2025 Masters Picks and Betting Tips: Best Bets for Scheffler, McIlroy & More

It’s Masters Week, and the 2025 edition begins Thursday with the world’s best gathering at Augusta National for the 89th playing of the storied opening major of the year. 

I’ve scoured the Masters odds and cherry-picked some of the top contenders to bring you my Top 20 Masters picks and betting tips for the first major of the 2025 season. Whether you’re looking to make a play on the favorites or take a shot on an underdog, I've got you covered for the action at Augusta!

Rory McIlroy to win outright (+675 at bet365)

My Masters betting card and handicap begins with a Rory McIlroy outright ticket. 

His game is sharp, and he has three worldwide wins and another five Top 5s across 11 events since wrapping up his 2024 PGA Tour season. Add pacing the Tour in adjusted scoring average to his seven Top 10s at Augusta National, and this might just be the year McIlroy completes the career grand slam.

Rory McIlroy over Scottie Scheffler (+115 at Caesars)

Only three players have defended their Masters title, and I’m not anticipating Scottie Scheffler being the fourth. Sure, he’s coming off a T2 fueled by his best putting performance of the season at the Houston Open, but the overall short game hasn’t been clicking completely.

He's lost true strokes around the greens in four of six PGA Tour events this year, and while he’s still first for the season in bogey avoidance, he’s also 43rd in birdie-or-better percentage and 87th in putting average.

This time last year, Scottie headed to Augusta National with a pair of wins and five more Top 10s in his eight prior 2024 events. He’s not in the same form.

Collin Morikawa to win outright (+1800 at DraftKings)

Collin Morikawa has gained true strokes across the board in his past four Masters appearances to card three consecutive Top 10s, with a T3 last year and solo fifth in 2022. The two-time major champion has also played the weekend in 22 straight events while ranking second in true strokes gained tee-to-green and third in driving accuracy in this field during the nearly flawless run. 

The only question is whether enough putts will fall to win it all.

Justin Thomas over Xander Schauffele (-110 at bet365)

Justin Thomas has gained true strokes on approach in 14 consecutive events to rank third in the Masters field during the nearly year-long run. Unfortunately, he’s only gained strokes putting in half those events. The overall finishes remain solid with Thomas carding four Top 5s and another two Top 10s.

Here’s the good news: JT's gained true strokes putting in consecutive tournaments for an average of +1.46 strokes per round. So, while Thomas has failed to play the weekend in his past two trips, the two-time major champion is coming into the 2025 edition hot and has a T8 in 2022 and solo fourth in 2020 on his Masters resume.

Jon Rahm Top LIV Golfer (+320 at bet365)

The 2023 Masters champion has five consecutive Top 10 finishes while gaining true strokes across the board to start his LIV Golf season, and he should be better prepared for Augusta without having to defend a title this time around. After all, Jon Rahm carded four straight Top 10s here from 2018 to 2021.

Additionally, there’s potential for a splash of sneaky statistical correction from Rahm. He’s gained true strokes on approach in each of his past four trips to the Masters, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he improved in the metric this week. Rahm ranks 42nd in this field in true strokes gained on approach with a likely unsustainably low +0.33 strokes per round.

Tommy Fleetwood Top Englishman (+225 at DraftKings)

A popular pick for poolies and punters ahead of every major championship, Tommy Fleetwood has made 16 consecutive cuts dating back to the Olympics and finished T3 in the 2024 Masters to go along with another six Top-5 finishes in majors. 

The Englishman ranks sixth in this field in true strokes gained tee-to-green and fourth on approach during the 16-event heater, and the elite ball striking has paved the way to five Top 5s and another six Top 20s. Is it finally time for the seven-time DP World Tour winner to take down his first major championship and PGA Tour win?

Fade Xander Schauffele

I haven’t seen enough from Xander Schauffele since returning from injury to have confidence in him playing well in the 2025 Masters. He paced the field in true strokes gained on approach during his T12 at the Valspar Championship, but bled true strokes on the greens. He’s lost strokes off the tee and on the greens in back-to-back events.

The two-week layoff may enable the two-time major champion to arrive at Augusta National in top form, but I’m not expecting it. He’s likely capable of ham-and-egging together four solid rounds given his excellent course history with three Top 10s in his past four trips, I’m just more interested in finding 72-hole matchups to fade him in.

Steer Clear of Ludvig Aberg

Ludvig Aberg has missed consecutive cuts while losing true strokes gained on the greens in each event. While he won as recently as The Genesis and finished solo second in the 2024 Masters, it took Aberg pacing the field in true strokes gained putting at Augusta National last year. 

He can flip the switch, but his recent work on the greens is even more worrisome considering he’s also lost true strokes on approach across three events since the win to rank 68th in the Masters field in the metric during the uncharacteristic skid.

Can Bryson rebound from Doral disappointment?

Bryson DeChambeau held a 36-hole lead in last week’s LIV Miami event before firing a final-round 75 to finish solo-fifth. The reigning U.S. Open winner finished T6 in last year’s Masters while unsurprisingly pacing the field in true strokes gained off-the-tee.

The rest of his game is giving me pause ahead of this season’s first major. DeChambeau has lost true strokes on approach and on the greens through five LIV events to rank 63rd and 71st, respectively, in this field in the two metrics.

That's not an ideal statistical profile to pair with last week’s Round 3 result — especially with the challenging green complexes at Augusta National.

Consistency key for Hideki

Hideki Matsuyama has played the weekend in each of the past 10 Masters, and he’s finished Top 20 in eight of them. Of course, he won the 2021 edition and heads to Augusta with a win already this season.

The problem is he’s also missed the cut in consecutive events and lost true strokes gained putting in three straight. This is a happy place for Mastsuyama, but I’m skeptical of him, given his mini slump. Golf’s a game of mini peaks and valleys, and Hideki’s game has the latter's look. 

Phil Mickelson Top Senior (-120 at DraftKings)

Talk about a throwback start to the 2025 LIV Golf season from Phil Mickelson. He has four straight Top-25 finishes out of the gate, with a solo-third in Hong Kong and a solo-sixth last week in Miami. 

The three-time Masters champion is making his 32nd appearance at the event, and he finished T2 as recently as 2023. Lefty has also gained true strokes across the board this season, and heads to August National ranked 21st in the tee-to-green metric.

Corey Conners Top Canadian (+105 at DraftKings)

Rewind two years and Corey Conners headed to the 2023 Masters with three consecutive Top-10 finishes. He played poorly and missed the cut, but followed it up with another respectable T38 finish in 2024 while gaining true strokes on approach and on the greens.

Conners heads to Augusta National this year with four consecutive Top-10 finishes while gaining true strokes across the board during the heater, including ranking third in this field in true strokes gained tee-to-green.

Will Zalatoris is money at Augusta National

Will Zalatoris has three consecutive Top 10s, including a solo second in his debut in 2021, and he’ll look to keep the impressive streak going on the heels of an excellent run of ball-striking. He’s gained true strokes on approach in six straight events to rank 11th in this field in the metric and fuel ranking 15th in true strokes gained tee-to-green during the metric. 

He also finished fourth in true strokes gained on approach and third in true strokes gained tee-to-green here last year. So, you guessed it, he just needs the ball to roll in for another solid week. Unfortunately, he's only gained true strokes on the greens in three of seven events this season to average -0.12 true strokes per round.

Jordan Spieth is looking to tame Amen Corner

With a win and another five Top-5 finishes in the Masters, few in this year’s field can match Jordan Spieth’s success in the major championship. He’s also returned from wrist surgery to card a pair of Top 10s in the early season and is coming off a T12 last week at the Valero Texas Open.

It’s also encouraging that Speith has gained true strokes across the board this season, so while there’s been week-to-week inconsistency, Augusta National has been a sweet spot for the three-time major champion.

Russell Henley over Robert MacIntyre (-111 at BetMGM)

A Georgia native, Russell Henley checks oodles of boxes ahead of the 2025 Masters.

He's played the weekend in 20 consecutive events while ranking Top 20 in this field in every true strokes gained metric except off-the-tee. It’s because he’s more accurate than long, and ranking seventh in driving accuracy could be underappreciated this week at Augusta National.

He’s also been solid in this event with seven consecutive Top 40s, which includes a T4 in 2023 and two more Top 20s. Of course, he also just won the biggest event of his career at the Arnold Palmer in March. 

Patrick Can or Cantlay?

Eight-time PGA Tour winner Patrick Cantlay is still chasing the elusive first major championship, and he’s played the weekend in 14 consecutive events while ranking 10th in this field in true strokes gained tee-to-green and carding four Top-5 finishes.

His ball-striking has also been particularly hot of late, with an average of +1.19 true strokes gained on approach per round through his past five events. The problem is that Cantlay has lost true strokes on the greens in three of those five tournaments, in addition to his past four trips to Augusta.

Cantlay can take care of business tee-to-green, but can he conquer the greens this week?

Cameron Smith over Tyrrell Hatton (+100 at Caesars)

Cameron Smith has shined at Augusta, with three Top 5s and two more Top 10s, including his T6 last year while finishing second in true strokes gained around-the-green and fourth in putting. His current form reinforces his magic short game, but Smith has lost strokes off the tee and on approach while ranking 86th in this field in driving accuracy across his five 2025 LIV Golf events.

If Smith isn’t hitting enough fairways and greens, his short game won’t be enough to keep his brilliant run in the Masters going in 2025. 

Viktor Hovland Top Scandinavian (+225 at Caesars)

Victor Hovland took down the Valspar Championship after missing three consecutive cuts, and I’m anticipating the world-class talent to build off the win with another solid showing in the Masters after failing to play the weekend last year.

The Norwegian has gained an average of +1.64 true strokes per round on approach across his past three events, and he also gained an average of +0.85 across his eight rounds in the 2022 and 2023 Masters, where he finished T27 and T7, respectively.

Don’t forget, Hovland has finished Top 20 in six of the past nine majors with three Top 5s.

Is a Koepka comeback coming?

With a pair of T2s and another three Top 20s on his Masters resume, Brooks Koepka can golf his ball around Augusta National, and he heads to the 2025 Masters with true strokes gained on approach in three consecutive LIV Golf events. The five-time major champion also has multiple worldwide wins in the past two years and has already carded a solo-second and T7 this season.

Koepka is arguably the biggest wildcard of the season's first major, but I’d be surprised if he doesn’t show off on the biggest stage like he’s done so many times before. In addition to five major championships, he has another nine Top 5s, after all. 

Lucas Glover Top 40 (-110 at BetMGM)

Lucas Glover’s T20 in last year’s Masters matched his prior best finish that came back in 2007. This will be his 11th trip to Augusta National, and Glover has played the weekend in six of the past 10.

His tee-to-green game has been incredible during his late-career resurgence, including consecutive wins in August 2023 and another seven Top 5s since July 2023. Glover ranks third in this field in true strokes gained on approach, fifth in driving accuracy, and 20th in true strokes gained tee-to-green during the stretch. He also hasn’t lost true strokes in any other metric and ranked 11th in true strokes gained putting in the 2024 Masters.

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