Masters 2025 big board: Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and other Augusta favorites

There’s little debate over who should be No. 1. Scheffler is the best player in the world and has won the tournament two of the last three years. The question is whether Scheffler is the kind of No. 1 he was in 2024. After cutting his hand on broken glass and having surgery, Scheffler has been both good and volatile in six starts. All six have been top 25s, but his elite short game has been off and he’s working on getting his driver back to usual form. Still, Scheffler is the best Masters player in the field and he’s coming off an excellent T2. He will be fascinating to watch. — Brody Miller

Four months ago, there was no denying Schauffele was a top-two player in the world. The only reason he’s not anymore is a rib injury that held him out for two months. His three starts back have been frustrating — he made progress with a T12 at Valspar — but you can’t deny the golfer who’s won two of the last three majors. He’s also somebody who plays the Masters as well as any other major with four top 10s in his last six starts. We have zero idea which Schauffele we’re going to get, but if it’s the good Schauffele, he’s probably higher on this list. — Miller

So why is the No. 1 tee-to-green player in the world in 2025 — a player with two career majors — sixth on the list? It’s simple. It’s difficult to trust him these days. If we’re talking pure golf form, he’s probably behind only McIlroy. But Morikawa has had some Sunday issues. In 2024 alone, he went from the final group at the Masters to seven shots back. At the PGA, he was in the final group and finished six back. In a vacuum, Morikawa should be a favorite this week, especially after three consecutive Masters top 10s. The question is if he can take it. — Miller

Thomas is definitively back, playing like a week-in, week-out top-10 golfer on tour. He has four top-10 finishes already this season and ranks No. 5 in the world on DataGolf. So yes, Thomas has returned from his two years in the wilderness with beautiful ball striking and improved putting. He’s been lurking around contention each week, so the question now is if he can win again. In his two PGA Championship victories, he came through in tough conditions and tight leaderboards. But the Masters hasn’t been good to him; he missed cuts the last two years. — Miller

One of the most consistent players on the PGA Tour, Henley is coming into Masters week perhaps as a dark horse to the broader sports community, but an extremely reliable pick for those familiar with his recent form. Henley has proven to be a top American talent with precision and accuracy across his game. He’s coming into the tournament with a high-profile victory on his 2025 resume (the Arnold Palmer Invitational). Henley has made the cut in seven consecutive Masters, so even if he doesn’t come home with a green jacket this week, he’s probably going to at least be high up on the leaderboard . — Herzig

Fond memories at Augusta National can never hurt, and Cantlay has one to hold on to: As a sophomore at UCLA in 2012, Cantlay was the low amateur. Now, Cantlay, 33, is headed into his ninth Masters start in excellent early-season form, with two top-five finishes on his 2025 record and a T12 at the Players Championship. Getting over the hump and actually winning the championship could be difficult. He consistently performs well in team events, like last year’s Presidents Cup, where he played a key role, and always seems to climb the leaderboard during the regular PGA Tour season. But despite being one of the steadier players in the world, he tends to come up short on the biggest stages. — Herzig

Zalatoris’ 2025 resume isn’t the shiniest — he’s made all seven cuts, posting one top 12 and three top 30s. But the 28-year-old is trending in a very positive direction now that he’s fully recovered from back surgery, and Augusta National could be the perfect place for that arc to reach its peak. Zalatoris is another player who leans heavily on his iron game. He ranked 18th on the PGA Tour in strokes gained approach and 14th in proximity to the hole. He has one of the strongest Augusta National records of the young Americans on tour right now: a solo second in 2021, T6 in 2022 and T9 in 2024, one year after he was forced to withdraw due to injury and undergo his microdiscectomy. If anything will hold Zalatoris back at Augusta, it will be his putting. Zalatoris is ranked No. 130 on the PGA Tour in strokes gained putting. — Herzig

The 2025 Ryder Cup Captain is playing more like a contender for the U.S. team right now than the man responsible for putting it together. In eight starts this calendar year, Bradley, 38, has two top-six finishes and two top 15s. His game has been consistent across almost every strokes gained category this season — he floats around No. 25 on the PGA Tour in strokes gained total, off the tee and approach to green. But the flatstick has posed major issues for Bradley (he’s No. 129 in putting), and that statistic alone could hold him back from a similar success at Augusta National. The former PGA champion also has not cracked the top 20 in his eight starts at the Masters. — Herzig

Berger is back for his first Masters since 2022, after back surgery caused him to miss most of the last two years. The comeback tour in 2024 had its moments but was predictably uneven, and Berger has had a much more successful 2025 thus far. He was one of the best Americans in golf when the injury took him down, so Berger has potential. — Kellenberger

Leaving last year’s Players Championship, Clark had a stake as the second-best player in the world. What’s happened since, with zero wins and two top-five finishes, has pushed him well down the depth chart. This could be regression to the mean — remember, he was an out-of-nowhere 2023 U.S. Open winner. Or it could be the peaks and valleys that most professional golfers face during their careers. Clark will need a strong major season to make this year’s Ryder Cup team. — Kellenberger

A Masters rookie, McNealy has elevated himself to a new level in his age-29 season. After winning the RSM Classic to close out 2024, McNealy nearly won the Genesis Invitational and is coming off a T3 at the Valero Texas Open. Once a baseline player with his irons and around the greens, McNealy has turned himself into a positive. It’s not as flashy as the driver, but it’s made all the difference for him. — Kellenberger

A decade removed from his Masters win, Spieth returns to Augusta National hoping to claim a second green jacket. Can he do it? Coming off offseason wrist surgery, Spieth is by no means the favorite. He is still rounding his game into shape, and while he has been able to flash here and there, he hasn’t stacked up four really good rounds. — Kellenberger

The unquestioned MVP of TGL is seeking his first major championship. Augusta National and Horschel have not gotten along in recent years — his best finish is a T17 back in 2016. Two worldwide wins in 2024 suggested Horschel was still capable of playing elite golf, and while his traditional golf form has not been excellent in 2025, it’s been good enough to think he can compete this major season. — Kellenberger