Our picks to win The Masters
Who will wear the green jacket come Sunday?
One sleep away from lush greens, blooming azaleas and chirping birds. 24 hours from early hot takes and surprise surges up the leaderboard. 48 hours until the cut.
And in 96 hours, the 2025 Masters champ will be crowned.
Here’s who we think will wear the green jacket come Sunday.
Nate’s pick
Small field, relatively predictable, and yet I feel like I could convince myself anyone could win. Why not Captain Keegan Bradley at +11,000? Second in the FedEx Cup standings — Sepp Straka at +8,000? Fuck it, wouldn’t be shocked if Phil Mickelson (+120,000) or Sergio Garcia (+80,000) tapped into their Magnolia magic.
But in the lottery of golf betting, my action is on Shane Lowry (+4,000).
A few facts to back me up:
10 of the last 12 Masters winners were 1.7 strokes gained or better in three months leading into Augusta — the Irishman is currently at 1.85.
He has top-25 finishes at Augusta National in four of the last five years, with a T-3 in 2022.
He’s a major champion, winning the Open Championship at Royal Portrush in 2019. Adding another iconic venue just makes sense.
Lowry is top-30 in OWGR and Data Golf. He finished top-15 in the last two majors. Has a top-5 this season, finishing runner-up at Pebble Beach. 7/7 of the last Masters winners fall into this category 👀
But if you prefer the eye test, can’t you just imagine Lowry sporting a green jacket? Tears flooding down his eyes as he embraces his kids and wife. Best friend and fellow Irishman, Rory McIlroy, shaking his hand with respect and envy all in one.
Just $10 profits $400. Who’s riding?
Myles’ pick
I thought about taking Collin Morikawa (+1,600), who’s the only player besides Scottie Scheffler on a run of three straight top 10s at Augusta.
My mind wandered to Ludvig Aberg (+1,800), who could follow the Spieth path of second-win in his first two Masters starts.
At the beginning of the season, I chose Patrick Cantlay (+3,500) to win and I still don’t hate that pick after seeing him excel in the TGL gauntlet. (I’ll let you decide how tongue-in-cheek that is).
For the sake of Canada, I’m pulling for Corey Conners (+6,000), whose three top 10s this season show he’s in form.
But in the end, I just couldn’t help it. Rory McIlroy (+650) will win The Masters. He’s the only player with two wins on the season — but more than that, I’ve been impressed with some of the new shots in his bag. He’s sacrificed some force for finesse, moving to more three-quarter shots with his wedges. It paid off in the conditions at Pebble Beach, and it paid off in the unrelenting difficulty of TPC Sawgrass.
I’m betting it’ll pay off once again by erasing those frustrating 100-yard misses that have held McIlroy back in the past at Augusta.
This isn’t a narrative pick this year — not like when tensions were high with LIV.
It’s just that Rory is playing better golf than anyone in the world.
And whether I thought about Morikawa, Aberg, Cantlay, Conners or anyone else, just one thought nagged at me.
“But, Rory.”
It’s time.
Masters tiers
By Myles
Over at Sportsnet, in my day job, I broke down about 25 players into tiers ahead of the tournament.
Does that mean the winner will come from the 70 or so I skipped over? Almost certainly.
In any case, here’s a quick teaser, with a link to the whole story below.
Here’s who you should know:
Inner-circle favourites
A tier of two, starting with reigning champion Scottie Scheffler (+550 to win, per BetMGM) as he comes to Augusta with a shot at securing his position in Masters lore if he can claim a third green jacket in four years. This year’s been an odd one (though arrest-free) for Scheffler, who cut his hand while making ravioli during Christmas, underwent surgery and missed the start of the season. Upon return, Scheffler hasn’t performed quite like the Scheffler of last year — the one who won nine times — but he’s also shown little sign of rust, claiming three top-10s and six top-25s in six starts.
We all know the Rory McIlroy (+750) story at this point — the pesky major drought that stretches back to 2014, and the troubled Masters history that still looms as the final piece of a Hall of Fame career. But is this year different? McIlroy enters as the lone player with multiple wins on the season thanks to a pair of big victories at Pebble Beach and TPC Sawgrass. There’s no doubting his form — only, and perhaps unfairly, his mental fortitude at a tournament that’s continually eluded him.
Contenders
We haven’t heard much from Xander Schauffele (+2300) lately as last year’s breakout star and two-time major winner battles a rib injury. Unlike Scheffler, Schauffele hasn’t played close to his best — but he’s always made noise at Augusta, and now he knows what it takes to close.
Another two-time major champ, Collin Morikawa (+1500), is striking the ball better than anyone, per Data Golf. The anti-Schauffele, in a way, he played in the final pairing of two majors last season, including The Masters, and crumbled in both.
Last year’s Masters marked Ludvig Aberg’s (+2100) major debut, and he didn’t shy away from the spotlight with a solo second finish. Two months later, he led the U.S. Open heading into the weekend. Now, returning to Augusta with a signature win (Torrey Pines) under his belt, no one should count out the young Swede.