With the 2026 Masters tournament in Augusta, Georgia, half over, anticipation builds.
Questions are floating around the golf scene. Who’s going to put on the famous green jacket? What kind of surprises are we going to see? Any upset? Or just straight dominance from the heavy favorites?
That said, here are the 2026 Masters superlatives before we crown the winner with the famous green jacket.
Being the defending Masters champion comes at a price; McIlroy is the heavy favorite, but he has a target on his back from the other remaining golfers.
He will be chasing back-to-back wins after completing his career Grand Slam last year in 2025.
After Day 1, McIlroy was tied for first place with Sam Burns, shooting minus five under par after having a great round on the back nine, excelling on holes 13, 14, and 15. After Day 2, Rory pulled ahead by six full strokes at twelve under par.
Going further into the weekend, the reigning champion will continue to be the heavy favorite until he either has a major fall through or someone else shows major dominance.
Rory McIlroy begins his title defense with a 67, tied for the first-round lead. #themasters pic.twitter.com/g0I7T4IKym
Scheffler has held the world number one ranking for over 150 weeks, with a total of 172 weeks at the top since first achieving the position in March 2022.
Over the past two seasons, he has accumulated 12 PGA Tour victories, including multiple major championships, highlighting his ability to win at the highest level across almost every course or condition.
Scheffler was projected by many to place somewhere within the top six and has made the cut for the weekend rounds. He does have some work to do, though, as he is tied for 24th at even after a plus-two Day 2.
If he can miraculously find a way back into the meat of the competition, it will be the third Masters win of his career and will get him one step closer to his career Grand Slam.
LIV Golf’s power hitter returned to the PGA Masters tournament once again this year, looking to repeat or even improve the success he had from the 2025 Masters.
After going toe to toe with the 2025 champion Rory McIlroy in last year’s Masters, he was most people’s betting favorite to succeed this year.
While shooting minus seven under par in last year’s Masters tournament, many expected a big turnaround from DeChambeau and expected him to easily make the cut going into the weekend and be back in the top five two years in a row.
DeChambeau will have to go back to the drawing board (YouTube), as he did not make the final weekend cut.
Bryson DeChambeau was the most bet golfer to win The Masters @FDSportsbook
He is 4 over through the first round and now 100-1 to win
Tommy Fleetwood always seems to be trending upwards in most tournaments he competes in, while still having underrated consistency and drive.
While this is one of the most popular times for golf and the PGA Tour, the only attention Fleetwood usually gets is from his son Frankie in the family-friendly par-3 contest.