There is no week in golf quite like Masters week. The Tour has its big tournaments, the majors all carry their own particular weight, but none of them produce the same eight-day buildup of anticipation, ritual, and quiet conversation as the first major of the year at Augusta National. We’re now eight days out, and the stories are starting to write themselves.
Here is the complete preview as Pin High Press sees it.
The defending champion
Rory McIlroy returns to Augusta National for the first time as a Masters champion, which is something the golf world has been waiting more than a decade to see. His playoff win last April, the one that finally completed the career Grand Slam after eleven years of trying, was the most emotionally charged Sunday at the Masters in living memory. Whatever McIlroy does this week will be measured against that.
If he wins, he becomes only the fourth player ever to win back-to-back Masters titles, joining Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo, and Tiger Woods in a club that doesn’t get any new members very often. He also arrives with a different mental state than he has had in any previous Masters, finally free of the question that defined his career for over a decade.
His form is the obvious concern. McIlroy withdrew from the Arnold Palmer Invitational with a back issue and has not played since. Whether he is fully fit by Thursday morning is the most important variable in the tournament. If he is, he is among the favourites. If he isn’t, the field opens up considerably.
The world number one
Scottie Scheffler arrives at Augusta as the consensus betting favourite at +500, looking for his third green jacket in five years. Scheffler has been the best player in the world for nearly two seasons, and the Masters is the one tournament that genuinely seems to bring out his best week after week. His 2022 and 2024 wins were both clinics in how to play Augusta National.
The complication this year is that he arrives in unusually flat form. Two finishes outside the top 20 in his last two starts represent something close to his worst stretch in years. Whether that is a temporary stumble or something more meaningful is the question. History suggests Scheffler is the kind of player who turns up at Augusta in form regardless of how the previous month went. We will find out if that holds.
The LIV resurgence
Jon Rahm has been the player of 2026 so far. The Spaniard has not finished outside the top five in nine straight LIV events and won in Hong Kong in early March. He has played exactly one PGA Tour event this year — the Masters will be his second — but his form is so good that the limited Tour exposure barely matters. Rahm won the 2023 Masters and arrives at Augusta a serious favourite.
Bryson DeChambeau is the other LIV story. Two wins in playoffs already this season, including a victory over Rahm in South Africa, suggest he is in the kind of confidence-rich form that can produce a major championship. His Augusta history is mixed, but the version of DeChambeau who shows up in 2026 is a far more complete player than the bomber who used to attack the course as if it were a math problem.
The dark horses
Ludvig Aberg has finished runner-up and seventh in his two Masters appearances, which is an extraordinary record for a player still finding his game at this level. He arrives at +1400 odds and is the kind of player whose first major title feels almost inevitable. Augusta might be the place.
Matt Fitzpatrick, fresh off his Valspar Championship win and runner-up at The Players, is playing some of the best golf of his career. His Augusta record has been disappointing relative to his ball-striking quality, but the version of Fitzpatrick we’re seeing this spring is sharper than the one who has played past Masters.
Cameron Young, the Players Championship winner, arrives at Augusta with the freedom that comes from having already won the year’s biggest non-major. His length is an asset at Augusta, and his short game has been steadily improving.
The course
Augusta National has not undergone any major architectural changes for the 2026 tournament, which the membership tends to do every five or six years. The course is in spectacular condition by all accounts, the rye grass overseed has come in beautifully, and the greens are reportedly running as fast as anyone can remember for early April. Expect the usual cocktail of risk, reward, and Sunday afternoon drama.
What to watch on Thursday
The morning wave usually has the better of the conditions if the wind picks up later in the day. Several of the favourites — including Scheffler, McIlroy, and Rahm — typically draw morning tee times on Thursday, which means the early leaderboard could be very telling. Last year’s eventual champion (McIlroy) opened with a 71. The previous year’s champion (Scheffler in 2024) opened with a 66. The day-one number doesn’t always tell you who will win, but it tells you a lot about who is comfortable.
The wait is almost over. By Sunday afternoon, eight days from now, we’ll have a champion.