Written By
%202.webp)
Tim Watson
The 2025 Masters is here, and with it comes a thorough breakdown of all 95 players in the field this week at Augusta National Golf Club.
You can scroll through the list below or skip ahead to specific players by clicking the first letter of their last names here.
2025 PGA Tour Results: MC - MC* - 22* - 1* - 42 - 5
It wasn’t long ago that it felt like we were entering the Season of Ludvig. He had already won on the PGA Tour, contended in signature events and majors, and dominated in the Ryder Cup—when he beat the elevated field at Torrey Pines in February, it looked like we were at the start of a full-blown, major-winning breakout.
And that breakout was supposed to continue here at Augusta, where just a year ago he finished solo-second in his debut. Unfortunately, Ludvig arrives this week off the first consecutive missed cuts of his career. Looking into the stats, he lost over two strokes both on approach and around-the-green in consecutive weeks at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Players, and was poor in both areas again last week at the Valero Texas Open. While the missed cuts are a concern, I’m more worried that these problem areas are beginning to look like a trend.
That said, the talent is undeniable, and the debut was too impressive to ignore. He also seems unflappable enough to let a couple of missed cuts roll right off his back. But the expectations are rightfully lower than they were a month ago.
Jump to top of page
2025 PGA Tour Results: 16 - 52* - 8* - MC - MC* - 73 - 22* - MC - 32
A notoriously bad putter (by his own admission), An has managed to stick on Tour for nearly a decade thanks to a consistently strong tee-to-green game. He has struggled with the irons for most of this season, though, uncharacteristically losing strokes on approach in all but two starts, and the corresponding results have been understandably poor. The two weeks that he did gain with the irons were during the recent Florida Swing and generated his two best finishes of the season. If he can maintain that iron play, his consistently high-end driving gives him a chance to be one of the steadier ball-strikers in the field this week, and would give him a good chance to repeat last year's top 20–although it's hard to see him pushing much higher than that.
Jump to top of page
2025 PGA Tour Results: 17 - MC
World Amateur Golf Rank: 6
Twenty-one-year-old Spaniard who qualified for the Masters by winning the 2024 U.S. Amateur. He also earned a spot in last year’s Open Championship (missed cut) after winning the 2023 European Amateur Championship. The Arizona State senior is the highest-ranked amateur in the field and enters with some encouraging pro-level experience. Ballester made two PGA Tour starts as an amateur this season, where he missed cut at the WM Phoenix Open, but bounced back at the Mexico Open with four rounds in the 60s led by a Sunday 65 to finish T-17. He’ll be the favorite to claim low amateur honors this week.
Jump to top of page
2025 PGA Tour Results: N/A
World Amateur Golf Ranking: 18
A 34-year-old investment analyst making his Masters debut, Beck earned his invite by dominating the 2023 U.S. Mid-Amateur—winning the match play final, 9 and 8, after finishing runner-up the year before. He played professionally for a few years after college, including a stint on the Web.com Tour, before stepping away from the game in 2018 to pursue a more traditional career. He’ll tee it up at both the Masters and U.S. Open this year, but with no competitive rounds on record in 2025, it’s hard to envision the mid-amateur contending even for low amateur this week.
Jump to top of page
2025 PGA Tour Results: 30 - 20* - 15* - 25 - 12* - 2 - MC - 21 - MC
After missing over a year and a half with a back injury, Berger is finally rounding back into his pre-injury form. He has been remarkably consistent over the past two months, posting a runner-up finish and three top 20s in signature events.
His course history at Augusta National is mixed, but he did post a T-10 in his debut and owns three career top 10s in majors. Right now, he’s consistently gaining strokes across all four major categories and playing the most balanced golf we’ve seen from him since his Ryder Cup peak in 2021. Entering with this consistent all-around form, it would be a surprise to see him outside the top half of the field.
Jump to top of page
2025 PGA Tour Results: MC - MC* - 19* - 42 - 39* - 4 - 40*
Bezuidenhout has a world-class short game, which gives him a chance on plenty of courses, but Augusta National likely isn’t one of them. The course demands more distance and sharper ball-striking than he typically offers, and his numbers this season have been below even his modest standard. He’s lost strokes off-the-tee in all but one start and lost on approach in all but one other—concerning signs heading into a demanding setup like Augusta.
He has quietly made the cut in all three of his previous Masters appearances, but with his current form and a deeper field than usual this year, playing the weekend might be a tougher task than in years past.
Jump to top of page
2025 PGA Tour Results: MC - 3* - MC* - 9 - 9* - 32 - 22* - 32
The 23-year-old lefty is more than capable of showing up on a big stage. He has won in each of the last two seasons on the PGA Tour and went wire-to-wire at the Valero Texas Open last year, where he finished nine shots clear of the rest of the field alongside Denny McCarthy.
He has already popped twice in big spots this season—a T-3 at the Players Championship and a strong showing at the Genesis Invitational. At TPC Sawgrass, he fell off the pace on Saturday but fought back into contention on Sunday, which was an encouraging display of resilience in a major-caliber field.
Bhatia is typically a consistent iron player who can finish near the top of the field in approach stats, but he has also shown volatility with missed cuts by multiple strokes at both the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Valero Texas Open. He lost strokes on approach at both tournaments.
It seems like there’s a wide range of outcomes in play this week for Bhatia. He has transformed himself into one of the better putters on Tour since he switched to a mallet last year, and that has seriously elevated his ceiling. With one top-20 in five major starts, he is more than capable of matching—or surpassing—that mark this week.
Jump to top of page
2025 PGA Tour Results: 47 - 20* - 5* - 34* - 65* - 15 - 6 - 15
While many high-profile Americans have struggled this year, Captain Keegan has quietly put together a solid, consistent season—and he might be just a few more strong finishes away from playing his way onto his own Ryder Cup team. His ball-striking has been as reliable as it has in years: he has gained strokes off the tee in every start and on approach in all but one. A top-five performance on approach at Bay Hill had him in the mix at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
As has often been the case throughout Bradley’s career, his short game has held him back from contending more regularly, but his ball-striking has been steady enough that we should expect him to get around safely at Augusta National. He has three finishes just inside the top 25 here, and something similar feels like a fair expectation again this year.
Jump to top of page
You can scroll through the list below or skip ahead to specific players by clicking the first letter of their last names here.
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | R | S | T | V | W | Y | Z
* indicates an elevated field (signature event or major) (a) indicates an amateurLudvig Aberg
Past Masters Results: 22025 PGA Tour Results: MC - MC* - 22* - 1* - 42 - 5
It wasn’t long ago that it felt like we were entering the Season of Ludvig. He had already won on the PGA Tour, contended in signature events and majors, and dominated in the Ryder Cup—when he beat the elevated field at Torrey Pines in February, it looked like we were at the start of a full-blown, major-winning breakout.
And that breakout was supposed to continue here at Augusta, where just a year ago he finished solo-second in his debut. Unfortunately, Ludvig arrives this week off the first consecutive missed cuts of his career. Looking into the stats, he lost over two strokes both on approach and around-the-green in consecutive weeks at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Players, and was poor in both areas again last week at the Valero Texas Open. While the missed cuts are a concern, I’m more worried that these problem areas are beginning to look like a trend.
That said, the talent is undeniable, and the debut was too impressive to ignore. He also seems unflappable enough to let a couple of missed cuts roll right off his back. But the expectations are rightfully lower than they were a month ago.
Jump to top of page
Byeong Hun An
Past Masters Results: 16 - MC - 33 - MC - MC2025 PGA Tour Results: 16 - 52* - 8* - MC - MC* - 73 - 22* - MC - 32
A notoriously bad putter (by his own admission), An has managed to stick on Tour for nearly a decade thanks to a consistently strong tee-to-green game. He has struggled with the irons for most of this season, though, uncharacteristically losing strokes on approach in all but two starts, and the corresponding results have been understandably poor. The two weeks that he did gain with the irons were during the recent Florida Swing and generated his two best finishes of the season. If he can maintain that iron play, his consistently high-end driving gives him a chance to be one of the steadier ball-strikers in the field this week, and would give him a good chance to repeat last year's top 20–although it's hard to see him pushing much higher than that.
Jump to top of page
Jose Luis Ballester (a)
Past Masters Results: First appearance2025 PGA Tour Results: 17 - MC
World Amateur Golf Rank: 6
Twenty-one-year-old Spaniard who qualified for the Masters by winning the 2024 U.S. Amateur. He also earned a spot in last year’s Open Championship (missed cut) after winning the 2023 European Amateur Championship. The Arizona State senior is the highest-ranked amateur in the field and enters with some encouraging pro-level experience. Ballester made two PGA Tour starts as an amateur this season, where he missed cut at the WM Phoenix Open, but bounced back at the Mexico Open with four rounds in the 60s led by a Sunday 65 to finish T-17. He’ll be the favorite to claim low amateur honors this week.
Jump to top of page
Evan Beck (a)
Masters History: First appearance2025 PGA Tour Results: N/A
World Amateur Golf Ranking: 18
A 34-year-old investment analyst making his Masters debut, Beck earned his invite by dominating the 2023 U.S. Mid-Amateur—winning the match play final, 9 and 8, after finishing runner-up the year before. He played professionally for a few years after college, including a stint on the Web.com Tour, before stepping away from the game in 2018 to pursue a more traditional career. He’ll tee it up at both the Masters and U.S. Open this year, but with no competitive rounds on record in 2025, it’s hard to envision the mid-amateur contending even for low amateur this week.
Jump to top of page
Daniel Berger
Past Masters Results: 50 - MC - 32 - 27 - 102025 PGA Tour Results: 30 - 20* - 15* - 25 - 12* - 2 - MC - 21 - MC
After missing over a year and a half with a back injury, Berger is finally rounding back into his pre-injury form. He has been remarkably consistent over the past two months, posting a runner-up finish and three top 20s in signature events.
His course history at Augusta National is mixed, but he did post a T-10 in his debut and owns three career top 10s in majors. Right now, he’s consistently gaining strokes across all four major categories and playing the most balanced golf we’ve seen from him since his Ryder Cup peak in 2021. Entering with this consistent all-around form, it would be a surprise to see him outside the top half of the field.
Jump to top of page
Christiaan Bezuidenhout
Past Masters Results: 44 - 40 - 382025 PGA Tour Results: MC - MC* - 19* - 42 - 39* - 4 - 40*
Bezuidenhout has a world-class short game, which gives him a chance on plenty of courses, but Augusta National likely isn’t one of them. The course demands more distance and sharper ball-striking than he typically offers, and his numbers this season have been below even his modest standard. He’s lost strokes off-the-tee in all but one start and lost on approach in all but one other—concerning signs heading into a demanding setup like Augusta.
He has quietly made the cut in all three of his previous Masters appearances, but with his current form and a deeper field than usual this year, playing the weekend might be a tougher task than in years past.
Jump to top of page
Akshay Bhatia>
Past Masters Results: 352025 PGA Tour Results: MC - 3* - MC* - 9 - 9* - 32 - 22* - 32
The 23-year-old lefty is more than capable of showing up on a big stage. He has won in each of the last two seasons on the PGA Tour and went wire-to-wire at the Valero Texas Open last year, where he finished nine shots clear of the rest of the field alongside Denny McCarthy.
He has already popped twice in big spots this season—a T-3 at the Players Championship and a strong showing at the Genesis Invitational. At TPC Sawgrass, he fell off the pace on Saturday but fought back into contention on Sunday, which was an encouraging display of resilience in a major-caliber field.
Bhatia is typically a consistent iron player who can finish near the top of the field in approach stats, but he has also shown volatility with missed cuts by multiple strokes at both the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Valero Texas Open. He lost strokes on approach at both tournaments.
It seems like there’s a wide range of outcomes in play this week for Bhatia. He has transformed himself into one of the better putters on Tour since he switched to a mallet last year, and that has seriously elevated his ceiling. With one top-20 in five major starts, he is more than capable of matching—or surpassing—that mark this week.
Jump to top of page
Keegan Bradley
Past Masters Results: 23 - 23 - 43 - 52 -22 - MC - 54 - 272025 PGA Tour Results: 47 - 20* - 5* - 34* - 65* - 15 - 6 - 15
While many high-profile Americans have struggled this year, Captain Keegan has quietly put together a solid, consistent season—and he might be just a few more strong finishes away from playing his way onto his own Ryder Cup team. His ball-striking has been as reliable as it has in years: he has gained strokes off the tee in every start and on approach in all but one. A top-five performance on approach at Bay Hill had him in the mix at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
As has often been the case throughout Bradley’s career, his short game has held him back from contending more regularly, but his ball-striking has been steady enough that we should expect him to get around safely at Augusta National. He has three finishes just inside the top 25 here, and something similar feels like a fair expectation again this year.
Jump to top of page
Sam Burns
Past Masters Results: MC - 29 - MC2025 PGA Tour Results: MC - MC - MC* - 48* - 24* - 49 - 22* - 29 - 8
His putter has been as reliable as ever this season, but his tee-to-green game has taken a massive step back. Burns lost strokes on approach in all but one tournament in 2025 this season, and the iron play has been particularly poor since the beginning of March when he seemed to find every body of water in the state of Florida.
He now makes his fourth trip to Augusta National on the heels of three straight missed cuts, and there is additional concern about his major record. Burns has just one top 10 in 17 career major finishes and only one other top-20 finish. Neither of those came at the Masters, and there is little in his current ball-striking profile to suggest that he is likely to do well this week.
Jump to top of page
Angel Cabrera
Past Masters Results: MC - MC - MC - 24 - 22 - MC - 2 - 32 - 7 - 18 - 1 - 25 - 37 - 8 - MC - 152025 PGA Tour Champions Results: 1 - 19 - 51
The 2009 Masters champion will be making his first start at Augusta National since 2019. He missed 2020 with a wrist injury, was absent from 2021–2023 while serving time in Brazilian and Argentinian federal prisons (yikes), and sat out 2024 due to visa complications. Considering the lack of golf facilities in South American prisons, he’s actually fared well with two decent finishes on the Champions Tour and a made cut in a PGA Tour Americas start.
Although prison appears to have aged him 20 years, he’s somehow only 55 and seems capable of playing better golf than many of the other senior champions in the field given his win over the weekend on the Champions Tour. That said, it would still be a shock to see him anywhere near the cutline.
Jump to top of page
Brian Campbell
Past Masters Results: First appearance2025 PGA Tour Results: MC - MC* - MC* - 48 - 1 - MC - 51
Back on the PGA Tour for the first time since 2017, Campbell made an immediate splash with a surprise win at the Mexico Open as a 220-1 longshot—thanks in small part to a generous tree that banked his tee shot back in bounds on the second playoff hole. Based on his results before and after the win, that performance is starting to look like a serious outlier. He’s missed more cuts than he has made this season and hasn’t finished better than T-48 in any start outside of Mexico. While he’s capable of gaining strokes with his short game, he has lost strokes tee-to-green in every start aside from his win. The journeyman locked up a two-year Tour exemption with his win, but he doesn’t warrant consideration this week.
Jump to top of page
Rafael Campos
Past Masters Results: First appearance2025 PGA Tour Results: 47 - MC - 70 - MC* - MC* - MC - 34 - MC - MC - MC - MC - 57
After winning the Butterfield Bermuda Championship last November, Campos will become the first Puerto Rican to tee it up at the Masters since Chi Chi Rodríguez in 1973. It was an awesome win for the veteran grinder who’s spent most of his career bouncing between tours, but he’s had very little success since. He’s made just three cuts in 13 starts since that victory and has typically been multiple strokes off the cutline. He did play the weekend in his most recent start at Valero, but given his season-long habit of missing cuts, that will be a tough task to repeat in his debut at Augusta.
Jump to top of page
Laurie Canter
Past Masters Results: First appearance2025 PGA Tour Results: MC*
2025 DP World Tour Results: 2 - 35 - 1 - 3
Canter will be the only former LIV Golf player teeing it up at Augusta this year. The 35-year-old Englishman played LIV’s inaugural season but was relegated to a substitute player in 2023 and 2024. Back on the DP World Tour, Canter has vaulted to No. 1 in the tour’s season-long standings and earned his first Masters as a top-50 player in the Official World Golf Ranking.
He’s been on a tear since the start of the year, with a solo third, runner-up, and a win—his second victory in the past calendar year—in just four DPWT starts. He’s also fared well in limited major appearances, with top 25 finishes in each of the last two Open Championships and made cuts at the PGA Championship and U.S. Open in 2022.
The LIV castoff has only made one start in the U.S. this season, a missed cut on the number at the Players. But with the dominance he’s displayed in Europe this year, he still feels more capable in his Augusta debut than most of the bottom-end PGA Tour players in the field.
Jump to top of page
Patrick Cantlay
Past Masters Results: 22 - 14 - 39 - MC - 17 - 9 - MC - 472025 PGA Tour Results: 33 - 12* - 31* - 5* - 33* - 5 - 15
Cantlay has been playing some solid yet characteristically unspectacular golf in 2025. His iron play has been a steady bright spot—gaining at least 2.4 strokes on approach in four starts since February—but the rest of the bag has been more hit-or-miss. He has alternated strong and shaky weeks with both the driver and putter, and the rare 2.8 strokes he lost around the green at the Genesis Invitational likely cost him a real shot at the win, which ultimately ended in a T-5 finish.
He struggled with the short game again in Texas last week and failed to contend as one of the pre-tournament favorites. He has entered past Masters in far better form and still rarely made any real noise. It feels likely that he’ll linger around the periphery again.
Jump to top of page
Wyndham Clark
Past Masters Results: MC2025 PGA Tour Results: 5 - 22* - 31* - 16 - 73* - MC - 15
Clark missed the cut in his Masters debut last year, despite arriving as one of the hottest players on the planet. He has fallen well short of that high-end form in 2025, but he is coming off his best finish of the season, a T-5 at the Texas Children’s Houston Open that included a pair of 64s on the weekend.
That performance was aided by the wide-open setup at Memorial Park, which allowed players to be aggressive off the tee without much consequence. Driving accuracy has been a major issue for Wyndham all season—it’s rare for someone with his elite distance to lose strokes with the driver, but hitting just 52% of fairways, he’s consistently bled Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee. The irons have been serviceable, but he hasn’t shown anything close to the spike approach weeks that helped define his 2023 breakout season.
There are reasons for optimism after what he showed on the weekend in Houston, but I don’t think he’s striking it well enough to keep pace with the best in the world at a ball-striking test like Augusta National.
Jump to top of page
Corey Conners
Past Masters Results: 38 - MC - 6 - 8 - 10 - 46 - MC2025 PGA Tour Results: 18 - 8 - 6* - 3* - 24* - 74 - 65* - MC - 5
Conners has consistently been near the top in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green in his seven years on Tour, but his ceiling has always been limited due to persistent struggles on the greens. Since 2017, his best season-end finish in SG: Putting was 112th on Tour—not great, but there’s reason to believe he might be turning a corner. Heading into the Valero Texas Open, Conners gained strokes, putting in four consecutive tournaments for the first time in his career and was one of the 20 best putters on Tour during that month-long stretch. This uptick coincided with a switch to a new center-shafted putter, which suggests that the improvement might be more than just a temporary hot streak.
His tee-to-green game has also been fantastic. He gained strokes in all four major categories during the Florida Swing, which led to three top 10 finishes.
He hasn’t been great at Augusta the last two years, but three consecutive top 10s between 2020–2022 show he is more than capable here. With his elite ability to hit fairways and greens, he is always someone to watch at the majors, but he’s capable of doing something special if Happy has indeed learned how to putt.
Jump to top of page
Fred Couples
Past Masters Results: MC - 50 - MC - MC - MC - MC - 38 - 18 - MC - 20 - 13 - 12 - 15 - 6 - MCRecent PGA Tour Champions Results: 54 - 8 - 4 - 15
When he tees it up on Thursday, Couples will become just the 15th player in Masters history to make 40 starts at Augusta National. At 65, the 1992 champion still has a bit of game, with a pair of top 10 finishes on the Champions Tour this year. He made history in 2023 by becoming the oldest player to ever make the cut at the Masters, but in one of the largest fields in recent memory, that will be a much tougher task this time around. Still, it will be a joy to see that ever-smooth swing with the backdrop of Augusta National—if only for a couple days.
Jump to top of page
Cameron Davis
Past Masters Results: 12 - 242025 PGA Tour Results: MC - MC* - MC* - MC* - 5* - 18 - MC -13
Since the top-five finish at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the lanky Aussie has had a rough go of it. Davis hasn’t been within three shots of the cutline in his last four starts and has failed to break 80 in two of those eight rounds. If we had to pinpoint his struggles, it’s unfortunately a bit of everything—he lost multiple strokes off-the-tee and around-the-green in all four of those events and lost on approach and putting in three.
The one thing Davis might have going for him is that he has a tendency to play well out of nowhere. Last year, he won the Rocket Mortgage (and earned this Masters invite) on the back of finishes of 48-MC-50-56-MC. In 2021, he won the same tournament following a run of MC-45-59. It’s certainly hard to trust him after a month of pretty terrible golf, but he can flip a switch any given week. You also have to be encouraged by good finishes in his two Masters starts.
Jump to top of page
Jason Day
Past Masters Results: 30 - 39 - MC - MC - 5 - 20 - 22 - 10 - 28 - 20 - 3 - 22025 PGA Tour Results: 27 - 8* - 50* - 13* - 32 - 3 - 40
Day is having an up-and-down season, with a mix of high finishes, mid-pack results, and a couple of clunkers. He showed some upside when a hot putter put him in contention at the Arnold Palmer Invitational a month ago, but he came up short when a mud ball found the water on the 70th hole. He has been steadily gaining a few strokes each week tee-to-green all season, but at this point in his career, he is dependent on outlier putting performances in order to contend.
Although he once felt destined to wear a green jacket, Day is a far less prodigious ball-striker at this stage of his career, and no longer feels like a great course fit. He hasn’t been in the mix at Augusta since 2019, and despite entering in strong form the past two years, he failed to crack the top 30. His consistent above-average tee-to-green game makes him a safe enough bet to play the weekend, but he’ll need to have another ceiling performance on the greens if he is going to better last year’s T-30.
Jump to top of page
Bryson DeChambeau
Past Masters Results: 6 - MC - MC - 46 - 34 - 29 - 28 - 212025 LIV Golf Results: 5 - 10 - 20 - 18 - 6
I’ve confidently said for a while that Bryson will never contend at the Masters. Augusta National typically demands creativity and feel, which is why we’ve seen highly imaginative players like Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson, and Jordan Spieth have so much success here. Bryson is many things, but he certainly isn’t a feel player. With a flat lie, a stock number, and a team of video editors, I trust him as much as anyone. But if you’re asking someone to flight a low draw off an uneven lie, the simulator scientist isn’t the guy I want over the ball.
After seven years firmly out of the mix, Bryson tried his best to prove me wrong last year—but I’m sticking to my priors on this one. He stormed out to the lead with a first-round 65 last year, and then failed to shoot even par the rest of the week. That Thursday round came after thunderstorms had the course playing extremely soft and receptive, neutralizing some of Augusta’s usual defenses and letting Bryson lean on his distance without needing to shape shots or work around firm conditions. Once things dried out and the greens firmed up over the weekend, he drifted right back into the pack.
I’m not bothering with his recent LIV results—I don’t know how to interpret a T10 in a 54-man field in Singapore and he played well in the majors last year without doing much in the league. I feel pretty strongly that Bryson can’t contend at Augusta in typical firm conditions. Don’t forget to like and subscribe.
Jump to top of page
Thomas Detry
Past Masters Results: First appearance2025 PGA Tour Results: 47 - 22 - MC* - MC* - 53* - 1 - 48* - 15 - 53 - 5
At 32 years old, Detry still feels like an up-and-coming talent. He picked up his first professional win at the WM Phoenix Open in February, showcasing massive upside by finishing seven strokes clear of the field—one of the largest winning margins in recent PGA Tour history.
He's also shown the ability to contend in big events. He was T-9 at the Olympics last summer and finished 14th or better in each of his last three major starts, including a T-4 at the PGA Championship at Valhalla. The Belgian hasn't been great since his February win—though he has gained three strokes on approach in consecutive starts—but he has never been someone who strings together consistent quality results. In fact, the win and those three strong major finishes all came after results outside the top 40.
After a T-47 last time out in Houston, he has the opportunity to continue that trend—though finishing near the top 10 feels like a tall task in his first trip to Augusta.
Jump to top of page
Nick Dunlap
Past Masters Results: MC2025 PGA Tour Results: MC - MC* - MC* - 17* - 57 - 58* - 34 - 10 - 55
Patrons beware: this guy genuinely cannot keep a golf ball between the ropes with a driver at the moment. He has lost at least 2.1 strokes off the tee in all nine starts in 2025. In March, he was dead last in SG: Off-the-Tee in three straight starts. He lost 7.8 off-the-tee at the Players, 7.7 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and somehow lost 6.8 in Houston, where he hit just 26.9% of Memorial Park's wide fairways. The rest of his game is fine, but the talented 21-year-old is going to keep missing cuts if he continues hemorrhaging strokes off the tee.
Jump to top of page
Nicolas Echavarria
Past Masters Results: First appearance2025 PGA Tour Results: 32 - 16 - MC* - MC - 34* - MC - 77* - MC - 2
Of the players who teed it up during the PGA Tour's Fall swing, Echavarría might have been the best. He earned his Masters invite with a win at the Zozo Championship in October and added two runner-up finishes and another top 10 by mid-January—an early-season surge that put him firmly on the radar.
Since then, the results have cooled. Despite currently leading the PGA Tour in SG: Putting, he's struggled to find consistency due to below-average ball-striking and shaky scrambling. He ranked among the top three putters in the field each of the last two weeks—but could only manage T-32 and T-16 finishes, both in relatively weak fields.
The putter has been elite, but Augusta demands more than that. Unless he finds a lot more tee-to-green, it's hard to see him doing much more than hanging around for the weekend.
Jump to top of page
Austin Eckroat
Past Masters Results: First appearance2025 PGA Tour Results: MC - 61* - 34* - MC - MC* - MC - 13* - MC - MC - 15
Impressively secured two PGA Tour wins during the 2024 calendar year, but hasn't been close to replicating that form in 2025. Eckroat has missed the cut in six of nine starts since January, and has lost strokes tee-to-green in all but two.
The statistical profile isn't as ugly as some of the other names in the field, but it's still a massive drop-off for a 25-year-old who looked poised for a breakout just a few months ago. On current form, it's hard to see him improving on the missed cut from his Masters debut.
Jump to top of page
Harris English
Past Masters Results: 22 - 43 - 21 - 42 - MC2025 PGA Tour Results: 18 - 30* - MC* - 24* - 73 - 1 - 43 - MC
English has three career top 10 finishes in majors—all of them at the U.S. Open. He ended a four-year winless drought in January with a victory at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, a two-time U.S. Open host. He has played unspectacular golf before and after that win, only managing two top 25 finishes while relying heavily on his putter. English has felt capable of finishing better than his career-best T-21 at the Masters, but that hasn't materialized. He is clearly more comfortable on U.S. Open-style setups, and appears to have limited upside at Augusta. Another middle-of-the-pack finish feels like the most likely result this week.
Jump to top of page
Tony Finau
Past Masters Results: 55 - 26 - 35 - 10 - 38 - 5 - 102025 PGA Tour Results: 56 - 32 - MC* - 36* - 5* - 13* - MC - MC - 15
Finau has consistently been a top 10 iron player during his time on Tour, but he currently sits outside the top 100 in SG: Approach this season. He's lost strokes on approach in the majority of his starts since January, and hasn't shown much upside even in the few events where he's earned marginal gains. His two decent finishes this year were propped up by outlier short game performances that feel unlikely to repeat at Augusta.
After three top 10s in his first four trips to Augusta, Finau hasn't been a factor here in any of his last three starts—and he feels incredibly hard to trust this week when the best part of his game isn't working.
Jump to top of page
Matt Fitzpatrick
Past Masters Results: 22 - 10 - 14 - 34 - 46 - 21 - 38 - 32 - 7 - MC2025 PGA Tour Results: MC - MC* - 22* - 49* - MC - 48* - 24
Another once-formidable player who's massively struggling for form this season. Fitzpatrick has just one top-25 finish in 2024, and it came in a week where he gained eight strokes putting. He hasn't gained on the greens in any other start since January—so that spike looks unsustainable—and the rest of his bag hasn't shown signs of helping, as he ranks outside the top 150 on Tour in both SG: Approach and Around-the-Green. He's made the cut in nine straight trips to Augusta, but currently looks like a player that will be fighting to play the weekend.
Jump to top of page
Tommy Fleetwood
Past Masters Results: 3 - 33 - 14 - 46 - 19 - 36 - 17 - MC2025 PGA Tour Results: 62 - 16 - 14* - 11* - 5* - 22*
2025 DP World Tour Results: 21
In a year when a lot of big names in golf have been flailing, Fleetwood just keeps stacking top 20s and cashing checks. Say what you will about his inability to win on the PGA Tour, but this man is as consistent as they come. He's made over $26 million without ever earning one of those top heavy winner's checks—which says a lot about how often he's near the top of the leaderboard.
Now, please bear in mind that the man writing this thinks Fleetwood can win every week, and is now completely disregarding the recent 62nd finish in Texas as a random outlier. But honestly, his game is so close. He ranked inside the top 10 in SG: Tee-to-Green in four consecutive elevated events from February through March, finishing those tournaments 22nd, fifth, 11th, and 14th. He was really just one hot putting week away from a win—which unfortunately came the one week his irons went cold at the Valspar Championship.
The pieces are there, and the man shows up for the majors. He has seven career top fives in majors, including a T-3 at Augusta last year. Sure, this is probably too big a stage for him to finally get that first U.S. win—but I have dreams. And at the very least, we can expect Fleeetwood to cash a pretty big check.
Jump to top of page
Sergio Garcia
Past Masters Results: MC - MC - 23 - MC - MC - MC - 1 - 34 - 17 - MC - 8 - 12 - 35 - 45 - 382025 LIV Golf Results: 3 - 32 - 1 - 18 - 6
I think I'm supposed to be excited about Garcia at the Masters because he outlasted Dean Burmester and 54-year-old Phil Mickelson a month ago in Hong Kong. Honestly, I'm not sure what to make of that. He won a 54-hole event on a course where Chieh-Po Lee and Andy Ogletree shot three rounds in the 60s—not exactly ideal prep for Augusta National.
His recent third-place finish at LIV Miami, on the much tougher setup at Doral, is probably more encouraging. Then again, he finished second in that same event last year and still missed the cut at the Masters the following week. In fact, Garcia has now missed the cut in five of six Masters appearances since his 2017 win. That's a strong enough trend that I'm not particularly interested in Segio this week despite a few podium finishes on LIV.
Jump to top of page
Lucas Glover
Past Masters Results: 20 - 30 - MC - 42 - 49 - MC - MC - 36 -20 - MC2025 PGA Tour Results: 8 - 3* - 36* - MC - 31* - MC - 3*
At 45 years old, Lucas Glover looks determined to play himself onto his first Ryder Cup team. He had T-3 finishes at the Players Championship and AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and was in the hunt again at the Valspar Championship. All three of those finishes came at courses where distance isn't a major factor, and his inability to handle Augusta's length is probably why he's never finished better than 20th in ten starts. It's hard to see that changing now.
Jump to top of page
Max Greyserman
Past Masters Results: First appearance2025 PGA Tour Results: MC - MC* - 22* - 11 - 24* - 49 - 48 - 7 - 24
Qualified for the Masters by finishing 2024 inside the top 50 of the OWGR thanks to an excellent close to his rookie season that included 10 straight made cuts and three runner-up finishes. That made-cut streak extended through his first seven starts of 2025, but he now enters Augusta on the heels of back-to-back missed cuts.
Greyserman is a world-class putter and an excellent scrambler, and that short-game consistency is what fueled those 17 straight made weekends. During that run, the ball-striking was quietly above Tour average, but that part of his game has fallen off recently. He's lost over a stroke off-the-tee in four straight starts and more than 2.8 strokes on approach in three consecutive events. It's hard to imagine him high on leaderboards in his first trip to Augusta National without a dramatic turnaround in ball-striking.
Jump to top of page
Brian Harman
Past Masters Results: MC - MC - MC - 12 - 44 - MC2025 PGA Tour Results: 1 - MC* - 40* - 32 - 17* - 25 - 53* - MC - 21 - 58
The 2023 Open Champion delivered a timely reminder of his class last week, winning the Valero Texas Open and snapping out of a prolonged slump in dramatic fashion. It marked his first PGA Tour top-10 finish since last June and his first win since lifting the Claret Jug at Hoylake.
Before the win, his form had been concerning—but after gaining over seven strokes on approach and nearly six with the putter, it feels fair to pull back some of the skepticism and open the door to renewed optimism heading into the Masters. That said, Augusta has historically been a tough fit for Harman, whose lack of length off the tee puts him at a disadvantage. He has missed the cut in each of his last three starts here, and while the win certainly raises his ceiling this week, it probably only pushes it into top-20 territory.
Jump to top of page
Justin Hastings (a)
Past Masters Results: First appearance2025 PGA Tour Results: MC - 13
World Amateur Golf Ranking: 24
Hastings earned his spot at Augusta by winning the 2024 Latin America Amateur Championship, representing the Cayman Islands. A senior at San Diego State, he's already made three PGA Tour starts—missing two cuts, but finishing an impressive T-13 at the Mexico Open in February, ahead of fellow amateur José Luis Ballester. That showing proves he's more than capable of contending for low amateur honors this week.
Jump to top of page
Tyrrell Hatton
Past Masters Results: 9 - 34 - 52 - 18 - MC - 56 - 44 - MC2025 LIV Golf Results: 33 - 19 - 20 - 23 - 6
2025 DP World Tour Results: 1
From September to January, Tyrrell Hatton looked like one of the best players in the world. He teed it up in five DP World Tour events and earned two wins, a runner-up, and two other top 10s. The wins came in two of the more competitive European events—featuring big names from both the PGA Tour and LIV, including Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry, Jon Rahm, and Brooks Koepka.
That form hasn't carried over to LIV, where he's been well outside the mix in all but one start. But as perhaps the most profane and openly irritable personality in modern golf, I'm happy to chalk that up to a lack of interest and an inability to deal with the noise and extracurriculars that come with LIV stops in Adelaide, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
Hatton hasn't always clicked with Augusta either, once saying, "I'm glad it's over... this course doesn't really suit my eye." But his relationship with the course may be improving after earning his first top 10 finish here last year. I put far more stock in his recent wins in Europe than his LIV results (a view shared by Data Golf's analytics), so I wouldn't be overly surprised if he's on the front page of the leaderboard again this year.
Jump to top of page
Russell Henley
Past Masters Results: 38 - 4 - 30 - 15 - 11 - 21 - 31 - MC2025 PGA Tour Results: 30* - 1* - 6 - 39* - 5* - 10 - 30
While he's not often considered among golf's elite, Henley looks like a lock for the U.S. Ryder Cup team and is playing as well as almost anyone right now. Importantly, he's been a constant presence in big events over the past year. Last season he finished T-7 at the U.S. Open and T-4 at both the Open Championship and Tour Championship. He rolled that form into 2025 with an early top-five finish at the ATT Pebble Beach Pro-Am and a massive win against a stacked field at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Henley has one of the most balanced games on Tour, consistently gaining strokes in all four major categories this season. The only real knock heading into Augusta is his below-average driving distance, but even that hasn't limited his upside as he stacked top 10s at bomber-friendly venues like Quail Hollow, Pinehurst No. 2, East Lake, and Bay Hill in the past 10 months.
He came close at Augusta in 2023 and enters this year playing the best golf of his career. Don't rule him out.
Jump to top of page
Joe Highsmith
Past Masters Results: First appearance2025 PGA Tour Results: MC - 22 - 20* - MC* - 1 - 17 - MC - MC - 68
If you don't know Highsmith's game, think skinny (and slightly taller) Brian Harman with a bucket hat. The slender southpaw got his maiden PGA Tour win at the Cognizant Classic this March with a pair of 64s on the weekend after making the cut on the number. He displayed some good follow-up form after his win with a T-20 at the Players and a T-22 at the Valspar. Highsmith has been one of the best putters on Tour over the past two months, and has also displayed incredibly consistent ball-striking—he's not likely to lead a tournament in either category, but he has gained strokes off-the-tee and on approach in six of his past eight starts.
He's coming off a missed cut in Houston, but that was on a long, waterlogged course that massively favored bombers—not his game. Distance will be an issue at Augusta, but he's got a solid long-iron game to help compensate and has shown enough all-around form over the past month to warrant at least a look in the Top First-Timer market.
Jump to top of page
Tom Hoge
Past Masters Results: MC - 392025 PGA Tour Results: 5 - 3* - 40* - 67 - 54* - MC - 17* - 29 - 45 - 8
After losing more than 4.8 strokes tee-to-green and finishing outside the top 40 in four straight starts, Hoge came roaring out of a slump with a T-3 finish at the Players, showcasing his elite iron play while leading the field in SG: Approach at TPC Sawgrass. He carried that momentum into his next start where he had another quality approach week and top five at the Valero. This is particularly encouraging as Hoge has shown the ability to string together multiple high-level approach weeks, and on a course that demands long iron precision, he could be poised for another spike at Augusta as one of the better long iron players on Tour.
While the recent form is encouraging, it's worth noting that Hoge hasn't done much in two Masters starts, and there is a broader concern about his overall major championship record. Outside of two decent finishes at the PGA Championship, he has seven missed cuts and has no finish better than T-39 in 18 major appearances. The ball-striking gives him a chance to surprise on this course, but I would like to see him prove it on a bigger stand before I buy into his ceiling at Augusta.
Jump to top of page
Nicolai Hojgaard
Past Masters Results: 162025 PGA Tour Results: MC - MC - MC* - 18 - 8 - 36 - MC
2025 DP World Tour Results: 65
This is the Højgaard twin who found himself in contention on Saturday at Augusta last year. Nicolai has three DP World Tour wins and a Ryder Cup appearance under his belt, all by age 24.
He's incredibly talented, routinely generating 190-plus mph ball speed, gaining strokes both on approach and with the putter, and consistently piling up birdies. On the other hand, he's wild off the tee and a below-average scrambler, which contributes to a high bogey rate and plenty of missed cuts. That volatility shows up clearly in the results—after a solid stretch in February, he's now missed three straight cuts, none of them particularly close.
Still, he found his way into the mix last year at Augusta following a similarly uneven stretch, and his ability to go low gives him some appeal as a volatile sleeper pick this week.
Jump to top of page
Rasmus Hojgaard
Past Masters Results: First appearance2025 PGA Tour Results: 32 - MC - MC* - 34 - MC* - 12 - 22*
2025 DP World Tour Results: 12
At just 24 years old, Rasmus already has a prolific DP World Tour résumé with five career wins. He showed promise early this year in his first full PGA Tour season, but has missed three cuts and finished outside the top 30 in five straight starts since early February.
Even if he were coming in on a heater, I'd still have a hard time trusting Rasmus thanks to a rough major championship record. In seven major starts, he's missed three cuts and finished T-60, T-68, T-60, and T-79. It's honestly impressive to make four cuts and fail to finish inside the top 60. He's better suited to Augusta than the tighter major setups, but he's not a first-timer I'm backing this year.
Jump to top of page
Max Homa
Past Masters Results: 3 - 43 - 48 - MC - MC2025 PGA Tour Results: MC - MC* - MC* - MC* - MC - 53* - 26
Homa's struggles are no secret—he hasn't made a weekend in a cut event all season, and the numbers show issues throughout the bag. He's been extremely open and vulnerable about this slump, and if you're a fan looking for signs of hope, he's encouraged by the way he's swinging it in practice, trusts the work, and believes a breakthrough on the course is near. He works too hard for this slump to linger long-term, and I personally think we'll see him back in the mix soon—but we can pretty confidently say it won't be this week at Augusta. Especially with a new caddie.
Jump to top of page
Billy Horschel
Past Masters Results: 52 - 43 - 50 -38 - 56 - MC - 17 - MC - 372025 PGA Tour Results: 4 - 42* - MC* - 25 - MC* - MC - 9* - 21 - MC - 51
Billy might be the favorite if the Masters were a team even played in a simulator arena, but he unfortunately has to tee it up at Augusta National where he hasn't finished better than T-38 since 2016.
There is at least a little reason for optimism this year. The TGL champion and Atlanta Drive GC hype man enters Augusta off his best outdoor golfing performance of the season, gaining strokes in every category en route to a T-4 at the Valspar. Still, that's his only good result in the last two months, and his consistently mediocre track record at Augusta outweighs whatever confidence that one week might inspire. He feels destined to finish somewhere between 40th and 60th.
Jump to top of page
Viktor Hovland
Past Masters Results: MC - 7 - 27 - 21 - 322025 PGA Tour Results: 1 - MC* - MC* - MC* - 22* - 36
2025 DP World Tour Results: MC
Much was made of Hovland's "out-of-nowhere" win at the Valspar a few weeks back, but the data suggests his game wasn't quite as broken as it seemed. Although his ball-striking is still below peak form, he had gained strokes on approach in four consecutive starts and was serviceable (but below his previous high standard) off-the-tee, aside from a few water balls at TPC Sawgrass.
The real story at Valspar was the putter. Hovland had lost strokes on the greens in every 2025 start before flipping the script and gaining a career-best 7.4 strokes putting en route to the win. His scrambling, though, remains a major concern—he's lost strokes around the green in seven straight starts and 20 of his last 22, which is a glaring issue heading into Augusta.
I would've loved to see him tee it up again post-Valspar to get a better read, but as it stands, I'm not overly optimistic about his Masters chances. That win was driven by an outlier putting week, and his ball-striking still isn't all the way back to its former high-end consistency. I would need to see a more sustained run of form to believe he can overcome the multiple strokes he's likely to lose scrambling around Augusta.
Jump to top of page
Sungjae Im
Past Masters Results: MC - 16 - 8 - MC - 22025 PGA Tour Results: 60 - 61* - 19* - MC - MC* - 57 - 33* - 4 - MC - 3
You can't win the Masters if you can't hit your irons, so I'm going to quickly rule out Im as a green jacket candidate this week. While the rest of his game has been sharp, particularly his scrambling, his iron play has fallen off a cliff. He has lost more than two strokes on approach in six of his last starts, and currently ranks outside of the top 170 in SG: Approach for the season, losing a deeply concerning .855 strokes per round on average. This sloppy ball-striking won't hold up at Augusta National, and despite a decent history here, I wouldn't expect to see Im high on the leaderboard this weekend.
Jump to top of page
Stephan Jaeger
Past Masters Results: MC2025 PGA Tour Results: 11 - 36 - 20* - MC* - 6 - 44* - 40* - MC - 3 - 36
Jaeger comes into Augusta with a bit of intrigue thanks to two recent red-hot iron performances. He gained more than five strokes on approach at both the Players and the Houston Open, ranking inside the top 10 in the field in both starts. He pairs that iron form with a generally steady short game, which has included two recent spike putting weeks.
Although the game is getting close to a full package, a wayward driver continues to hold him back from seriously contending. Augusta won't penalize misses as harshly as the water-lined Florida courses he's been playing, but his off-the-tee inconsistency will still likely limit his upside. That said, he is more than capable of improving on the missed cut in his debut last year.
Jump to top of page
Dustin Johnson
Past Masters Results: MC - 48 - 12 - MC - 1 - 2 - 10 - 4 - 6 - MC - 13 - 38 -38 - 302025 LIV Golf Results: 27 - 5 - 54 - 31 - 44
Johnson hasn't looked like his old self when he was among the world's best in some time. He missed the cut three times and hasn't finished better than T-31 in his last five major starts. DJ also hasn't looked good on LIV, finishing outside of the top 30 more often than not. He showed signs of life after a T5 in Singapore, but that certainly isn't enough to trust him at Augusta.
Jump to top of page
Zach Johnson
Past Masters Results: MC - 34 - MC - MC - 51 - 58 - 36 - MC - MC - 9 - MC - 35 - 32 - MC - 42 - MC - 20 - 1 - 32 - MC2025 PGA Tour Results: 18 - MC - MC - 42 - 48 - MC - 21
The 2007 Masters champion looks unlikely to factor this week. He has missed the cut in three of his past four trips to Augusta and has yet to be relevant in weaker-field PGA Tour events this season—it's hard to envision him making noise in a major-caliber setting.
Jump to top of page
Noah Kent (a)
Past Masters Results: First appearance2025 PGA Tour Results: MC
World Amateur Golf Ranking: 143
The youngest player at this year's Masters at 20 years old will give Patton Kizzire a run for tallest man at Augusta National this week. The 6-foot-4 University of Florida sophomore earned his Masters invite as the runner-up to José Luis Ballester at the 2024 U.S. Amateur. He's the lowest-ranked amateur in the field, but did get his first taste of PGA Tour competition at the Houston Open two weeks ago, where he missed the cut by seven strokes.
Jump to top of page
Tom Kim
Past Masters Results: 30 - 162025 PGA Tour Results: MC - 36 - 42* - MC* - 44* - 44 - 7* - MC
Kim hasn't finished better than 36th in five starts since early February. He's been bleeding strokes on and around the greens throughout that stretch, and most recently missed the cut by six strokes in Texas while also losing over five strokes to the field on approach in just two rounds. His game feels a little lost at the moment, and Augusta National—never a particularly good course fit—doesn't seem like the place to find it.
Jump to top of page
Michael Kim
Past Masters Results: MC2025 PGA Tour Results: 32 - 28 - MC* - 4* - 6 - 13 - 13* - 2 - MC - 43 - MC
He qualified for the Masters in dramatic fashion, jumping from 52nd to 50th in the OWGR at the conclusion of the Houston Open to grab the final automatic invite at the buzzer. Had he missed a seven-foot par putt on the 72nd hole, it would likely be world No. 51 Ben Griffin in the field instead.
Now that he is here, I think he's got a real shot to play well. From mid-February through mid-March, Kim was one of the hottest golfers on the planet, posting five straight finishes of T-13 or better. He cooled off a bit after the Players, but also mentioned feeling burned out after playing eight straight weeks. After finally getting a week off to to rest and reset, I'm optimistic he can bounce back.
Kim has an extremely well-rounded game that should translate nicely to Augusta. He has gained strokes in all four major strokes gained categories in six of his last eight starts and just posted a top 10 approach performance in Houston (+4.7 SG: Approach). He's also added some distance off the tee this season, and his reliable draw should serve him well on a course that has historically favored a right-to-left ball flight.
Jump to top of page
Chris Kirk
Past Masters Results: 16 - 23 - MC - 33 - 202025 PGA Tour Results: MC - 42* - 22* - 56 - MC - 62* - 34 - MC - 44
Augusta National wouldn't seem like a natural fit for Kirk, but more often than not, he has finished in the top third of the Masters field. That task looks more difficult this week, as he has just one finish inside the top 30 on the PGA Tour this season. His tee-to-green play has been down all year, and he has lost at least a stroke putting in all but one start since January. Adding to the concern, he just finished four shots off the cutline at the Valero Texas Open—a tournament where he had previously recorded four top-10s. Despite a strong Masters history, expectations should be tempered this week.
Jump to top of page
Patton Kizzire
Past Masters Results: 18 - MC2025 PGA Tour Results: 66 - MC - MC* - MC - MC - MC - MC - MC
The depth of this year's larger-than-usual Masters field is perhaps best illustrated by the inclusion of Kizzire, who arrives at Augusta following a 66th-place finish in Texas and an impressive streak of seven straight missed cuts. He won the Procore Championship during the Fall swing season in September but has done nothing to suggest he is capable of surprising at the Masters despite a top 20 here in 2019.
Jump to top of page
Brooks Koepka
Past Masters Results: 45 - 2 - MC - MC - 7 - 2 - 11 - 332025 LIV Golf Results: 18 - 2 - 35 - 7 - 33
I feel compelled to take a stance with these write-ups, but I'm not sure what to make of Koepka coming into Augusta. We are only two years removed from a PGA Championship win and a T-2 at the Masters, but he's also been well out of contention in his last six major starts. On LIV, which I struggle to quantify, he finished second in Singapore three weeks ago (five strokes behind Joaquinn Niemann), but also has two results in the 30s, which feel pretty terrible in extremely top-heavy 54-man tournaments.
Data Golf currently ranks him as the 45th best player in the world, which is probably the most objective view we have of his form. Koepka also has an elite major championship mentality, and even though we didn't see it last year, I wouldn't be surprised to see it once again this year.
Jump to top of page
Bernhard Langer
Past Masters Results: MC - MC - MC - MC - 29 - 62 - 38 - MC - 24 - MC - 8 - 25 - MC - MC2025 PGA Tour Champions Results: 19 - 68 - 12 - 12 - 2
It wasn't long ago that the two-time Masters champ felt like a solid bet to play the weekend at Augusta. At 67, playing in his final Masters, he's still one of the top performers on the Champions Tour, but four straight missed cuts for a man in his late sixties feels like a trend that is likely to stick.
Jump to top of page
Thriston Lawrence
Past Masters Results: First appearance2025 PGA Tour Results: MC - MC - MC - 54 - MC - 59 - MC - MC
Qualified for the Masters with a fourth-place finish at last year's Open Championship, and earned a PGA Tour Card after a win and two runner-up finishes on the DP World Tour last fall. That hot stretch certainly did not extend into 2025. The big South African has only made two cuts in eight starts since mid-January and finished outside the top 50 in both of those, which were weak fields in Puerto Rico and Mexico. This is his first start at Augusta, but it seems likely to be a short one unless he can overhaul his current form.
Jump to top of page
Min Woo Lee
Past Masters Results: 22 - MC - 142025 PGA Tour Results: 1 - 20* - MC* - 11 - 48* - 12 - 17*
2025 DP World Tour Results: 17
Lee is making his fourth trip to Augusta riding a wave of great form. He led the Players through 36 holes a few weeks back and followed it up with his first PGA Tour win at the Houston Open. The hole must feel 10 feet wide for Lee right now—he gained 6.6 strokes putting at the Players, then stayed hot and led the field in putting in Houston with an eye-popping +8.7 SG: Putting.
He seems like a great fit for Augusta National, where he's finished inside the top 25 in two of his first three starts. His game draws easy comparisons to fellow Aussie and Masters specialist Cam Smith—both are highly creative shotmakers with world-class short games and imagination around the greens. Like Smith, Lee can struggle on courses that severely punish errant tee shots, but Augusta is more forgiving to players with the touch and imagination to recover (see: Mickelson, Spieth, etc.).
Lee remains volatile week to week and is far from a sure thing, but his recent form and creative skill set make him one of the more intriguing course fits in the field with a ceiling that absolutely includes a green jacket.
Jump to top of page
Shane Lowry
Past Masters Results: 43 - 16 - 3 - 21 - 25 - MC - MC - 39 - MC2025 PGA Tour Results: 8 - 20* - 7* - 11 - 39* - 2* - MC
Lowry has been excellent in 2025. He contended twice in signature events (second at ATT Pebble Beach Pro-Am, T-7 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational) and played well in his two most recent starts, with a top 10 at the Valspar and a top 20 at the Players.
For the few dozen of you familiar with my previous write-ups, you'll know that I've had serious concerns about Lowry's driver. Prior to the API, he was spotted testing a dozen different drivers on the range, and then put three of them in play that week. Unsurprisingly, he lost strokes off the tee that week and again at TPC Sawgrass. It seems he might have found a driver he likes, seeing as how he just led the field in SG: Off-the-Tee at the Valspar (+4.9), his best performance in that category in nearly four years.
Lowry also led the PGA Tour in SG: Approach during the month of March and remains one of the best scramblers on Tour. If he's truly figured out the driver, he enters this week as one of the most dangerous tee-to-green players in the field. That leaves only his putter—a club that can be red-hot or ice-cold for him on any given week.
There are a few "ifs" here, but here's my bottom line: IF the driver holds up, his tee-to-green game is formidable enough to produce a top-end finish regardless of the putter. IF the putter shows up too, he's more than capable of replicating, or even improving, his T-3 finish from 2022.
Jump to top of page
Robert MacIntyre
Past Masters Results: 23 - 122025 PGA Tour Results: 9* - 11* - MC* - 6 - 40* - 53 - 15
2025 DP World Tour Results: 9 - 17
Lefties at the Masters are a thing and this Scottish lefty is playing some fantastic golf. He grabbed two PGA Tour wins last season (RBC Canadian Open and Scottish Open), and his two most recent starts saw him near the top of the leaderboard with a T-9 at the Players and a T-11 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. A month before that he was just outside the top five at the WM Phoenix Open. He's been fantastic tee-to-green all season and has gained strokes putting in three of his last four starts. In his most recent start at TPC Sawgrass, he gained an impressive 5.9 strokes on Approach, sixth best in the elite field at the Players.
MacIntyre already has three top 10s in majors, and I love the finishes of 23rd and 12th in his two Masters appearances, both of which came when he was primarily a DP World Tour player. Data aside, I also just love his fit for Augusta. He's a creative player and shot shaper who is extremely capable of handling the uneven lies and wide variety of shots needed around Augusta National. These are long odds, but I don't think it's too far-fetched that we see Haggis on the menu at the 2026 Masters dinner.
Jump to top of page
Hideki Matsuyama
Past Masters Results: 38 - 16 - 14 - 1 - 32- 19 - 11 - 7 - 5 - MC - 54 - 272025 PGA Tour Results: MC - MC* - 22* - 13* - 25 - 48* - 32 - 16 - 1
After a dominant season-opening win, Hideki has failed to put himself in contention in any of his eight starts since. His around-the-green play remains elite, but the ball-striking, typically a calling card, has been shaky, as he has uncharacteristically lost strokes off the tee and on approach in a majority of starts since early February. And after showing progress with the putter in recent years, he has regressed to early career form on the greens, losing strokes on the greens in six of his last seven appearances.
His scrambling and course knowledge should keep him afloat, but his current form limits any real upside.
Jump to top of page
Denny McCarthy
Past Masters Results: 452025 PGA Tour Results: 18 - 14* - 18* - 48 - 5* - 16 - 58* - 16 - 46
Something to watch—the best putter on the planet has started gaining strokes with his irons. Denny gained over 2.1 strokes on approach in five straight starts prior to Valero, marking the most consistent iron stretch of his career. He struggled with driving accuracy and around-the-green play during that run, which prevented more consistent high finishes, but T-14, T-18, and T-5 results in strong fields at demanding ball-striking tests like TPC Sawgrass, Bay Hill, and Torrey Pines South show what he is potentially capable of in another elite field this week.
Jump to top of page
Matt McCarty
Past Masters Results: First appearance2025 PGA Tour Results: 52 - 16 - 20* - 48 - 63 - MC - MC - MC - 65 - 53
McCarty had an incredible three-month stretch last summer that deserves recognition. In July, he picked up his first professional win on the Korn Ferry Tour, then won twice more in the next two months to earn an automatic promotion to the PGA Tour. Just two starts after that promotion, he won his first PGA Tour event, locking up his card, a two-year exemption, and a trip to Augusta.
That heater didn't carry into 2025, where he has mostly missed cuts or finished outside the top 50. There were a couple of bright spots in the Florida swing with top-20 finishes at the Players and the Valspar, but a Masters debut—and just the second major start of his career—is a big leap for the 27-year-old, who is likely to struggle with the length of Augusta National.
Jump to top of page
Rory McIlroy
Past Masters Results: 22 - MC - 2 - MC - 5 - 21 - 7 - 10 - 4 - 8 - 25 - 30 - 15 - MC - 202025 PGA Tour Results: 5 - 1* - 15* - 17* - 1*
2025 DP World Tour Results: 3
This year feels different. McIlroy enters Augusta with a more well-rounded and adaptable game than we've seen in years. He is one of the greatest drivers of all time, and he has already picked up two signature wins in 2025 without having to lean on that weapon. He grabbed early season victories at Pebble Beach and TPC Sawgrass, two courses that don't overly reward distance. In a testament to his all-around game, McIlroy won at Sawgrass when his biggest strength was a liability, ranking in the bottom 10 in driving accuracy at the Players. He did, however, gain 7.8 strokes on approach, the best iron performance of his career since May 2019.
The rest of the game is right there, too. He is fourth on Tour in Scrambling, 12th in Strokes Gained: Putting, and seemed to remedy accuracy issues off the tee across the four rounds in Houston.
He'll have to deal with the mounting pressure of his major championship drought and his pursuit of the grand slam, but McIlroy looks better equipped to handle it with significantly more weapons to lean on in his game. It's hard not to like his chances this week.
Jump to top of page
Maverick McNealy
Past Masters Results: First appearance2025 PGA Tour Results: 3 - 32 - MC* - MC* - 2* - 9 - 40* - 52 - 45 - 8
It's a surprising Masters debut for the seven-year veteran, who picked up his first win last year after 133 PGA Tour starts. He came close to another breakthrough at the Genesis Invitational, finishing solo second at Torrey Pines. That performance—in an elevated field on a major-caliber setup—showed the kind of upside McNealy is capable of.
He cooled off during the Florida swing with two missed cuts, but has rebounded with strong ball-striking weeks in Texas, including a T-4 at the Valero. He's not nearly consistent enough to be trusted in his Augusta debut, but that close call at Torrey Pines tells us he is capable of putting himself in the mix.
Jump to top of page
Phil Mickelson
Past Masters Results: 43 - 2 - 21 - 55 - 18 - 36 - 22 - MC - 2- MC - 54 - 3 - 27 - 1 - 5 - 5 - 24 - 1 - 10 - 12025 LIV Golf Results: 6 - 19 - 3 - 23
Mickelson added another chapter to his Augusta legend two years ago with a Sunday 65 to finish T-2, the best finish ever by a player over 50, and his 11th career top five at the Masters.
For the first time in a while, he arrives with what might be a bit of momentum. He hasn't been good in his LIV career, failing to post a single top-five finish before this season, so a solo third in Hong Kong last month feels like a compelling result, and he has now validated that form with a sixth-place finish at LIV Miami.
He's a 150-1 longshot, so temper your expectations—but with Phil at Augusta, nothing is out of the question. Could be fun.
Jump to top of page
Collin Morikawa
Past Masters Results: 3 - 10 - 5 - 18 - 442025 PGA Tour Results: 10* - 2* - 17* - 17* - 2
Morikawa hasn't played a ton this season, but when he has, he's looked a lot more like the man who burst onto the scene and won two majors thanks to one of the best iron games in the world.
He once again leads the PGA Tour in SG: Approach and has gained with his irons in every start this year, including +8.1 and +4.8 in his last two appearances at the Players and the Arnold Palmer Invitational. The putter still comes and goes, but when he gains even a little on the greens, the approach play is so sharp that he almost always finds his way into contention.
Morikawa has played in exclusively strong fields this season, with two solo runner-ups, a top 10 at the Players, and a pair of T-17s. That level of consistency gives him one of the highest floors in the field—especially at Augusta, where he's lingered near the top of the leaderboard each of the past three years. The "can't close" narrative tends to resurface with every second-place finish, but in terms of a top-five or top 10 option in your pools this week, there may not be anyone safer.
Jump to top of page
Joaquin Niemann
Past Masters Results: 22 - 16 - 35 - 40 - MC2025 LIV Golf Results: 33 - 1 - 12 - 1 - 33
Niemann has been the best player on LIV over the past two seasons. He won twice early in 2024, consistently placed inside the top 10, and added two more wins early this year, both several strokes clear of second place. According to Phil Mickleson, he's the best player in the world. The problem is, that success hasn't translated when he's gone up against full fields of the best players in the world.
After his two LIV wins last year, Niemann never got in the mix at Augusta, and went on to finish T-39 at the PGA Championship and T-58 at the Open Championship. If you put him head-to-head with current world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler in majors, Niemann is 1–15 in their last 16 shared major starts.
I'm not denying the talent it takes to win and contend as consistently as he does on LIV or the DP World Tour, but we also can't deny a proven track record of uncompetitive performances in majors. His career-best major finish is a T-16, the only time he has finished inside the top 20 in 22 major starts. I'm sure he'll get a ton of hype again this year, but I won't be buying into his ability to win here until we see it.
Jump to top of page
Jose Maria Olazabal
Past Masters Results: 45 - MC - MC - 50 - MC - MC - MC - MC - MC -34 - 50 - MC - MC - MC - MC - MC - 44 - 3 - MC - 302025 PGA Tour Champions Results: 54 - 39
The two-time Masters champion (1994, 1999) is one of Augusta National's all-time greats, and last year he turned back the clock with a made cut and a T-45 finish. That effort followed some encouraging Champions Tour form. This year, however, he enters off exclusively bottom-half finishes, and at 58 years old, it's tougher to expect another run into the weekend.
Jump to top of page
Matthieu Pavon
Past Masters Results: 122025 PGA Tour Results: 47 - 54* - MC* - 42 - 44* - 63 - 73* - 48
The Frenchman impressed with a T-12 Masters debut that was part of a very successful first half of the 2024 season, which also featured a win at the Farmers Insurance Open and top-five finishes at the U.S. Open and AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He qualified for this year's tournament by finishing 2024 inside the top 50 of the OWGR, but has yet to impress in 2025, failing to crack the top 40 in nine PGA Tour starts. He certainly showed some big-stage potential last season, but without the same ball-striking sharpness, a similar showing this year would come as a much bigger surprise.
Jump to top of page
Taylor Pendrith
Past Masters Results: First appearance2025 PGA Tour Results: 5 - 38* - MC* - MC - 50* - 9* - 7 - 45 - 13
Pendrith's game seems to be coming together at the right time. He's been one of the best off the tee all season and has consistently gained strokes on approach throughout 2025. The putter, which was a surprising liability through his first seven starts, has flipped back into a major strength—he ranked inside the top 10 in SG: Putting at both the Players and Houston Open, where he posted a top-five finish.
The scrambling has also been a liability this year, and could be especially so in a debut on Augusta's complex greens. But with the driver, irons, and putter trending in the right direction, he has the tools to post a respectable finish in his first Masters.
Jump to top of page
J.T. Poston
Past Masters Results: 30 - 34 - MC2025 PGA Tour Results: 26 - 28 - 33* - 50* - 39* - 16 - 53* - 12 - MC - 40
Poston has a solid but unspectacular statistical profile that meshes well with consistent made cuts and middle-of-the-pack finishes on the PGA Tour this year. With two mid-pack finishes in two Masters starts, it's easy to assume he's likely to finish somewhere in the 30s again this year.
Jump to top of page
Jon Rahm
Past Masters Results: 45 - 1 - 27 - 5 - 7 - 9 - 42025 LIV Golf Results: 9 - 5 - 6 - 6 - 2
Rahm enters the Masters on a streak of top-10s in LIV events, which seems fine, but as I've stated before, I struggle to quantify those results. A year ago, he had a similar run of LIV top 10s and finished T-45 at Augusta, and then posted two more top-10s before missing the cut at the PGA Championship. I'm not trying to dismiss the legitimacy of LIV performances—the top of those leaderboards generally feature the guys we already know are the best players in the league. But so far, there has been very little correlation between LIV form and success in the majors.
I talked about Niemann's major struggles in his profile. Talor Gooch similarly dominated LIV in 2023 but missed the cut in two of his three major starts that year. On the other side of the coin, Bryson DeChambeau finished a pedestrian eighth in LIV's season-long standings last year, but won the U.S. Open and contended in two other majors.
The point is, a string of LIV top 10s doesn't give me an appreciation of what kind of golf Rahm is capable of playing at Augusta National this week. But I do remember that just two years ago, he was wearing a green jacket after winning four times in seven PGA Tour starts. He is still clearly one of the two or three most talented players of this era, and while I struggle to develop a strong conviction this week, there's no question that he is capable of winning another green jacket.
Jump to top of page
Aaron Rai
Past Masters Results: First appearance2025 PGA Tour Results: MC - 14* - 11* - 4 - 37* - 40* - MC - 15
The supremely accurate Englishman is easily recognizable by the black gloves he wears on both hands. Rai recently climbed into the top 25 of the world rankings, thanks to a fantastic 12-month stretch that included a maiden PGA Tour win at the Wyndham Championship and six other top 10 finishes. He continued that strong play into March with three straight finishes inside the top 14 but missed the cut in his most recent start in Houston where he struggled with the distance required in the wet conditions at Memorial Park. Length will likely be a limitation again for him in his Masters debut, but his world-class ability to find fairways and consistent approach play makes him a solid candidate to make pars, avoid big numbers, and play the weekend.
Jump to top of page
Patrick Reed
Past Masters Results: 12 - 4 - 35 - 8 - 10 - 36 - 1 - MC - 49 - 22 - MC2025 LIV Golf Results: 7 - 25 - 10 - 37 - 44
After seven consecutive successful starts at the Masters, Reed is starting to look like a true Augusta National specialist. His consistent results are a testament to how valuable elite scrambling can be at Augusta, and few players are better than him around the greens. At last year's Masters, he ranked third-to-last in greens in regulation and still nearly grabbed a top 10 just by getting up and down from everywhere.
MORE: Q&A with Patrick Reed
His season-long LIV results have been uninspiring, but he is coming off his best finish of the year at Doral (T-7) —a tougher, more relevant setup than most LIV venues. That tracks, as Reed tends to play his best golf on more demanding courses, which helps explain his success at Augusta. The form bump at Doral adds a little extra optimism, but even without it, he tends to grind his way into the mix here.
Jump to top of page
Davis Riley
Past Masters Results: First appearance2025 PGA Tour Results: 52 - 7 - 38* - 6 - 48 - MC - MC - MC - MC
After a breakout 2022 rookie season, Riley struggled for results over the past two years—falling as low as 250th in the Official World Golf Ranking. He qualified for the Masters with an out-of-form win at last year's Charles Schwab Challenge and is currently in his most consistent stretch of golf, with two top 10s and five straight made cuts since the beginning of March.
He disappointed as a popular pick in Houston the last time we saw him, losing a ton of strokes with his irons, but he had an extremely encouraging T-7 the week prior at the Valspar, where he led the field in SG: Around-the-Green and finished in the top five in SG: Approach. The full game has looked sharp lately—aside from a somewhat wayward driver—and if he can straighten it out even a little, he's got the length and all-around skill set to do well at Augusta in his debut.
Jump to top of page
Justin Rose
Masters History: MC - 16 - MC - 7 - 23 - MC - 12 - 2 - 10 - 2 - 14 - 25 - 8 - 11 - 20 - 36 - 5 - 22 - 392025 PGA Tour Results: 47 - MC* - 8* - MC* - 3* - MC
Rose still pops up on leaderboards from time to time, but it's hard to know when that's going to happen. He's far from the consistent, prodigious ball-striker he was in his prime, and his results now tend to come when the putter catches fire—which only happens sporadically. His last four Masters starts are a case in point: he finished T-16 and T-7 when he ranked inside the top five in SG: Putting, and missed the cut the other two years when the putter was merely above average.
There might be reason to believe he can turn it on again at Augusta this year. He had four top 10 finishes over the past year, which came at the PGA Championship, The Open, and elevated events at Pebble Beach and Bay Hill. While no longer a safe play, the two-time Masters runner-up still appears capable of finding another gear in big events.
Jump to top of page
Xander Schauffele
Past Masters Results: 8 - 10 - MC - 3 - 17 - 2 - 502025 PGA Tour Results: 12 - 72* - 40* - 30
It's a bit unfortunate we didn't get to see Schauffele much before the Masters. After missing two months with a rib injury, he returned for three starts in Florida and looked understandably rusty. He was one of the best putters on Tour last season, but has yet to gain strokes putting in 2025. His driving and short game have been similarly shaky, losing strokes in both categories in a majority of rounds during that Florida swing.
Despite this negative preamble, I'm still quite interested in Schauffele after a truly exceptional iron display in his most recent start at the Valspar. He gained a career-best 11.2 strokes on approach at the Copperhead Course, 3.1 strokes better than the second-best iron player in the field that week. Although the rest of his game wasn't particularly sharp, that level of ball-striking is so ridiculously good that he absolutely warrants serious consideration heading into Augusta. If this were any other player, I might be less willing to overlook the rust throughout the rest of the bag. But Schauffele has proven himself to be one of the most consistent all-around players on Tour over the last few years, and with two weeks off leading in, I'm hoping his practice time at home can help get the rest of the game where it needs to be this week.
He's been in the mix at Augusta nearly every year, and in a Masters where he might fly slightly under the radar, I'm more than happy to take my chances.
Jump to top of page
Scottie Scheffler
Past Masters Results: 1 - 10 - 1 - 18 - 192025 PGA Tour Results: 2 - 20* - 11* - 3* - 25 - 9*
Still the best player in the world, and the only reason for hesitation is the absurd standard he set last season. We know about the wins, but the statistical profile was just as staggering. He led the PGA Tour in Strokes Gained: Approach by a massive margin (nearly half a stroke per round better than second), ranked second off the tee, and was top 20 around the green. With that combination firing almost every week, he was consistently running away from the field tee to green. During his six-win stretch between March and June, he gained an average of 11.85 strokes per tournament—a level we've only seen from peak Tiger Woods.
By comparison, Scheffler has averaged 6.7 SG: Tee-to-Green through six starts in 2025. That's still elite—but he's no longer lapping the field, and he hasn't been able to get into contention when the putter doesn't also cooperate. The good news? He is coming off the second-best putting week of his career in Houston. But when he needs to rely on that club, he feels a little less of a sure thing.
He still deserves to be the favorite every week—especially at Augusta, where he's run away from the field in two of the last three years. He simply feels less inevitable than he did a year ago.
Jump to top of page
Adam Schenk
Past Masters Results: 122025 PGA Tour Results: MC - MC - MC - MC* - 45 - MC - 25 - 25 - 6
Adam surprised with a T-12 finish in his Masters debut last year, earning a return invite for 2025. That result came on the heels of solid form—something he's clearly lacking at the moment. After a strong start to 2025, he's now missed five of his last six cuts, with a best recent result of T-45 in Puerto Rico. As it stands, he looks far more likely to miss the weekend than to replicate last year's finish.
Jump to top of page
Charl Schwartzel
Past Masters Results: MC - 50 - 10 - 26 - 25 - MC - MC - 3 - MC - 38 - MC - 25 - 50 - 1 - 302025 PGA Tour Results: 2 - 14 - 20 - 12 - 33
Augusta has always been a soft landing spot for the 2011 Masters champ. Schwartzel missed the cut last year, but made the weekend in four of his previous five starts, including a surprising top 10 in 2022—despite arriving off six straight missed cuts on the PGA Tour. He just finished solo second last week at LIV Doral, which adds additional optimism about his ability to play well on the weekend.
Jump to top of page
Adam Scott
Past Masters Results: 22 - 39 - 48 - 54 - 34 - 18 - 31 - 9 - 42 - 38 - 14 - 1 - 8 - 2 - 18 - MC - 25 - 27 - 27 - 332025 PGA Tour Results: 57 - MC* - 36* - 37* - 22* - 15
2025 DP World Tour Results: 3
Somehow still the most handsome man in the field in what will be his 23rd start at the Masters. Scott closed last season on a terrific run with a runner-up at the Scottish Open, a top 10 at the Open Championship, and two top-five finishes during the FedEx Cup Playoffs, but he hasn't been able to replicate that form in 2025. He's struggled in recent starts, missing the cut badly at the Players and finishing outside the top 50 in a soft field at the Valspar.
The good news? Scott hasn't missed a cut at Augusta since 2009. The bad? He hasn't logged a top 10 here since 2017. I'd be surprised to see him in serious contention, but it's probably safe to assume he'll be around for the weekend.
Jump to top of page
Cameron Smith
Past Masters Results: 6 - 34 - 3 - 10 - 2 - 51 - 5 - 552025 LIV Golf Results: 9 - 19 - 20 - 30 - 25
In his five years at the Masters, Smith has been as good as anyone without a green jacket. Augusta is a perfect fit for his game—it doesn't overly punish his wayward driver, and it amplifies his world-class creativity and feel. He has the shotmaking and adaptability to deal with Augusta's constant uneven lies, and an unmatched touch and imagination with his wedges to handle its unique scrambling demands.
Smith hasn't shown much on LIV this season, but as noted throughout, those results don't tend to correlate strongly to major success. The Masters is a week when we can expect Smith to lock in. He has the tools to win at Augusta when he's on, and a generational short game should keep him in the mix even when he's not.
Jump to top of page
J.J. Spaun
Past Masters Results: 23 (2022)2025 PGA Tour Results: MC - 2* - 31* - 2 - 34* - 33* - 15 - 29 - 3
Spaun came close to a career-defining win at the Players last month, just losing out to Rory McIlroy in a playoff. While he's not yet a household name, that Players win wouldn't have been a surprise to those of us who have been paying attention to his stats over the past 12 months. Spaun has been hitting his irons at a Collin Morikawa level. He ranks second in SG: Approach on the PGA Tour this season and has gained strokes on approach in 23 consecutive tournaments (with measured data) dating back to March 2024. His short game doesn't always travel, but when it has shown up this season, he has come within a shot of winning at the Sony Open, Cognizant Classic, and the Players. He doesn't have a strong major record, but the T23 in his Masters debut is his best major finish, and he now is playing far better and more consistently than he has at any point in his career. He's also added some ball speed since his last Augusta appearance, which will make him more equipped to handle Augusta's length this time around.
Spaun will need his short game to overachieve to be a real factor, which is a tough ask at Augusta, but the iron play is so consistently dialed that a top 20 feels very much in play.
Jump to top of page
Jordan Spieth
Past Masters Results: MC - 4 - MC - 3 - 46 - 21 - 3 - 11 - 2 - 1 - 22025 PGA Tour Results: 12 - 28 - 59* - 9 - MC - 4 - 69
Jordan remains one of the game's most chaotic and compelling figures. This season, he has flashed elite form with every club in the bag—but rarely at the same time.
He gained 6.9 strokes on approach at the Phoenix Open and 7.6 at the Valspar, ranking second in the field both times. In between? He was one of the worst iron players at Torrey Pines and TPC Sawgrass. The driver has been mostly fine (aside from a blowup at Bay Hill), and the short game has followed the same boom-or-bust pattern—with a big week around the green at the Players (+5.3 SG: Around-the-Green) and top five putting performances at the Cognizant and again most recently in Texas.
I had some hope that returning to a familiar setup in Texas would bring everything together, but instead, the strengths and weaknesses just shuffled again. He has alternated missed cuts and top fives in his last four Masters, and that trend suggests this could be an "up" week. It would be Spieth-like if Augusta is where it all comes together, but expecting that feels more like hope than analysis when volatility has been the most consistent trend of his season.
Jump to top of page
Sepp Straka
Past Masters Results: 16 - 46 - 302025 PGA Tour Results: 28 - 14* - 5* - 11 - MC* - 15 - 7* - 1 - 30 - 15
If you haven't been paying attention, Straka has quietly become one of the best ball-strikers in the world. The big Austrian ranks fourth on the PGA Tour in SG: Approach this season and has gained over four strokes on approach in seven of his last eight starts—an incredibly high level to maintain with such consistency. That iron play earned him a win at the American Express and put him in the mix at several big-time events, including a T-5 at Bay Hill and T-7 at Pebble Beach.
The limiting factor most weeks is the putter. He's been alternating between gaining and losing a bunch of strokes on the greens all season, and he'll likely need to catch a good week if he wants to contend at Augusta. Still, the ball-striking has been so reliably high-level that he should be able to improve on his career-best T-16 finish from last year. And if the putter heats up, there's an even greater upside here.
Jump to top of page
Hiroshi Tai (a)
Past Masters Results: First appearanceWorld Amateur Golf Ranking: 47
Tai is making his Masters debut and becomes the first player representing Singapore to compete in the tournament. He earned his spot by winning the 2024 NCAA Individual Championship, edging out a loaded leaderboard that included Luke Clanton, Jackson Koivun, and Gordon Sargent.
Since that victory last May, Tai has slipped from 19th to 47th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, suggesting his form has dipped and he might be heading into Augusta without his best stuff.
Jump to top of page
Nick Taylor
Past Masters Results: MC - 292025 PGA Tour Results: MC - MC* - 31* - 9* - 25 - 33* - 12 - 1 - 48
A fantastic golfer on the right setup in the right kind of field. Outside of the very loud win at the 2023 RBC Canadian, the Canadian has very quietly collected five career PGA Tour victories, including an early-season win at this year's Sony Open. He was one of the most consistent iron players on Tour for the first two months of 2025, gaining an average of 4.3 strokes on approach across six starts.
But those irons cooled off in March, and he lost strokes on approach in back-to-back missed cuts at the Players and Houston Open. The outlook becomes bleaker when you factor in his poor track record in majors—he's missed the cut in eight straight dating back to 2022 and has a career-best major finish of T-29 at the COVID-delayed 2020 Masters.
The elite iron player we saw earlier this season should be capable of bettering that T-29, but Taylor's lack of distance and consistent major events present real limitations at Augusta.
Jump to top of page
Sahith Theegala
Past Masters Results: 45 - 92025 PGA Tour Results: 67 - 36 - 52* - MC* - 17* - 57 - 53* - 52 - 37 - 36
Theegala simply isn't ball-striking well enough right now to be a factor at Augusta. He has lost strokes off the tee in four of his last five starts and lost on approach in all five. He has made the cut in all but one start this season, but the T-17 at the Genesis is his only finish inside the top 35.
He proved he could navigate Augusta with a T-9 finish in 2023, but he was much more capable of gaining strokes with the driver and irons at that time. He has shown a pretty awesome ability to grind back and sneak under the cutline, so he might be someone to watch on Friday afternoon. Given the state of his ball-striking, however, it's hard to see him factoring over the weekend.
Jump to top of page
Justin Thomas
Past Masters Results: MC - MC - 8 - 21 - 4 - 12 - 17 - 22 - 392025 PGA Tour Results: 2 - 33* - 36* - 9* - 6 - 48* - 2 - 26
Maybe the most interesting man in the field this week. Thomas has been wildly unpredictable, both week-to-week and round-to-round, best summarized by his consecutive rounds of 78 and 62 at the Players. He's flashed big-time form in moments throughout the season but has struggled to put four rounds together. The stats have followed suit. At the Players, he was dead last in SG: Approach on Thursday (-3.9), then led the field on Friday (+3.7). He led the Genesis field in SG: Approach and was top five at the Phoenix Open, but hasn't gained more than three strokes in any of his other starts since January. Off the tee, he's alternated between gaining and losing multiple strokes in every event this year.
It does feel like something is brewing, though. He's shown glimpses of high-end form in every part of his game and, crucially, he's had a red-hot putter recently. He ranked top 10 in SG: Putting in his last two starts, gaining 4.7 strokes at the Players and 6.8 at Valspar.
JT just missed the cut the past two years at Augusta, but he enters this week in far better form. He'll almost certainly have one extremely low round and it feels like contending could just be a matter of eliminating the bad one, which might be as simple as having a not-terrible Thursday.
Jump to top of page
Davis Thompson
Past Masters Results: First appearance2025 PGA Tour Results: 27 - 10* - MC* - MC - 13* - 36 - 58* - 51 - MC - 36
One of the first-timers to keep an eye on this week. The 25-year-old earned his Masters invite and first PGA Tour win in dominant fashion, finishing four strokes clear of the field at the John Deere Classic last July. He's also shown signs of breaking through in elite fields this season, as he finished T-10 last month at the Players and held the 36-hole lead in the Genesis Invitational at Torrey Pines.
His week-to-week results have been inconsistent this year, but he has flashed big potential and an all-around skill set. Last summer, he gained strokes in all four major categories across three consecutive starts, which led to a T-9 at the U.S. Open, a runner-up at Rocket Mortgage, and his runaway win at the John Deere. Augusta should suit him well—he's long and relatively accurate off the tee, ranks inside the top 30 SG: Around-the-Green this season, and has gained strokes on both approach and putting in each of his last two starts, including a career-best +6.6 SG: Approach last time out in Houston.
He does only have one top 10 this year, so the ceiling might be capped this week, but he is a young name to watch in his debut and in future trips to Augusta.
Jump to top of page
Jhonattan Vegas
Past Masters Results: 38 - MC - MC2025 PGA Tour Results: MC - MC - 60* - 61 - 40* - 42 - MC - 4
Broke a seven-year winless drought last July at the 3M Open and returns to Augusta for the first time since 2018. Unfortunately, it comes at a bad time. The big Colombian has lost strokes off the tee, on approach, and around the green in each of his last two starts, missing the cut by several shots at both the Houston Open and Valspar.
Looking further back, he hasn't finished in the top half of a leaderboard in over three months, though he has produced a few isolated low rounds that offer a glimmer of hope if you're looking for it. He can occasionally run extremely hot with the irons, which he did in a solid T-4 finish at the season-opening Sentry. His recent approach numbers don't suggest one of those weeks is coming soon, though. Add in a rough track record across 15 major starts, and there's not much to lean on heading into Augusta.
Jump to top of page
Bubba Watson
Past Masters Results: MC - MC - 39 - 26 - 57 - 12 - 5 - MC - 37 - 1 - 50 - 1 - 38 - 42 -202025 LIV Golf Results: 33 - 38 - 30 - 21 - 12
The two-time Masters champ feels unlikely to be competitive at the Masters again. He's missed the cut in his last two Masters starts and hasn't been competitive in an increasingly top-heavy LIV league where he consistently finishes outside the top half of the 54-man fields. Data Golf has him ranked well outside the top 300 golfers in the world right now, which likely makes him the lowest-ranked non-amateur or non-senior in the tournament. It would be fun to see Watson whipping the ball around Augusta National on the weekend, but it doesn't feel likely.
Jump to top of page
Mike Weir
Past Masters Results: MC - MC - MC - MC - 51 - MC - MC - MC - MC - MC - 44 - MC - MC - MC - 43 - 46 - 17 - 20 - 11 - 5 - MC - 12025 PGA Tour Champions Results: 64 - 33 - 77 - 27
The first lefty and only Canadian Masters champion returns to tee it up for the 26th time at Augusta National. With just one made cut in his last 10 starts here and very little to show for his recent Champions Tour form, his impact this week is likely to be mostly ceremonial.
Jump to top of page
Danny Willett
Past Masters Results: 45 - MC - 12 - MC - 25 - MC - MC - MC - 1 - 382025 PGA Tour Results: MC - 47 - 45 - MC - 9 - MC
The 2016 Masters Champion makes his 11th appearance at Augusta National, where he has made the cut in three of his last five starts. Playing this season on a medical exemption, Willett has teed it up six times on the PGA Tour and has made the cut in three, including a top-10 at the Farmers Insurance Open thanks to a hot putter.
His results in limited action have been better than a handful of the out-of-form players in this field who qualified with 2024 wins, and he still seems capable of putting his way to another weekend at Augusta.
Jump to top of page
Cameron Young
Past Masters Results: 9 - 7 - MC2025 PGA Tour Results: 18 - MC - 61* - MC* - MC - MC* - 12 - 72* - MC - 8
Another big-name American and Ryder Cup talent is arriving at Augusta well out of form. Young has already missed five cuts in 2025 and finished outside the top 60 in two others. The statistical profile is concerning coming to Augusta as he has lost strokes on approach in all but two starts this year and ranks outside the top 160 on the PGA Tour in both SG: Approach and SG: Around-the-Green.
He does have two top 10s at Augusta and five total in majors, but he has been uncompetitive in his last three and looks unlikely to be a factor this week.
Jump to top of page
Kevin Yu
Past Masters Results: First appearance2025 PGA Tour Results: 18 - 12 - MC* - 45 - 17* - 16 - 64* - MC - MC - 44
The winner of the 2024 Sanderson Farms is making his Masters debut and just his fourth career major start. He missed the cut in all three U.S. Open appearances, but he enters Augusta in respectable form and appears well-suited for the ball-striking demands of this tournament. He has been elite tee to green this season, crushing the ball off the tee, gaining strokes on approach in nine consecutive starts, and recently beginning to gain around the greens. He, unfortunately has a massive limitation on the greens, currently ranking outside the top 160 on the PGA Tour in SG: Putting. His consistent high-end ball-striking gives him a path to a respectable mid-pack finish, but his top-end potential will be severely limited by the flat stick in his debut on these Augusta National greens.
Jump to top of page
Will Zalatoris
Past Masters Results: 9 - 6 - 22025 PGA Tour Results: 47 - 30* - 22* - 24* - 48* - 12 - 26
Another guy I wish we could've seen tee it up one more time in Texas. At his peak, Zalatoris was one of the best ball-strikers in the world. After missing most of 2023 with a back injury, he's slowly trending back toward that ball-striking form. He has been excellent with his irons lately, gaining 3.4 strokes on approach at Valspar, 5.1 at the Players, and 4.5 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational—arguably his best three-tournament stretch with the irons since 2022. The driver has been less consistent, but he has gained off the tee in two of his last three starts and was fifth best in that category at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
The bigger concern remains the short game. He's consistently lost strokes around the green all season, and outside of a strong week on the greens at the Players, the putter has been a real issue. In three other starts since mid-February, Zalatoris has lost a very concerning average of 3.8 strokes putting.
That's a lot of data, so here's the short version: Zalatoris's ball-striking is trending back to pre-injury form, but his short game has been extremely poor. He has never finished outside the top 10 at Augusta though—even in last year's otherwise forgettable season—so he can't be totally ruled out.
Jump to top of page
Share
Share
About the author
%201.webp)
Tim Watson
Tim is a creative producer, video editor, and writer that moonlights as a fantasy golf analyst. He loves building a backyard golf course and hitting DoD from well off the fairway.
He writes about fantasy golf every week on his Substack and talks golf on X.
Find out more
Fried Egg Golf Club
Get full access to exclusive benefits from Fried Egg Golf
Join The Club
Join The Club
No items found.
more
Getting the Shot: Rory McIlroy's Sunday Approach into No. 15 at the Masters
Apr 21, 2025
3 min read
I Played Augusta National Without My Best Stuff
Apr 18, 2025
5 min read
Looking Ahead and Looking Back
Apr 16, 2025
3 min read
More
No items found.
Fried Egg Golf Club
Get full access to exclusive benefits from Fried Egg Golf
Join The Club
Join The Club
No items found.
more
No items found.
forum
Leave a comment or start a discussion
Give us your thoughts...
Engage in our content with hundreds of other Fried Egg Golf Members
Get Started
Get Started
Engage in our content with hundreds of other Fried Egg Golf Members
Join The Club
Join The Club
log in
log in
Newsletters
Sign up to our newsletter for fresh takes Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays*
*Our readers make more birdies
Explore related content
Explore All
Explore All
Competitive Golf
Professional Golf
2025 Chevron Championship Preview: Top Players in Form for First Major
4 min read
April 24, 2025
Competitive Golf
Professional Golf
Interim Commissioner Liz Moore on What's Next for the LPGA
3 min read
April 23, 2025
Competitive Golf
Professional Golf
Welcome to the Justin and Joe Show
3 min read
April 21, 2025
Competitive Golf
Professional Golf
Q&A: Oddsmaker Sam Cooney on Gauging Pro Golf Interest with Betting Data
5 min read
April 18, 2025
Competitive Golf
Professional Golf
Looking Ahead and Looking Back
3 min read
April 16, 2025
Competitive Golf
Professional Golf
2025 Masters Final Round Recap, Leaderboard, and Notes
10 min
April 14, 2025
Fried Egg Golf Club
Get full access to exclusive benefits from Fried Egg Golf
- Member-only content
- Community discussions forums
- Member-only experiences and early access to events
Join The Club
Join The Club
Leave a comment or start a discussion
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere. uis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.