It\u2019s going to take a wild week at Augusta National Golf Club to come anywhere close to replicating the drama we witnessed during last year\u2019s Masters Tournament.<\/p>\n
The best iterations of this event over the past half-century have culminated in victories by global superstars whose surnames are unnecessary.<\/p>\n
Jack Nicklaus in 1986. Tiger Woods in 1997. Phil Mickelson in 2004. Woods again in 2019.<\/p>\n
And now that list includes Rory McIlroy in 2025, when he spent the final round Sunday afternoon capriciously wavering between some of the best high-pressure shots this course has ever withstood and some of the biggest bonehead decisions for a player trying to win.<\/p>\n
In the end, McIlroy prevailed in a playoff over Justin Rose, tears flowing as he fell to his knees on the 18th green, becoming just the sixth player in the game\u2019s history to capture the career grand slam.<\/p>\n
It should come as little surprise that the defending champion is once again featured in The Athletic\u2019s power ranking of the top 30 players vying for this year\u2019s green jacket.<\/p>\n
Our list is filled with PGA Tour stalwarts, LIV Golf superstars and enough up-and-comers to make the novice fan think twice before automatically presuming this title will end up with one of the usual suspects.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s get right to it, starting with \u2014 well, exactly whom you\u2019d think.<\/p>\n
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Age Range<\/option> 20-24<\/option> 25-29<\/option> 30-35<\/option> 36-40<\/option> 40+<\/option><\/select><\/p>\nCountry<\/option> Australia<\/option> Austria<\/option> England<\/option> Ireland<\/option> Japan<\/option> Northern Ireland<\/option> Norway<\/option> Scotland<\/option> Spain<\/option> Sweden<\/option> United States<\/option><\/select><\/p>\nTour<\/option> DP World Tour<\/option> LIV<\/option> PGA Tour<\/option><\/select><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Try changing or resetting your filters to see more.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Any ranking of Masters contenders must start with the man who\u2019s won this title in each of the last two even-numbered years, though Scheffler decidedly enters this week with perhaps more questions than in recent memory. He\u2019s failed to finish inside the top 10 in his last three starts and inside the top 20 in his last two, while a final tune-up two weeks ago in Houston was canceled due to the birth of his family\u2019s second child. Even so, he\u2019s still easily the world\u2019s best player and knows what it takes to win at Augusta.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Performance last 5 tournaments<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Best Previous Performance<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Strokes Gained<\/p>\n
The bars below represent Scottie Scheffler’s percent rank when compared to all 2026 Masters competitors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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25-29<\/p>\n
United States<\/p>\n
PGA Tour<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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For the first time in his 18-year Masters career, McIlroy will return to Augusta National without a proverbial monkey affixed to his back, having clinched the career slam dramatically last year. Only three players have gone back-to-back here \u2014 Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Woods \u2014 but for someone who\u2019s openly discussed his struggle to remain motivated, perhaps that dangling carrot will be enough for McIlroy to join the history books once again.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Performance last 5 tournaments<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Best Previous Performance<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Strokes Gained<\/p>\n
The bars below represent Rory McIlroy’s percent rank when compared to all 2026 Masters competitors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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36-40<\/p>\n
Northern Ireland<\/p>\n
PGA Tour<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The hottest player in professional golf right now? You can make a case for Cameron Young or Matt Fitzpatrick, but only DeChambeau has won his last two starts, both on the LIV Golf circuit. He owns a complicated history with the Masters, once calling it a par-67 for himself. However, he has since offered a mea culpa, and the golf gods have acquiesced. He\u2019s finished inside the top six in each of the last two years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Performance last 5 tournaments<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Best Previous Performance<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Strokes Gained<\/p>\n
The bars below represent Bryson DeChambeau’s percent rank when compared to all 2026 Masters competitors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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With a Wikipedia page littered with yellow boxes denoting top 10s at major championships, Schauffele finally won his first two in 2024. Still, it\u2019s difficult to argue that he hasn\u2019t played the Masters better than both the PGA Championship and The Open. In the last seven years, he has had a pair of top-three results and five top 10s \u2014 and fresh off top fives in his last two starts, he just might be peaking at the right time once again.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Performance last 5 tournaments<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Best Previous Performance<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Strokes Gained<\/p>\n
The bars below represent Xander Schauffele’s percent rank when compared to all 2026 Masters competitors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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30-35<\/p>\n
United States<\/p>\n
PGA Tour<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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There\u2019s a standing criticism that Rahm hasn\u2019t played well at the majors since leaving for LIV Golf, but four top 15 finishes in his last five starts should refute that. There\u2019s another criticism that he doesn\u2019t bring his best stuff to that tour, but five top fives in five starts this season \u2014 including a win and three runners-up \u2014 disprove that. Some observers are perhaps looking for reasons why the 2023 champion can\u2019t win again, but we should instead be seeking explanations as to why he can.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Performance last 5 tournaments<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Best Previous Performance<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Strokes Gained<\/p>\n
The bars below represent Jon Rahm’s percent rank when compared to all 2026 Masters competitors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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If confidence begets more confidence, then Young is swimming in certainty right now. He looked like a different person after finally winning at last year\u2019s Wyndham Championship, then parlayed that into a brilliant week at the Ryder Cup. Now that he\u2019s a Players Championship winner, having won thanks to a pair of clutch tee shots on the final two holes at TPC Sawgrass, he should be brimming with fearlessness when he steps onto the first tee on Thursday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Performance last 5 tournaments<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Best Previous Performance<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Major\u00a0finish<\/p>\n
2 (’22 Open)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Strokes Gained<\/p>\n
The bars below represent Cameron Young’s percent rank when compared to all 2026 Masters competitors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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25-29<\/p>\n
United States<\/p>\n
PGA Tour<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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If you think this spot in the ranking is too high for the 2015 champion, then you haven\u2019t been paying attention. It\u2019s been 10 years since Spieth lost a five-shot lead on the back nine, which would\u2019ve enabled him to go back-to-back, but he has three top-five finishes here since then. His ball-striking has been very solid lately, and if he can avoid an untimely double-bogey \u2014 big if, of course \u2014 then he has an excellent chance of being in the mix once again on a Sunday afternoon in Augusta.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Performance last 5 tournaments<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Best Previous Performance<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Strokes Gained<\/p>\n
The bars below represent Jordan Spieth’s percent rank when compared to all 2026 Masters competitors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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30-35<\/p>\n
United States<\/p>\n
PGA Tour<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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A less-strong-willed player might still be thinking of the coulda\/woulda\/shouldas from last month\u2019s Players Championship, but \u00c5berg tends to laugh off disappointment, as if constantly reminding himself how bright his future is. There\u2019s no better place for him to take stock in such matters than Augusta, where he finished runner-up in his first career major two years ago and T-7 last year, despite a disconcerting bogey-triple close on the final two holes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Performance last 5 tournaments<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Best Previous Performance<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Major\u00a0finish<\/p>\n
2 (’24 Masters)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Strokes Gained<\/p>\n
The bars below represent Ludvig \u00c5berg’s percent rank when compared to all 2026 Masters competitors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The Englishman is due a ton of credit for his recent back-to-back performances at TPC Sawgrass and Innisbrook. A par-bogey finish is hardly unseemly at The Players, but Fitzpatrick got leapfrogged by Young and lost by one. The next week, though, he bounced back to win the Valspar. His record at the Masters \u2014 two top-10s in 11 starts \u2014 isn\u2019t indicative of his talent, but his game has perhaps never been in a better place than it is right now.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Performance last 5 tournaments<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Best Previous Performance<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Major\u00a0finish<\/p>\n
1 win (’22 U.S. Open)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Strokes Gained<\/p>\n
The bars below represent Matt Fitzpatrick’s percent rank when compared to all 2026 Masters competitors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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When Thomas returned from offseason back surgery at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, he stated that his goal was to be fully healthy and in form for the Masters. After a 79-79 start to miss the cut, that seemed like a pipe dream, but he went T-8 and T-30 in his next two starts and enters this week having seemingly shaken off any rust and other residual effects from that injury. It remains a head-scratcher that on a second-shot course such as Augusta National, one of the world\u2019s best iron players owns just two top 10s and has missed the cut in two of the last three years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Performance last 5 tournaments<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Best Previous Performance<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Strokes Gained<\/p>\n
The bars below represent Justin Thomas’s percent rank when compared to all 2026 Masters competitors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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30-35<\/p>\n
United States<\/p>\n
PGA Tour<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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After a strong start to the season, Matsuyama has cooled off as of late, but perhaps that\u2019s all part of his master strategy (pun intended). Five years ago, he opened the campaign with zero top 10s in his first 10 starts and then claimed the green jacket at Augusta. So maybe he\u2019s the rare elite-level player who doesn\u2019t require any momentum before the year\u2019s first major. Either way, he\u2019s always a sneaky pick to show up with his best stuff.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Performance last 5 tournaments<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Best Previous Performance<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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