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Graphic by Claire Komarek

It's time to rank the field. This is a fool's errand, of course, or at least you can look foolish when the 34th-ranked or 56th-ranked player on your list wins the Masters, but this is simply an exercise to peek at the variety of players coming into the week. In other words: who's hitting it best, who has a good history at Augusta National, who can be trusted at a major championship.

The top three is straightforward. It's Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm in some type of order. After that, it gets much trickier. How do you sort out the massive middle? What about past champions with little form like Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson?

It's certainly tricky, but here's my best attempt at ranking the entire field for what should be an another amazing Masters as practice continues at Augusta National. If you are seeking a full slate of predictions for this week at Augusta National, don't miss Masters expert picks and predictions from our CBS Sports experts. And don't forget to check out the Masters TV schedule and coverage guide so you can tune in from start to finish each day.

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Watch all four rounds of the 2023 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+.

2023 Masters field, ranked

1. Scottie Scheffler (Won in 2022): Repeating is difficult at any tournament, even more so at Augusta National. However, let me attempt to sway you with this. Last year when Scheffler won this tournament going away, he came in averaging 10 strokes gained on the field per tournament in the prior three months leading into the Masters. This year, he's at 12 strokes per tournament, and it doesn't seem like anybody is even talking about him as the runaway favorite here. 

2. Rory McIlroy (2nd in 2022): McIlroy comes in with two big things going for him. The first is that you could talk yourself into him putting away some demons with that heroic 64 in the final round last year that culminated with one of the great shots he's ever hit. The second is that he's playing great golf but hasn't won yet this year like he did in 2019 when he took The Players. He is, theoretically, still waiting to peak, and this would be a pretty decent place to do it as he again goes for the career grand slam. 

3. Jon Rahm (4th in 2018): I had at least one of Rahm's arms in the jacket this February when he won for the fifth time in nine starts. He's made me rethink that over the last month, though, with a run of both poor play (for him) and bad timing (like withdrawing from The Players). He's a beast at Augusta National, though, and majors have a way of identifying the best of the best (which Rahm is among). I believe he'll win a Masters at some point; I'm just not sure it's going to be this one. 

4. Collin Morikawa (5th in 2022): I'm probably higher on Morikawa than most. He is absolutely flushing the golf ball right now, even for him. Since Jan. 1, he's averaging 1.22 strokes gained per round on approach shots, which is slightly better than Scheffler. Coming in way too far under the radar.

5. Jordan Spieth (Won in 2015): Do I have concerns about the putter? I do. Am I worried that he might hit up to 10 trees throughout the week on the new 13th tee box? I am. Will any of this keep him from securing a 10th green jacket on Sunday afternoon? Absolutely not. And this time, anyway, the numbers (kind of) back me up!

6. Tony Finau (T5 in 2019): Since missing the cut at the first event of this PGA Tour season, Finau has 10 consecutive top 25s. Also, he has never missed the cut at Augusta National. I don't know that he's going to win the golf tournament, but if you're simply trying to put together a strong fantasy team for the week, Finau is a great second or third pick (depending on league size). Hoepfully he dresses like a Brooklyn barista for the weekend again, too.

7. Xander Schauffele (T2 in 2019): Schauffele is not necessarily hot -- he has just two top 10s in stroke play events this year -- but he's so consistent at major championships. In 22 major starts, he has 15 (!) top 25s and more top threes (four) than missed cuts (three). 

8. Cameron Young (MC in 2022): My only hang up here is that it would be shocking if Young's first win came at the Masters. All the other stuff, though -- the major championship performance, the tee-to-green game, the form, all of it -- is being undervalued. Young is one of the 15 guys who can win the Masters this year. Maybe one of just eight.

9. Patrick Cantlay (T9 in 2019): It is confounding that Cantlay hasn't had more success here (or at majors in general), but he brings in a string of good play, and if he had a better major record overall, would be one of the three or four favorites.

10. Justin Thomas (4th in 2020): I'm probably most fascinated by how Thomas, of anyone, plays No. 13 differently given its changes. It's been a hole that has created an array of problems for J.T., but he'll get to lean a bit more on his normally elite long iron play this time around. The problem for J.T. is that his long iron play hasn't been all that elite so far this year -- he's PGA Tour average from over 200 yards -- and his short iron play (where he's below average) hasn't been so hot, either. If those return to their usual form, then Thomas can absolutely win the Masters, but the last few months have not suggested that they will.

11. Will Zalatoris (2nd in 2021): There cannot have been many better starts to a Masters career than Zalatoris. He's gone 2nd-T6 in his first two and lost to just six players across the last two years. However, his performance since winning the St. Jude Championship last August has been a bummer. Mostly on account of injury, Zalatoris has just one top 10 anywhere in the world since then (albeit a pretty good one at Riviera). His 2023 has probably been the second-most disappointing of any big-time player with Matt Fitzpatrick getting top honors. Zalatoris gets the benefit of the doubt here because he's been outrageously good at major championships, but there are some real concerns coming in.

12. Cameron Smith (T2 in 2020): Smith is still a really good player, but is he sharp enough to win here? I'm not sure about that. One thing I've been thinking about: Even though Smith is the reigning Open champion, with the way Jason Day has been playing of late, should Smith even be the favorite to finish as low Australian? 

13. Max Homa (T48 in 2022): It's time for Homa to make the major championship leap this year. He's been arguably one of the five best players in the world in 2023, but his major record doesn't (yet) prove that he's in this caliber of golfer.

14. Sam Burns (MC in 2022): Burns is playing in just his second Masters, which is somewhat astonishing considering he's the No. 10 player in the world. He'll take the confidence of just having downed last year's Masters winner, Scheffler, in the Match Play, but he'll also take the exhaustion of having played nearly as many holes two weeks ago as Dustin Johnson has played since last August.

15. Jason Day (T2 in 2011): Wait ... Jason Day? Yes! Day has been one of the four best players in the world so far in 2023, at least statistically. And though he barely sneaked into the event by getting into the top 50 in the world in the lead up to this year's tournament, he's among the 20 or so players most likely to win the thing. In 11 career appearances, Day has seven top 25s.

16. Sungjae Im (T2 in 2020): Hear me out, Sungjae Im is the best Masters player of all time without a victory. I have nothing to back this up other than two top-eight finishes in three starts at ANGC, but remember I said it when he's in the final pairing on Sunday. Only Scheffler, Rahm, Day and Im have gained at least 0.3 strokes per round in each statistical category since January 1.

17. Corey Conners (T6 in 2022): Two golfers have finished in the top 10 at each of the last three Masters. One is Smith, and the other is Corey Conners. 

18. Hideki Matsuyama (Won in 2021): Matsuyama, who has struggled some with injuries again at the beginning of this year, had a nice title defense last year when he finished T14 with no putter to speak of (not that unusual, I suppose). He has clearly figured out how to navigate Augusta National, and I'm not as concerned about the injuries given how scrutinized they were last year and how well he played regardless.

19. Viktor Hovland (T21 in 2021): Augusta National should be a total playground for Hovland. He has played well here but hasn't truly contended yet. One encouraging thing? His 2023 statistical profile in terms of finishes looks eerily similar to Tiger Woods' in 2019 when he went on to win.

20. Matt Fitzpatrick (T7 in 2016): Fitzpatrick has put together, without question, the most disappointing start to 2023 of any top-10-like player in golf. No top 10s since finishing T7 at the Tournament of Champions, and he's been besieged by nagging injuries that have kept him from making a run at No. 1 in the world like I thought he was possibly going to do. He's been good at Augusta National in the past -- seven straight made cuts -- but finding your game at the Masters is always a difficult proposition.

21. Tommy Fleetwood (T14 in 2022): Fleetwood has popped a bit in recent weeks, but interestingly Fitzpatrick still outpaces him by a wide margin in strokes gained this season. (I would not have thought this.) Fleetwood has made five straight cuts at the Masters, but if you're looking for him to win a major, one of the Opens is more appealing.

22. Dustin Johnson (Won in 2020): D.J. has played just 25 competitive rounds since last year's Open Championship, nearly nine months ago. If anyone can contend without playing very much world-class tournament golf, it's him, but even for D.J. that seems like a massive ask.

23. Tyrrell Hatton (T18 in 2021): I can't wait until Hatton is handed the microphone while wearing a green jacket and talks about his problems with the architectural layout of No. 14.

24. Brooks Koepka (T2 in 2019): What a strange career. Koepka looked as if he was going to win every third major forever just four years ago, and now he looks like he might never contend for one again. To sum up the strange saga of his recent career, he finished in the top 10 in three majors in 2021 and didn't finish better than 55th in 2022. He's missed the cut at his last two Masters. Going into the LIV Orlando event, Data Golf had him ranked just behind Kevin Na and Brandon Wu and just ahead of Robby Shelton and Antoine Rozner, but he did win there and now takes a little momentum into the first major of the year.

25. Joaquin Niemann (T35 in 2021): Of everyone who left for LIV, Niemann's disappearance is low-key the one that's the most disappointing. He had a chance to be a real international superstar that I'm not sure still exists. 

26. Justin Rose (2nd in 2017): I'm a little surprised Rose isn't getting more love as a sleeper. He won earlier this year, is great at the Masters and would make it two Roses in two weeks at Augusta National. 

27. Tiger Woods (Won in 1997, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2019): Tiger is not going to win the 87th Masters, however (!) this little tidbit from his arrival on Sunday piqued my interest.

Bypassing the No. 1 tee, Woods walked with LaCava and McNamara up the hill at the first fairway and appeared to be focused on a method that he has used before – walk to areas around the greens and spend time chipping and pitching, getting a feel for the deft shots that often dictate your performance at the Masters.

If this sounds familiar, it should. In 2019, Woods arrived at about 4 p.m. on the Sunday before the Masters and walked the first nine holes, carrying just a putter and a few wedges. He played a dozen or so shots from around the nine greens that day, too, and we're not suggesting any sort of omen here, but in 2019 Woods posted a stunning victory for his fifth green jacket.

28. Si Woo Kim (T12 in 2021): Kim is quietly having the best statistical season of his career, which is somewhat astonishing given how much he's won over the last six years. As long as he doesn't snap his putter again, he can contend at this year's Masters.

29. Patrick Reed (Won in 2018): I have no clue what Patrick Reed is going to do this week. What I do know: If he's in the mix on Saturday and Sunday, Golf Twitter is going to be 100% must-see.

30. Sergio Garcia (Won in 2017): I can envision pretty much anything happening with Garcia this year. From a playoff victory over Rahm to getting in a literal mashed potatoes food fight with Fred Couples on Tuesday night inside the Augusta National clubhouse. Everything is on the table.

31. Shane Lowry (T3 in 2022): It gets a bit lost in all the Scheffler-McIlroy-Morikawa hoopla from the final round last year, but Lowry was awesome at Augusta, notching a T3 finish. He has struggled quite a bit so far in 2023 with just one top 10 finish (a T5 at the Honda Classic) since winning the BMW PGA Championship last fall. His game probably isn't sharp enough to repeat what he did a year ago.

32. Mito Pereira (N/A): Pereira's play has not dipped since moving over to LIV Golf, and Data Golf has him as a top 30 player in the world.

33. Min Woo Lee (T14 in 2022): Lee has been downright nasty since last September. In 12 worldwide starts, he has six top-six finishes, including one at the Players Championship in March in which he played in the final pairing with Scheffler. I'm a little concerned about his unwillingness to hit driver but not at all concerned about his propensity to get scorching hot. He is a co-owner of the front nine record score at Augusta National (30) alongside K.J. Choi and Greg Norman.

34. Thomas Pieters (T4 in 2017): Is it fair to call Pieters the European Cam Champ? That's probably unfair to Pieters given his resume and pedigree, but he absolutely has the firepower to rock and roll here, which he proved back in 2017 when he sneaky finished inside the top five. 

35. Kurt Kitayama (N/A): Kitayama is a player. He comes into the Masters ranked inside the top 25 in the world on account of his win at Bay Hill earlier this season, though Data Golf ranks him just barely inside its top 50. Still, if you can bang it around Bay Hill, you can absolutely make the cut and possibly even contend at the first major of the year.

36. Harris English (T21 in 2021): It's not that difficult to envision English winning the Masters in general, but this might not be the year. English has missed five of his last eight cuts and has just one top 10 since last September.

37. Russell Henley (T11 in 2017): A solid history at Augusta National with five consecutive top 31 finishes. Not likely to win but get him as a fourth or fifth guy on your fantasy team.

38. Tom Hoge (T39 in 2022): One of the great ball-strikers of our time! Hoge is not going to win the Masters, but he does have two top-three finishes at designated events so far in 2023.

39. Bryson DeChambeau (T21 in 2016): DeChambeau's best finish remains his only appearance as an amateur when he finished T21 in 2016. He has more than twice as many rounds of 75+ (7) as he does rounds in the 60s (3). He has shot 67 or better just twice, even though he once said that Augusta National is a par 67 for him.

40. Keith Mitchell (T43 in 2022): Mitchell has been playing some quality, if not inconsistent, golf. He has top fives at Pebble and Riviera but hasn't been hitting his irons well enough to truly contend at Augusta. His game does kind of fit that place, though. Not unreasonable to expect a top 20 from him.

41. Danny Willett (Won in 2016): Last year was Willett's only top-notch performance at Augusta other than his win in 2016. Still, he comes in playing some consistent, if not elite, golf. Another top 20 is feasible.

42. Keegan Bradley (T22 in 2015): Bradley has been playing some low-key terrific golf so far this season and has four top 10s in 10 starts. He also hits one of the highest balls on the PGA Tour. Is he going to win the Masters with his short game (in which I worry more about the around the green play than the putter)? I'm doubtful, but he can absolutely get into contention.

43. Jason Kokrak (T14 in 2022): Kokrak will likely be hurt by the lack of consistent high-level competition since moving to LIV. His statistical profile actually fits Augusta National somewhat decently — he hits it long and fairly straight — but it's difficult to see him flushing it well enough to beat the Scottie Schefflers and Rory McIlroys of the world and wear that green suit jacket come Sunday.

44. Tom Kim (N/A): I love Tom Kim, but the regression has been real. He's been solid at some of the big time events so far this spring, but he's not performing at the clip he was performing at last fall (which, to be fair, was completely unsustainable). I need to see it a few times before I buy into him at the major championships.

45. Adam Scott (Won in 2013): Just because I want to believe Adam Scott has a good chance to win his second Masters doesn't mean it's true. Scott hasn't finished in the top 10 at Augusta since 2017, and his OWGR spot (top 40) belies how poor his form has been of late (no top 20s in 2023). Would I be stunned if he made the cut and got into contention? Not really, but I would be surprised.

46. Sahith Theegala (N/A): I am all the way in on Theegala as a player and a character at the highest level of golf. I don't know that I'm all the way in on him getting his first ever win at a major championship. 

47. Cameron Champ (T10 in 2022): If your first thought was, "Wait, how is Cameron Champ in the Masters after missing six of his last eight cuts worldwide?" you are not alone. The answer: He finished T10 last year, which is actually emblematic of his broader performance at Augusta National. In three starts, he's never finished worse than T26.

48. Talor Gooch (T14 in 2022): Gooch quietly doesn't have a top 10 anywhere in the world since last September at the BMW PGA Championship. That doesn't necessarily mean he's playing poorly -- he has plenty of top 20s and top 25s -- but he's not at the level he was at last spring and summer when he was playing the best golf of his life.

49. Kevin Na (T12 in 2021): A true, "Who can say?" situation with Na. He didn't make the cut at the last two majors of 2022, but he almost always plays well at Augusta National (top 15 each of the last three years). I'm also interested to see if he wears his Iron Heads gear during the tournament, considering he doesn't totally know what's in the contract he signed.

50. Abraham Ancer (T13 in 2020): Ancer is going to struggle with what most LIV players are going to struggle with, a lack of high-level tournament reps leading up to Augusta. Ancer is not a good enough ball-striker to overcome his lack of competition since joining LIV.

51. Brian Harman (T12 in 2021): Harman isn't going to win the Masters, but he might win low lefty this time around with golfers like Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson struggling. No top 10s on the PGA Tour since the RSM Classic in November.

52. Louis Oosthuizen (2nd in 2012): Oosty is a menace a Augusta National when he's healthy. He had to withdraw a year ago, but before that he'd made eight consecutive cuts and had finished outside the top 30 just one time. 

53. Chris Kirk (T20 in 2014): Kirk represents the massive midsection of this field. Good enough to get into the Masters and perhaps make a bit of noise. Probably not good enough (or hot enough) to win it.

54. Mackenzie Hughes (T40 in 2021): Hughes is coming in off a T5 at Match Play, but he's done nothing in 2023 other than that. A Canadian winning on the 20-year anniversary of Mike Weir's Masters win would be lovely.

55. Billy Horschel (T17 in 2016): Horschel is a pretty intriguing performer when it comes to the Masters. He has made four straight cuts and six of eight overall, but he's never really contended at Augusta, and he comes in with no top 10s at stroke play events in 2023. He's not playing good golf, but we do know that if he makes the weekend at Augusta, there are going to be absolute fireworks.

56. Kevin Kisner (T21 in 2019): Kisner has just two top 10s in majors, and both of them came five years ago or more. So, unfortunately … no.

57. Harold Varner III (T23 in 2022): I didn't envision Varner playing his way to a top 25 finish a year ago, but he's such a good iron player that perhaps I should have. I'd be even more surprised this time around if he was able to follow up or better that performance given how little we've seen of him at meaningful tournaments.

58. Bubba Watson (Won in 2012, 2014): Watson's Masters and major career have been pretty interesting. He only has three top 10s at Augusta National in his career (the same number Corey Conners has over the last three years), but two of them were wins. It's the small-picture version of what Sandy Lyle and John Daly have done over the course of their careers.

59. Gary Woodland (T24 in 2011): Woodland has a surprisingly poor record at Augusta with no top 20s in 10 starts.

60. Sepp Straka (T30 in 2022): At a different point in his career, you could talk me into a Straka top 10 or something in that range. Right now, though. with just one top 10 under his belt this year and an inconsistent approach game going into the most demanding approach play golf course in the major rota? I'm out.

61. Seamus Power (T27 in 2022): I didn't have Power in the top 10 of my FedEx Cup standings going into the Masters, but he cleaned up in the fall and has been good enough so far in 2023 to maintain it. Problem is that it doesn't look likely to last. 

62. Taylor Moore (N/A): The Valspar Championship winner is perhaps surprisingly ranked in the top 35 on Data Golf (which cares less about wins than it does overall scoring). In addition to that Valspar trophy, he's collected top 15s at Torrey Pines, Pebble Beach and TPC Scottsdale in his last seven starts. 

63. K.H. Lee (N/A): I'm guessing a green jacket would help Lee in his quest to become the world's sexiest golfer.

64. Adam Svensson (N/A): Svensson is a nice player who has done the majority of his best work (winning RSM and finishing top 10 at Riviera) with a hot putter. That's not a good formula.

65. Scott Stallings (T27 in 2012): That Stallings is playing his first Masters since 2014 is a testament to how good he's been over the last year. Unfortunately for him, he doesn't bring much of that heat into the week and isn't really built to win at Augusta National.

66. Alex Noren (T62 in 2019): Noren is a fine player, it's just that I'm not sure somebody who hasn't gained strokes off the tee in 2023 is going to win the Masters.

67. J.T. Poston (MC in 2020): With Justin Thomas in the field, I'm not sure Poston can be low J.T., but with Ian Poulter not playing, he can absolutely be low postman.

68. Ryan Fox (N/A): What's more strange, that Ryan Fox is ranked No. 36 in the world or that he's playing his first Masters?

69. Charl Schwartzel (Won in 2011): Schwartzel is no longer a good player, but he's been consistently solid at Augusta of late. He has three consecutive top 26 finishes, including a top 10 a year ago.

70. Adrian Meronk (N/A): Is Meronk -- the first Polish player to ever compete at Augusta National -- going to make the European Ryder Cup team? He's currently 15th in world points and 19th in European. It's not crazy to think he might make a bid for that team.

71. Zach Johnson (Won in 2007): Respectfully, no. Z.J. has just one top 10 in 15 appearances since winning in 2007.

72. Francesco Molinari (T5 in 2019): I saw that Molinari's odds were crazy long -- 250-1, according to Caesar's Sportsbook -- and then I looked up his form. One worldwide top 10 since the BMW PGA last fall, and he comes in with one of the worst 2023 overall strokes gained numbers (-0.2 going into the Texas Open) of anyone in the field.

73. Phil Mickelson (Won in 2004, 2006, 2010): The only thing less likely than Mickelson winning this week is him getting a press conference in the lead up to the tournament.

74. Gordon Sargent (N/A): Are you more impressed by the 200 mph ball speed or by the fact that Data Golf ranks Sargent, who is a sophomore at Vanderbilt, in its top 100 worldwide?

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Data Golf

75. Sam Bennett (N/A): The U.S. Amateur champion from last year hits a traj-y ball and hasn't fallen off since his U.S. Am victory. He has three top 12s in four starts this year, including a win at the John Burns Intercollegiate in which he shot 61 in the final round.

76. Kazuki Higa (N/A): Higa received a special exemption into the Masters for, more or less, destroying worlds on the Japan Golf Tour. He's ranked in the top 100 in the world, but Data Golf says that might be a bit ballooned as he's No. 174 in its rankings. This will be just his second major championship.

77. Ben Carr (N/A): Carr lost to Bennett in the U.S. Amateur finals, but he may have won the week when he gave this interview to Smylie Kaufman after winning his semifinal matchup to make it to Augusta. Carr has finished in the top two in his last two college starts.

78. Bernhard Langer (Won in 1985, 1993): Langer has a chance to reset his own record this year for the oldest player to make the cut at the Masters. He did so as a 63-year-old in 2020 when he finished T29 and narrowly clipped Tommy Arron as the oldest player to play the weekend. Now he's nearly 66 and competing against guys who could be his grandchildren. Can you imagine coming into this year's Masters as a 26- or 28-year-old golfer, feeling good about your career, and getting beat by somebody who played in his first Masters against a field that included somebody (Herman Keiser) who was born before World War I?

79. Fred Couples (Won in 1992): Alas, the days of Couples surprising everyone by working his way into the mix at Augusta National at an absurd age are all over. Couples hasn't made a cut since finishing T38 in 2018 and hasn't finished in the top 20 since 2014. That champions dinner, though, is gonna be a hell of a time.

80. Vijay Singh (Won in 2000): Singh has played just one weekend since 2016. I do hope, though, that we get another meme like we did a few years ago with him and Bryson DeChambeau on the range.

81. Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira (N/A): The Latin America Amateur champion dusted the field in January by four strokes and broke Joaquin Niemann's 72-hole scoring record by eight. In three starts since then, he has three top 20s and a win and is currently ranked No. 26 in the WAGR.

82. Mike Weir (Won in 2003): The good for Weir is that this is the celebratory 20th anniversary of his Masters victory. The bad for Weir is that he's made one of his last eight cuts here.

83. Sandy Lyle (Won in 1988): One of the great stats of all time: Lyle has four top 10s in 100 career majors. Two of them are wins.

84. Jose Maria Olazabal (Won in 1994, 1999): Two years ago, Olazabal beat Adam Scott, Max Homa, Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy, Patrick Cantlay, Sungjae Im and Jason Day. Which is, obviously, sick. 

85. Larry Mize (Won in 1987): Mize will play this event for the last time this year. "It's going to be an emotional week, but it's time," he told the Augusta Chronicle. "I know it's time."

86. Harrison Crowe (N/A): Crowe is the Asia-Pacific Amateur champion. He was slated to turn pro after the Asia-Pacific Am but had to push that back a bit so he could play in a little invitational in North Georgia the first week of April.

87. Aldrich Potgieter (N/A): Remember when Tiger rolled that ball in on No. 16 that hung on the lip forever en route to his win in 2005? Yeah, Potgieter doesn't because he hadn't even turned one.

88. Matthew McLean (N/A): The 29-year-old optometrist from Northern Ireland won the U.S. Mid-Am at Erin Hills and said his goal is not to win the Masters but rather to make the cut and finish as low amateur.