Preview: The Masters 2026 - predictions, course guide, preview, will Rory McIlroy defend title?

Defending champion Rory McIlroy and world number one Scottie Scheffler have chosen rest over course time in the lead-up to this event, but two of the stars of the sport will dominate the headlines in the lead-up to Thursday's first round.

A back issue contributed to McIlroy only posting a 46th-placed finish at last month's Players Championship, while Scheffler has recorded the rare feat of three successive finishes outside of the top 10.

Nevertheless, their past performances at Augusta make them the favourites, McIlroy having finally ended his prolonged wait for the career Grand Slam with his dramatic victory over Justin Rose in a playoff 12 months ago.

McIlroy now has eight top-10 finishes at the Masters since 2014, while Scheffler has two green jackets and a lowest finish of 10th in his last four appearances.

Rose, meanwhile, will be bidding to improve on three runner-up finishes to finally win his second major, and a 13th-placed finish at the Players Championship was encouraging.

Fresh off his triumph at Sawgrass, world number three Cameron Young will be fancied to extend a run of three top-seven finishes in a row, while Bryson DeChambeau enters the event with two consecutive wins on the LIV Golf tour in Singapore and South Africa.

However, despite playing alongside McIlroy in the final group in 2025, the American has never gone better than a share of fifth at Augusta.

Jon Rahm, the winner of the 2023 Masters, has never missed the cut at this tournament, but his victory three years ago is the only time that he has finished inside the top 10 across his last four appearances.

Nevertheless, the Spaniard has recorded five successive top-five finishes with LIV Golf in 2026, a run which includes a tournament win in Hong Kong and three runners-up finishes. 

Not only is Augusta National regarded as one of the most picturesque courses in the world, it also possesses challenges that the best players in the world do not necessarily encounter elsewhere.

Elevation changes and famously-fast greens make strategy a big part of a tournament where each hole is named after a local plant.

Even with a tame tee-shot, the opening 445-yard par-four offers its own challenges, while success at the second hole - a dog-leg 585-yard par-five - is also all about the tee-shot.

The famous Amen Corner brings water into play at 11, 12 and 13, and has often proved pivotal on a Sunday. McIlroy's inexplicable shank into the water at 13 in 2025 contributed to him giving up a four-shot lead before his playoff glory.

Holes 15 and 16 offer opportunities before two tough par-fours to close, particularly the final hole that is dominated by a dauntingly-tight tee-shot when everything is on the line.