April 8, 2026Updated 7:48 am EDT
The Athletic has live coverage of the 2026 Masters Par 3 contest.
It’s going to take a wild week at Augusta National Golf Club to come anywhere close to replicating the drama we witnessed during last year’s Masters Tournament.
The best iterations of this event over the past half-century have culminated in victories by global superstars whose surnames are unnecessary.
Jack Nicklaus in 1986. Tiger Woods in 1997. Phil Mickelson in 2004. Woods again in 2019.
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.
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’s history to capture the career grand slam.
It should come as little surprise that the defending champion is once again featured in The Athletic’s power ranking of the top 30 players vying for this year’s green jacket.
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.
Let’s get right to it, starting with — well, exactly whom you’d think.
Age Range 20-24 25-29 30-35 36-40 40+
Country Australia Austria England Ireland Japan Northern Ireland Norway Scotland Spain Sweden United States
Tour DP World Tour LIV PGA Tour
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Any ranking of Masters contenders must start with the man who’s 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’s 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’s second child. Even so, he’s still easily the world’s best player and knows what it takes to win at Augusta.
Performance last 5 tournaments
Best Previous Performance
Strokes Gained
The bars below represent Scottie Scheffler’s percent rank when compared to all 2026 Masters competitors.
25-29
United States
PGA Tour
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 — Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Woods — but for someone who’s openly discussed his struggle to remain motivated, perhaps that dangling carrot will be enough for McIlroy to join the history books once again.
Performance last 5 tournaments
Best Previous Performance
Strokes Gained
The bars below represent Rory McIlroy’s percent rank when compared to all 2026 Masters competitors.
36-40
Northern Ireland
PGA Tour
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’s finished inside the top six in each of the last two years.
Performance last 5 tournaments
Best Previous Performance
Strokes Gained
The bars below represent Bryson DeChambeau’s percent rank when compared to all 2026 Masters competitors.
With a Wikipedia page littered with yellow boxes denoting top 10s at major championships, Schauffele finally won his first two in 2024. Still, it’s difficult to argue that he hasn’t 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 — and fresh off top fives in his last two starts, he just might be peaking at the right time once again.
Performance last 5 tournaments
Best Previous Performance
Strokes Gained
The bars below represent Xander Schauffele’s percent rank when compared to all 2026 Masters competitors.
30-35
United States
PGA Tour
There’s a standing criticism that Rahm hasn’t played well at the majors since leaving for LIV Golf, but four top 15 finishes in his last five starts should refute that. There’s another criticism that he doesn’t bring his best stuff to that tour, but five top fives in five starts this season — including a win and three runners-up — disprove that. Some observers are perhaps looking for reasons why the 2023 champion can’t win again, but we should instead be seeking explanations as to why he can.
Performance last 5 tournaments
Best Previous Performance
Strokes Gained
The bars below represent Jon Rahm’s percent rank when compared to all 2026 Masters competitors.
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’s Wyndham Championship, then parlayed that into a brilliant week at the Ryder Cup. Now that he’s 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.
Performance last 5 tournaments
Best Previous Performance
Major finish
2 (’22 Open)
Strokes Gained
The bars below represent Cameron Young’s percent rank when compared to all 2026 Masters competitors.
25-29
United States
PGA Tour
If you think this spot in the ranking is too high for the 2015 champion, then you haven’t been paying attention. It’s been 10 years since Spieth lost a five-shot lead on the back nine, which would’ve 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 — big if, of course — then he has an excellent chance of being in the mix once again on a Sunday afternoon in Augusta.
Performance last 5 tournaments
Best Previous Performance
Strokes Gained
The bars below represent Jordan Spieth’s percent rank when compared to all 2026 Masters competitors.
30-35
United States
PGA Tour
A less-strong-willed player might still be thinking of the coulda/woulda/shouldas from last month’s Players Championship, but Åberg tends to laugh off disappointment, as if constantly reminding himself how bright his future is. There’s 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.
Performance last 5 tournaments
Best Previous Performance
Major finish
2 (’24 Masters)
Strokes Gained
The bars below represent Ludvig Åberg’s percent rank when compared to all 2026 Masters competitors.
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 — two top-10s in 11 starts — isn’t indicative of his talent, but his game has perhaps never been in a better place than it is right now.
Performance last 5 tournaments
Best Previous Performance
Major finish
1 win (’22 U.S. Open)
Strokes Gained
The bars below represent Matt Fitzpatrick’s percent rank when compared to all 2026 Masters competitors.
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’s best iron players owns just two top 10s and has missed the cut in two of the last three years.
Performance last 5 tournaments
Best Previous Performance
Strokes Gained
The bars below represent Justin Thomas’s percent rank when compared to all 2026 Masters competitors.
30-35
United States
PGA Tour
After a strong start to the season, Matsuyama has cooled off as of late, but perhaps that’s 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’s the rare elite-level player who doesn’t require any momentum before the year’s first major. Either way, he’s always a sneaky pick to show up with his best stuff.
Performance last 5 tournaments
Best Previous Performance
Strokes Gained
The bars below represent Hideki Matsuyama’s percent rank when compared to all 2026 Masters competitors.
Riddle me this: For a player who’s earned a reputation of owning a lower ceiling than most other superstars, but as high a floor as anyone, it’s more than a little telling that he’s posted just a single top 10 in nine career Masters starts. He’s a threat to climb onto the first page of a leaderboard anyplace, anytime. However, on a course he’s largely failed to figure out, it’s tough to believe he’ll figure out enough to finish on top this week.
Performance last 5 tournaments
Best Previous Performance
Major finish
2 (’18 U.S. Open, ’19 Open)
Strokes Gained
The bars below represent Tommy Fleetwood’s percent rank when compared to all 2026 Masters competitors.
After returning to the PGA Tour at the beginning of this season, Koepka appeared rusty for his first few starts before a putter change seemed to take hold, pairing with some strong-tee-to-green work to claim three top 20s. Of course, any examination of Koepka’s performance before the major championship season begins is thoroughly incomplete, as the five-time major champion has never been shy about addressing how much more the big ones mean to him than all the others.
Performance last 5 tournaments
Best Previous Performance
Strokes Gained
The bars below represent Brooks Koepka’s percent rank when compared to all 2026 Masters competitors.
30-35
United States
PGA Tour
What a difference one practice swing can make. Four weeks ago, Morikawa entered The Players fresh off a win and two other top-seven results, making him among the favorites to win that event. On the second hole of his week, though, he felt a tweak in his back and immediately withdrew. As they say on late-night infomercials: But wait, there’s more. After committing to the field for last week’s Valero Texas Open, he was a Tuesday WD, as his manager told Golf Channel he wasn’t yet ready to return. That’s a long layoff, with plenty of reason for skepticism heading into this one.
Performance last 5 tournaments
Best Previous Performance
Strokes Gained
The bars below represent Collin Morikawa’s percent rank when compared to all 2026 Masters competitors.
25-29
United States
PGA Tour
For all the adulation toward McIlroy for his grand slam-clinching victory last year, we’ve collectively tended to overlook what was a heartbreaking playoff loss for Rose, who handled the defeat with his usual class. At 45, he’s the winner of a U.S. Open, an Olympic gold medal, a FedEx Cup and (ahem) a TGL title, not to mention a victory at Torrey Pines already this year. Experience matters at Augusta and Rose owns as much of it as nearly anybody in this field.
Performance last 5 tournaments
Best Previous Performance
Major finish
1 win (’13 U.S. Open)
Strokes Gained
The bars below represent Justin Rose’s percent rank when compared to all 2026 Masters competitors.
If there’s a forgotten man in the top tier of this year’s field, it must be Reed, who left LIV Golf at the beginning of this year and is currently plying his craft on the DP World Tour before returning to the PGA Tour next season, a goal which appears all but reached already. There’s no secret that he always brings his best to Augusta, having followed his 2018 victory with four top 10s in his last seven starts, including a solo third-place finish last year.
Performance last 5 tournaments
Best Previous Performance
Strokes Gained
The bars below represent Patrick Reed’s percent rank when compared to all 2026 Masters competitors.
30-35
United States
DP World Tour
It doesn’t often — OK, ever — happen that a player wins a whopping four times on the PGA Tour before making his first career Masters appearance. Gotterup’s first victory came at the alternate-field Myrtle Beach event two years ago, which didn’t come with an invitation. And since last year’s edition of the tournament, he’s added three more victories, including two this season. He’s quickly established himself as a no-nerve closer who shouldn’t be overwhelmed by his first trek around this course.
Performance last 5 tournaments
Best Previous Performance
Major finish
3 (’25 Open)
Strokes Gained
The bars below represent Chris Gotterup’s percent rank when compared to all 2026 Masters competitors.
25-29
United States
PGA Tour
There’s still a fairly small sample size, but MacIntyre has proven in recent years that he tends to play his best golf at some of the bigger events, when conditions are tougher and there’s more at stake. He owns top 10s at the other three majors, including a runner-up at last year’s U.S. Open, and while he’s still seeking his first one here, results of T-12 and T-23 in his first three starts suggest he’s already beaten the learning curve.
Performance last 5 tournaments
Best Previous Performance
Major finish
2 (’25 U.S. Open)
Strokes Gained
The bars below represent Robert MacIntyre’s percent rank when compared to all 2026 Masters competitors.
In 2010, Henley finished T-16 to claim low amateur honors at the U.S. Open. Upon turning pro the following year, he failed to finish inside the top 10 in his next 31 major starts, but his major fortunes have paralleled his rise up the world ranking, as he owns five top 10s in the past three years. It’s difficult to believe he has what it takes to win, but it’s similarly tough to think he won’t be somewhere near the top of the leaderboard.
Performance last 5 tournaments
Best Previous Performance
Major finish
T4 (’23 Masters)
Strokes Gained
The bars below represent Russell Henley’s percent rank when compared to all 2026 Masters competitors.
36-40
United States
PGA Tour
There might not be a bigger enigma amongst the game’s best players than Hovland, who looks like Superman half the time and Clark Kent the other half. And it tends to happen quicker than walking out of a phone booth. Two years ago, he almost didn’t play in the PGA Championship because he was hitting it so poorly but wound up finishing in third. Last year, he missed three straight cuts but then won the Valspar Championship. Everything from first to (almost) last is in play here.
Performance last 5 tournaments
Best Previous Performance
Major finish
T2 (’23 PGA)
Strokes Gained
The bars below represent Viktor Hovland’s percent rank when compared to all 2026 Masters competitors.
Asked recently whether he’s a more mature player or perhaps taking the game more seriously than in previous years, Lee succinctly replied, “No, I’m just better.” If you don’t believe the words, just check out the results. He’s finished inside the top six in three of his last five starts, and while he owns just one top 10 at a major championship, don’t be surprised to see that number tripled, at least, this year.
Performance last 5 tournaments
Best Previous Performance
Major finish
T5 (’23 U.S. Open)
Strokes Gained
The bars below represent Min Woo Lee’s percent rank when compared to all 2026 Masters competitors.
Yet another player who’s been running hot during the first few months of this season, Straka owns four finishes of 18th or better in his last five starts. He remains a golfer quandary — a big dude whose game is based less on power than precision, but his true superpower might be his iron play, which has been through the roof recently and could mean big things on this second-shot golf course in his fifth Masters start.
Performance last 5 tournaments
Best Previous Performance
Major finish
T2 (’23 Open)
Strokes Gained
The bars below represent Sepp Straka’s percent rank when compared to all 2026 Masters competitors.
To paraphrase Forrest Gump’s momma: Life is like a Jason Day performance, you never know what you’re gonna get. He opened this season with a runner-up result at The American Express, raised universal optimism in his game and then failed to finish inside the top 20 in his next half-dozen appearances, only to finish in a share of sixth in his most recent start at the Texas Children’s Houston Open.
Performance last 5 tournaments
Best Previous Performance
Major finish
1 win (’15 PGA)
Strokes Gained
The bars below represent Jason Day’s percent rank when compared to all 2026 Masters competitors.
Last year, it was Ben Griffin who seemingly came out of nowhere to assert himself as one of the PGA Tour’s brightest stars. This year, it’s Bridgeman who’s followed a similar flight path, having won at Riviera, which is so often a harbinger of success in Augusta, and finishing inside the top 20 in all eight starts so far. It’s hard to believe he’s not only making his Masters debut this week, but just his third major championship appearance, with only two missed cuts on his résumé so far.
Performance last 5 tournaments
Best Previous Performance
Strokes Gained
The bars below represent Jacob Bridgeman’s percent rank when compared to all 2026 Masters competitors.
25-29
United States
PGA Tour
McIlroy’s good buddy had long suffered a similar fate at this tournament, only to much less aplomb. In 10 career starts, the Irishman owns just a pair of top 20 results and a single top 10. If there’s reason to think this time could be different, it lies in two facets of his game — his iron play, which, other than two swings down the stretch at the PGA National, has been predictably reliable and his always-dependable putter.
Performance last 5 tournaments
Best Previous Performance
Major finish
T2 (’16 U.S. Open)
Strokes Gained
The bars below represent Shane Lowry’s percent rank when compared to all 2026 Masters competitors.
It takes a beefy tee-to-green game to win at brutally tough Bay Hill, but Bhatia proved you can overcome any deficiencies by making every putt you look at for four days. That might not be the formula he wants to rely upon, but it’s not as if the long game has been an issue for him this season. He’s finished 16th or better in each of his last five PGA Tour starts. His major championship record, though very early in his career, remains a bit concerning, though, as he owns just a single top 25 in nine career starts.
Performance last 5 tournaments
Best Previous Performance
Major finish
T16 (’24 U.S. Open)
Strokes Gained
The bars below represent Akshay Bhatia’s percent rank when compared to all 2026 Masters competitors.
20-24
United States
PGA Tour
There’s an adage stating that a player had better bring his A game to Augusta, because he’s not going to find it while driving down Magnolia Lane. Knapp is among the many pleasant surprises over the season’s first few months. His sweet swing is not the only envious asset, as he’s posted a half-dozen top 11 results already this season. The next step is to take this skill set to the majors, where he’s yet to post a top-50 finish in four career starts.
Performance last 5 tournaments
Best Previous Performance
Major finish
T55 (2024 Masters)
Strokes Gained
The bars below represent Jake Knapp’s percent rank when compared to all 2026 Masters competitors.
30-35
United States
PGA Tour
It’s hard to believe it’s been 13 years since Scott stood triumphantly in a cool downpour, celebrating his sudden-death victory here. It’s perhaps much harder to believe that remains the lone major championship triumph for one of the classiest players of the past quarter-century. His run of bad luck and poor timing continued at last year’s U.S. Open, when he played in the final pairing at Oakmont but posted a 79 on Sunday to finish T-12.
Performance last 5 tournaments
Best Previous Performance
Strokes Gained
The bars below represent Adam Scott’s percent rank when compared to all 2026 Masters competitors.
Consider this one of the strangest finishing-position stats we’ve seen in recent years: English has made eight PGA Tour starts so far this season and owns seven top 30 results, but no top 20s. That’s right, other than a missed cut at The Players Championship, he’s finished between 21st and 28th every single time, suggesting he might not have the firepower to contend for this week’s title — as he did at two majors last year — but his floor is certainly palpable.
Performance last 5 tournaments
Best Previous Performance
Major finish
2 (’25 Open)
Strokes Gained
The bars below represent Harris English’s percent rank when compared to all 2026 Masters competitors.
36-40
United States
PGA Tour
With apologies to the likes of Sam Burns, Patrick Cantlay and Tyrrell Hatton, this ranking wouldn’t be complete without a long shot at the end, and Penge certainly qualifies. After starting last year suspended by the DP World Tour for gambling on golf tournaments, he found his way into the winner’s circle on three separate occasions, clinched his PGA Tour card and already has a top five and a pair of top 20s in what’s been a slow start to his rookie season. As the best driver, statistically, he has an opportunity to hit some approach shots around Augusta from places we’ve rarely seen before.
Performance last 5 tournaments
Best Previous Performance
Major finish
T28 (’25 PGA)
Strokes Gained
The bars below represent Marco Penge’s percent rank when compared to all 2026 Masters competitors.
Apr 8, 2026
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