) proving that the experience he gained in his first Masters should only help him this year. He may not be an odds favorite, but he will be a fan favorite out there for sure.
Cam Young
0 PGA Tour Wins, 6 Runner-Ups
Zero PGA Tour wins will not last for long. Cam Young is only 26 years old and has only been on the tour since 2022. With that, Young has six runner-ups including two top-3 finishes in major events. He clearly performs well on the biggest stages and has the skillset to win at a tough course like Augusta. Cam finished T-7 at the Masters last year after being cut in his first start the year before. This will be a huge week for a Cam Young playing the best he ever has.
Phil Mickelson
45 PGA Tour Wins (6 Major Wins– 3 Masters)
Talk about a pedigree. And at 53, the guy can still play. He came in 2nd at last year’s Masters and finished the tournament with a final day -7. With a PGA Championship win in 2021 and a 2nd place finish at the Masters last year, there just doesn’t seem to ever be a time that you can count Phil out. Phil is healthy and playing good golf this year. While all eyes will be on Tiger, Phil is a much better bet as a seasoned veteran to win this tournament. Let’s see if he still has some more magic left in the tank.
Rory McIlroy
24 PGA Tour Wins (4 Major Wins)
While we could put McIlroy on this list solely to spite Talor Gooch, McIlroy is actually in a phenomenal position to complete the elusive Grand Slam. McIlory’s best finish was 2nd in 2022. And while Rory did miss the cut at Augusta last year, he has been playing some fantastic golf this year after taking a step back from some of his administrative roles within the PGA. Rory has not missed a cut this year on the PGA Tour and has one win and one T-2 in the two events he’s played on the DP World Tour this year. Rory finished 3rd last week at the Valero Texas Open. Rory is 4th in strokes gained off the tee this year and if he can get the putter going at Augusta this weekend, Talor Gooch will have to challenge him to make sure his Masters win counts.
Russell Henley
4 PGA Tour Wins
Remember that whole thing about momentum? Russell Henley is coming off a fourth place finish last week at the Valero Texas Open and finished T-4 at the Masters last year. Henley’s last PGA Tour win was in 2022, but every time he is invited to the Masters, he capitalizes. He has been invited seven times since 2013 and only missed the cut in his first year there. His worst finish was T-31 and his best came last year with T-4 and an impressive 67 in the 2nd round of the tournament. Henley is definitely our reach for a pick, but if he wins it, you heard it here first.
Jordan Spieth
13 PGA Tour Wins (2015 Masters, 2015 U.S. Open, 2017 The Open Championship)
Spieth has quite the resume, we all know that. Some of you may think he hasn’t been the same golfer now for quite a few years (only two wins from 2018-present). But Spieth is starting to look a little like his old self. Spieth has played in seven tournaments this year with three top-10 finishes (not including his DQ for a scorecard issue). Spieth finished T-4 in the Masters last year and shot an impressive 66 in the fourth round. Spieth won the Masters in 2015 and has been circling the event for the past few years. He is playing some good golf as of late and cannot be counted out at Augusta this week.