US Masters Power Rankings

After nearly nine months, major golf is on the horizon, with the US Masters almost here.

While it may not quite entail the drama of last year, it remains one of the most enrapturing events in sport. As the saying goes, ‘The Masters doesn’t begin until the back nine on Sunday’.

While the first nine is full of stunning holes in its own right, the second nine features five water holes, several risk-reward shots and a demand for perfection across all parts of a player’s game.

With its wide-open fairways, not to mention the sheer length of the course, Augusta National has nearly always suited longer hitters. It’s no coincidence that since 1997, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Angel Cabrera have combined for 16 of the 29 Green Jackets handed out.

That said, of late, the course has for whatever reason suited more accurate hitters. Perhaps it’s because the added length has forced more players into laying up, or perhaps it’s an anomaly, but merely driving the ball a long way is not a path to victory at Augusta.

Most approach shots are played from the fairway, but the sloping lies cause added difficulty, and the firm and fast greens mean that playing with higher lofted clubs does often give longer hitters more of an advantage to the lightning-fast greens.

Inevitably, greens will be missed, and while long hitters often thrive at Augusta, it’s nearly impossible to win without an excellent short game.

The green complexes at Augusta are bentgrass, and while their speed on the Stimpmeter is not officially published, they are known to be amongst the fastest in the world.

Ahead of the first major of the year, take a look at our Power Rankings for the US Masters.

10 – Matt Fitzpatrick

A hugely promising youngster, it always seemed like Matt Fitzpatrick’s lack of length off the tee would be his undoing at the biggest events. In his first three years as a professional, Fitzpatrick had just two top-30s in majors, though one of them was an impressive T7 at Augusta.

Having been well on the fringes of the 2025 Ryder Cup team, a sparkling run of form saw Fitzpatrick named amongst the 12, playing a key role at Bethpage Black, and he’s continued that form this season. But for a two-shot swing on the last two holes, Fitzpatrick would have won the Players Championship, though he did bounce back the following week to win the Valspar Championship and his game is in excellent nick.

In his last four trips down Magnolia Lane, Fitzpatrick has finished T14-T10-T22-T40. Fitzpatrick is seemingly comfortable enough at Augusta, but if there is a concern, it’s that he’s not broken 70 since 2019, something he’ll need to achieve if he wants to contend this week.

9 – Collin Morikawa

There’s one big question around Collin Morikawa heading into this week: is he fit? Morikawa suddenly looked like one of the form players in the world heading into the Players Championship, where many fancied him to have a strong week. After an opening par, Morikawa took a practice swing on the second tee and that was him done. Immediately clutching his lower back, Morikawa knew his race was run.

Morikawa was set to return at the Valero Texas Open but pulled out, still struggling with his back.

A short hitter who routinely hits the ball left-to-right shouldn’t suit Augusta but Morikawa has a terrific record at the Masters, ranking third in the field for SG:TOT since 2021 as per Golf Betting System.

After his debut, the two-time major champion has finished no worse than T18 in five outings, recording three top-10s.

Ultimately, Morikawa is an elite iron player, able to overcome a lack of distance, and he’s taken to Augusta’s fast greens.

If he’s at 100%, Morikawa will be expected to contend.

8 – Tommy Fleetwood

Tommy Fleetwood has been amongst the world’s best golfers in the world for a few years now, but last year felt like the first time he’d really joined the elite. On the PGA Tour he had six top-five finishes; three came in Signature Events and two came in play-off events. But that first win remained elusive.

Until the Tour Championship. Although it was a limited field, Fleetwood was excellent nonetheless and finally broke his stateside duck. Continuing his good form into 2026, with the aberration of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Fleetwood has finished T4-T7-T8-T10.

Fleetwood has a mixed record at Augusta, never recording back-to-back top-20s, but having four to his name, including a best of T3 in 2024, when first home after runaway duo of Scottie Scheffler and Ludvig Aberg.

Driving distance doesn’t seem as important as it has been in previous years, and with elite iron play and short game, Fleetwood may well find himself in the mix on Sunday.

7 – Cameron Young

Generally, players will play an event in the run-up to the Masters to keep themselves sharp; Cameron Young has opted not to, and when pegging it up at Augusta, his last shot will have been the tap-in to win the Players Championship a month earlier.

Young has gone from PGA Tour nearly man to PGA Tour winner, Ryder Cup talisman and Players champion in a matter of months, and he may be here to stay.

The 28-year-old burst onto the scene with a runner-up finish at the 2022 Open Championship, coming shortly after his T3 at the PGA Championship. It was starting to feel like Young would win a major before a PGA Tour event.

Young’s major performances left a bit to be desired last season, but they perhaps all came too early for him, with his improved form coming later in the year. Young was MC-T47-T4-MC, but much more is expected in 2026.

The New Yorker’s putting has vastly improved over the last 12 months, his short game keeps him out of trouble, his iron play is getting back to its old level and he remains one of the best drivers in the world.

One of the form golfers going into Augusta with two top-10s in his last three outings at the US Masters, Young will be one to watch this week.

6 – Xander Schauffele

Xander Schauffele is quietly going under the radar coming into this week. After an injury-hit 2025 that saw a poor run of form, ultimately leading to Schauffele missing out on the Tour Championship, the two-time major champion is showing signs of getting back to his best.

Schauffele opened the season with a missed cut at Torrey Pines, ending his streak of the most made cuts on the PGA Tour, and followed up with a T41 at the WM Phoenix Open.

Since then however, Schauffele played three Signature Events and recorded finishes of T19-T7-T24 before a solo-third at the Players, gaining strokes in 15 of the 16 SG categories in that time.

Schauffele was then T4 at the Valspar with another really impressive ball-striking display.

Barring the missed cut in 2022, Schauffele’s worst finish at Augusta since 2019 is T17 (2020), and riding three straight US Masters top-10s, the 32-year-old could find himself in the mix again.

5 – Ludvig Aberg

For a moment, it looked like Ludvig Aberg was going to become the first Masters debutant since Fuzzy Zoeller to win the Green Jacket. The Swede had closed the gap on Scottie Scheffler from three shots at the start of Sunday to a share of the lead by the seventh hole.

But a double-bogey on 11 ultimately proved too costly and Aberg had to settle for second. In amongst the chaos of 2025, it’s easy to forget that Aberg was right there again on Sunday. With Rory McIlroy on the 15th, Aberg on the 17th and Justin Rose on the 18th, the three were tied for the lead.

But a bogey on 17 did for Aberg and a sloppy triple bogey on the 18th saw him tumble down to a tie for seventh, understating his performance that week.

We know Aberg is comfortable at Augusta and he certainly seems to have the game for the course. If there is a concern, it’s how he’s crumbled in the last two years, all with his collapse at the Players fresh in the memory.

4 – Bryson DeChambeau

There are countless memorable quotes throughout US Masters history; some positive, some less so. Bryson DeChambeau’s declaration that Augusta was a par-67 for him was perhaps the most misguided.

DeChambeau opened his 2020 Masters with a 70-74 (net 10-over-par) to sit inside the cut line by exactly one shot. He’d miss the cut the next two years.

Since then however, DeChambeau seems to have learned some valuable lessons and has cracked Augusta. A sparkling 65 saw him take the first-round lead in 2024, a lead he shared with eventual champion Scottie Scheffler going into the weekend. Unravelling from there somewhat, DeChambeau finished nine back of the eventual champion.

Rounds of 69, 68 and 69 were enough for DeChambeau to start Sunday in the final group in 2025, taking the lead from Rory McIlroy after just two holes. In the blink of an eye, DeChambeau was three back, and three dropped shots on 11 and 12 killed his chances.

More recently, DeChambeau has won back-to-back events on the LIV tour, and although he might not always show the finesse needed, his gargantuan power means he doesn’t need the finesse quite as much as many of his contemporaries.

But DeChambeau has proven he can handle Augusta National. He’s yet, however, to prove he can handle the pressure of being in contention for a Green Jacket.

3 – Scottie Scheffler

Scottie Scheffler might have changed drivers and suggested that was behind his early struggles, but it doesn’t explain why his approach play has been so much worse. In 2025, Scheffler was long and straight with a fantastic short game as well as being one of the best putters in the world. All of that combined with his world-class iron play made Scheffler by far and away the best player in the world.

Scheffler’s short game remains impeccable but he’s relying on it more than he used to.

Remarkably, the Arnold Palmer Invitational was only the second time since August 2022 – nearly four years ago – that Scheffler lost strokes to the field on approach.

In 14 of his 21 starts last season, Scheffler gained at least one stroke on approach, a figure he’s not reached once this season.

Scheffler’s had a few weeks off since his T22 at the Players so we don’t know exactly which Scheffler we’re about to see.

But it’s worth keeping in mind this is the world’s best player, who’s been undisputedly the world’s best player for more than two years, and who’s won the Masters in two of the last four years.

2 – Jon Rahm

Despite somehow failing to win a LIV event last year, Jon Rahm has been incredibly consistent, so much so that he still won the season-long title.

Rahm finally ended his dry streak in Hong Kong and over the last three months, his SG figure reads 2.69 to Scheffler’s 2.68.

The Spaniard always looked to have the game for Augusta; massive off the tee, an excellent iron player and with a delicate touch around the greens. After his debut, Rahm finished 4-T9-T7-T5 in his first four starts, finishing T29 prior to his 2023 win.

Rahm’s T14 last year was solid enough, but an opening 75 killed his chances before they’d started.  To Rahm’s credit, only McIlroy and Patrick Reed scored better than him in the final three rounds.

Despite his record and his form, there doesn’t seem to be the attention on Rahm as others, and it may suit him nicely.

1 – Rory McIlroy

We haven’t seen all that much of Rory McIlroy on the PGA Tour this year. His T14 at Pebble Beach underplays how well he actually played that week, and that was followed by an impressive T2 at the Genesis. McIlroy looked to be rallying at the Arnold Palmer before pulling out with a back injury, the effects of which were still lingering for his T46 at the Players.

McIlroy is the most fascinating player to watch this week – as he is most weeks. Of course, this time is different to most weeks. After his collapse in 2011, to his decade of failures in bidding for the Grand Slam, McIlroy finally turns up to Augusta with a Green Jacket.

Historically, champions have had a tough time at Augusta; first-time champions even more so. Only Nick Faldo has successfully defended their Masters title at the first time of asking, with Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus the only other players to have won back-to-back Masters.

We’re about to see what a freed-up version of McIlroy looks like at Augusta. Whatever happens, it’s a thrilling prospect.