AUGUSTA, Ga. -- The 86th Masters is mere hours away, and the horse race toward another green jacket is as wide open as it's been in any year in recent memory. This is partly because there are so many stars at the top of the mountain who are capable of winning any major championship but also because none of them have separated themselves from the logjam by rolling through the first quarter of the year.
It's time to narrow down the field, though, and identify who, among the 91 golfers in this field, can actually win this tournament. This is perhaps a fool's errand -- who would have had Charl Schwartzel on a list like this in 2011 or Danny Willett in 2016? -- but we do have a lot of course history as well as recent form to pull from as we cull down this elite field.
So, while there are likely about two dozen golfers in the field who theoretically have the game to emerge over 72 holes, more likely than not, the winner of this tournament on Sunday evening at Augusta National will be one of these nine golfers.
Be sure to check out a complete set of 2022 Masters odds via Caesars Sportsbook as well as our complete set of 2022 Masters predictions and expert picks with numerous prognostications from our golf experts. Plus, the Round 1 tee times have been updated following a short weather delay to start Thursday morning.
Watch all four rounds of the 2022 Masters starting Thursday with Masters Live as we follow the best golfers in the world throughout Augusta National with Featured Groups, check in at the famed Amen Corner and see leaders round the turn on holes 15 & 16. Watch live on CBSSports.com, the CBS Sports App and Paramount+.
2022 Masters predictions, favorites
| 1 | |
| The Spaniard's history here is mildly underrated because he's never truly contended on a Sunday or held a lead late in the tournament. His short game play has also fallen off a bit in recent events, but he has four consecutive top 10s on this golf course and has dominated about as much as you can dominate at a specific major championship without actually winning. If a favorite can come in under the radar, that's seemingly what Rahm is doing. Odds: 10-1 | |
| 2 | |
| J.T. is my official pick, and I already regret it because of how many other analysts and prognosticators have also picked him. However, his statistical profile leading into the Masters almost perfectly follows that of the average Masters champion over the last 25 years, according to Data Golf, and I can't unsee the way he's been controlling the golf ball over the last few months. With Jim "Bones" Mackay -- who won three Masters with Phil Mickelson -- on his bag this week, J.T. needs to avoid the early big number, and he should be in it all weekend. Odds: 12-1 | |
| 3 | |
| I can't quit him. He's not been as good statistically coming into this week as he was last year when he went on to finish T3, but he showed signs of life last Sunday at the Texas Open when he posted his best tee-to-green round since ... 2015 (?!). Spieth has also been, quite literally, the best golfer in Masters history (min. 25 rounds), so bet against him contending this weekend at your own peril despite the relative struggles so far this season. Odds: 22-1 | |
| 4 | |
| I don't believe in his baseline play coming in -- it hasn't been that good -- but D.J. is one of the few who can flip the switch in an instant and put two 66s on the board before you even know what happened. He said on Tuesday he likes sliding into weeks under the radar, and with Tiger sucking up all the oxygen in Georgia, it's difficult to imagine a time in the last five years when there was less attention being paid to D.J. Odds: 16-1 | |
| 5 | |
| I have mixed feelings on Schauffele. On one hand, he gets into contention at majors a lot. On the other, he has yet to close one out. Is that a coincidence or a sign of his inability to close out the biggest tournaments in the world? Time will tell, but he's still so young and relatively inexperienced that I tend to lead toward the former more than the latter. Odds: 25-1 | |
| 6 | |
| I don't need to do any analysis beyond his major championship record, which [checks notes] stands at 15 top 10s in his last 22 starts, including 11 top fives and four overall wins. Next question. Odds: 18-1 | |
| 7 | |
| It's difficult to see anyone winning the Tournament of Champions, Players Championship and the Masters in a four-month span, much less somebody who leans on his putter as heavily as Smith. However, he has played Augusta National extraordinarily well, and it's difficult to imagine anyone in this field coming into the week more confidence than him. Odds: 18-1 | |
| 8 | |
| There has been little buzz around Morikawa considering he's a two-time major winner at age 25 who does the exact thing you need to do well to win Augusta -- hit elite iron shots -- better than anyone in the world. He got twisted up in his first two appearances because he thought he needed to hit more draws, so it will be interesting to see if he falls back into that trap or stays with his traditional fade this week. Odds: 22-1 | |
| 9 | |
| I don't believe he'll win this time around for a variety of reasons -- notably that it seems like he's figured out how to play the golf course wisely but struggles to actually do it -- but I'll be damned if I'm going to get caught with my pants down without Rory on this list in the year when he actually pulls it off. Odds: 20-1 | |
Who will win the Masters, and which long shots will stun the golfing world? Visit SportsLine now to see the projected Masters leaderboard, all from the model that's nailed seven golf majors and is up almost $10,000 since the restart.
