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April symbolizes new beginnings, and for golf fans, there's no beginning better than the start of major season, which opens on Thursday, April 9, when the 2026 Masters tee off from Augusta National Golf Club. For Rory McIlroy, the Masters 2026 marks the beginning of his playing at Augusta as a Masters and a Grand Slam champion, so what should you expect from the 36-year-old when making 2026 Masters bets? McIlroy is outside the top-three favorites and is listed at +1300 in the latest 2026 Masters odds. Before last year's win came 15 straight Masters losses, so he will be a polarizing option in 2026 Masters betting strategies.

Scottie Scheffler, who has won two of the last four Masters, is the +550 favorite to win the Masters 2026, followed by Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau at +1000 odds. Rahm won the 2023 Masters and has finished in the top 10 in four of his eight career Masters tournaments, so is he someone to use in 2026 Masters bets? Before making any 2026 Masters picks, you need to see the 2026 Masters predictions from golf expert David Bearman. 

Bearman joins SportsLine after serving as ESPN's golf researcher from 2008-11 and as the Deputy Editor of ESPN Chalk from 2019-23, where he authored the weekly golf betting column for that site. This year, he has cashed 28 placement golf betting picks (top 5/10/20) in the first 11 tournaments and hit Cam Young outright at The Players Championship.

Now, Bearman has focused on the 2026 Masters field and locked in his predictions, sleepers and golfers to avoid. You can only see them here. 

Top 2026 Masters expert picks

One of Bearman's 2026 Masters predictions: He's fading Rory McIlroy (+1300), avoiding him in outright and head-to-head picks. Bearman notes the physical challenges McIlroy has been dealing with, including withdrawing from the Arnold Palmer due to a back injury and then finishing T-46 at the Players Championship with four rounds over par the week after. McIlroy hasn't played since that poor showing a month ago. But it's not just the physical woes that have Bearman concerned.

"How do you follow up on last year's historical win and completion of the sport's elusive Grand Slam?" Bearman told SportsLine. "It wasn't just a guy who had come close, finally cashing in. It was a guy who had 11 shots at the grand slam and in every way imaginable didn't get there, until last year. You saw it in his emotional release after he won and everything that followed. As much as he "needed" that win to fulfill his career, he does not need it this time around. Oh, and only three golfers (Nicklaus, Faldo, Tiger) in the history of golf have won back-to-back green jackets, so history isn't on his side either." See who Bearman is backing at SportsLine.

How to make 2026 Masters picks

Bearman has revealed his best bets, and his top outright pick is a surprising longshot around 60-1 who missed eight cuts last year. He's a perfect course fit, and anyone who backs him could hit it big. You can only see who it is at SportsLine.

What are the best bets for the 2026 Masters, and which overlooked golfer should you target? Check out the 2026 Masters odds below, then visit SportsLine to see David Bearman's top picks for the 2026 Masters, all from the expert who has cashed 28 placement picks in the first 11 tournaments of the year. 

2026 Masters odds, field

See Masters picks, best bets and predictions here.

Odds via FanDuel (subject to change)

Scottie Scheffler +550
Bryson DeChambeau +1000
Jon Rahm +1000
Rory McIlroy +1300
Xander Schauffele +1500
Ludvig Åberg +1700
Matt Fitzpatrick +2200
Cameron Young +2200
Tommy Fleetwood +2200
Hideki Matsuyama +2700
Robert MacIntyre +2700
Justin Rose +3000
Min Woo Lee +3000
Patrick Reed +3500
Collin Morikawa +3500
Si Woo Kim +4500
Jordan Spieth +4500
Brooks Koepka +4500
Chris Gotterup +5500
Russell Henley +5500
Nicolai Højgaard +5500
Viktor Hovland +5500
Akshay Bhatia +6500
Maverick McNealy +6500
Jake Knapp +7000
Shane Lowry +7000
Patrick Cantlay +7000
Justin Thomas +7000
Adam Scott +7500
Jason Day +7500
Sepp Straka +8000
Tyrrell Hatton +8000
Corey Conners +8000
J.J. Spaun +8000
Jacob Bridgeman +8000
Sam Burns +10000
Harris English +10000
Rasmus Højgaard +10000
Cameron Smith +10000
Marco Penge +10000
Sungjae Im +12500
Gary Woodland +12500
Kurt Kitayama +15000
Daniel Berger +17500
Ben Griffin +17500
Alex Noren +17500
Ryan Gerard +17500
Sam Stevens +20000
Keegan Bradley +20000
Harry Hall +20000
Aldrich Potgieter +20000
Kristoffer Reitan +22500
Max Homa +22500
Ryan Fox +25000
Casey Jarvis +25000
Aaron Rai +25000
Wyndham Clark +25000
Brian Harman +25000
Sergio Garcia +30000
Dustin Johnson +30000
Nicolas Echavarria +30000
Carlos Ortiz +30000
Michael Kim +30000
Max Greyserman +40000
Nick Taylor +40000
Haotong Li +40000
Matt McCarty +40000
Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen +40000
Andrew Novak +40000
Tom McKibbin +40000
Sami Valimaki +50000
Michael Brennan +50000
John Keefer +50000
Bubba Watson +75000
Charl Schwartzel +75000
Zach Johnson +75000
Davis Riley +100000
Angel Cabrera +100000
Mason Howell +100000
Fifa Laopakdee +100000
Ethan Fang +100000
Brian Campbell +100000
Vijay Singh +100000
Jose Maria Olazabal +100000
Brandon Holtz +100000
Naoyuki Kataoka +100000
Danny Willett +100000
Jackson Herrington +100000
Fred Couples +100000
Mateo Pulcini +100000
Mike Weir +100000