Masters Tiers: Contenders, Canadians, long shots and more

It’s the best week on the golf calendar.

The Masters goes Thursday through Sunday at Augusta National Golf Club, and players have already begun their practice rounds despite heavy rain.

Whoever runs check-in at the famed Georgia course will have come across faces both old and new, smiling and dejected, bright-eyed and weary.

One face they wouldn’t have seen is that of Tiger Woods, a glaring absence from the field as he recovers from an Achilles rupture.

Yet 95 others — a large field, by Masters standards — will compete to don the green jacket on Sunday.

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.

LIV squad

Two years ago, Jon Rahm (+1500) won this tournament and battled Scheffler for the title of best player alive. Then he followed the money to LIV and was barely heard from over the four ensuing majors. Rahm somewhat salvaged things with a top-10 finish at The Open — can he carry that momentum into Augusta?

Reigning U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau (+1700) returned to the contender’s circle in a big way last year at Augusta as he lurked atop the leaderboard of a course he once mocked as a par-67. It was a classic Bryson week, chock with 3D-printed irons and Jesus-like imagery. That he went on and won his second major soon after completed the full experience.

According to Phil Mickelson, Chile’s Joaquin Niemann (+2900) may be the best player in the world. He’s also never even placed top-15 across 19 career majors.

Cameron Smith (+4600), the 2022 Open champion, has earned top-10s in four of the past five Masters.

You can never count out Brooks Koepka (+3100). Masters champs Patrick Reed (+6700) and Sergio Garcia (+7100) have flashed some form of late. Dustin Johnson (+6700), not so much.

And lest we forget Phil Mickelson (+8100). He’s playing well, and he finished second just two years ago. Who knows what this week will bring from Lefty?

Canadian contingent

It’s been 22 years since Mike Weir (+200,100) won The Masters. Corey Conners (+5100) might represent Canada’s best hope since. The Listowel, Ont., native has two things going for him: he’s playing well right now (four top-10s this season), and he’s historically enjoyed Augusta (three straight top-10s from 2020 to 2022).

While Conners is likely Canada’s best week-to-week player, Nick Taylor (+25,100) is the one who gets it done. The pride of Abbotsford, B.C., won January’s Sony Open (in a playoff — colour us shocked) but will tee off Thursday having missed consecutive cuts.

Taylor Pendrith (+12,600), of Richmond Hill, Ont., carries a weapon of a driver but sometimes struggles with the other clubs in his bag. He’ll have to find some feel from the fairway and around the greens to excel at Augusta.

Wild cards

Roll with the buddy duo of Justin Thomas (+2300) and Jordan Spieth (+3100) at your own risk. They tantalize, then pull the rug from under you with some ghastly number that immediately plummets them down the leaderboard. Just last year, Thomas carded 7-over on his final four holes to go from contention to cut. Spieth is coming off a solid T12 finish at last week’s Valero Texas Open.

Even Viktor Hovland (+3400) doesn't seem to know where his game will be on any given week. The Norwegian won for the first time in two years at the Valspar Championship in March, then said, "I hit a lot of disgusting shots, but they happened to go where I looked" and celebrated with an Instagram post captioned "stupid, stupid game." Hovland missed three of four major cuts last year. Of course, he placed second the one time he made the weekend at the PGA Championship.

Young stars

Don’t be surprised if one of Min Woo Lee (+4100), Will Zalatoris (+4600), Akshay Bhatia (+6100) or Tom Kim (+9100) emerges for a breakthrough title. Lee won the Valero last week, Zalatoris has come close at multiple majors including The Masters and Bhatia and Kim are proven winners capable of going low in any given round.

Long shots

Playing with Aberg in the second-last pairing on Sunday last year, a bad break on 12 led to a double-bogey and cost Max Homa (+20,100) a shot at his first major. The U.S. Ryder Cupper has been lost in the woods ever since, swearing off social media and changing clubs, apparel and, as of last week, leaving his longtime caddie. Homa’s missed five straight cuts, but says his swing feels good. Perhaps a return to Augusta is just what the doctor ordered.

A back injury cost Daniel Berger (+10,100) two prime years of his career. However, the 32-year-old appears fully healthy now with three top-20s on the season, and it seems only a matter of time before he breaks through with his first win since 2021.

Still kicking it

Former World No. 1s Jason Day (+6700) and Justin Rose (+10,100) may no longer be in their primes, but they can still go out and win a tournament on any given week. A green jacket would massively change the legacy of either.