It’s finally Masters week, folks. The top golfers from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf will tee off Thursday in the first major championship of 2024 — and it’s the first time the two leagues have competed together this year. PGA and LIV golfers make up the top five favorites in the odds Monday, with Scottie Scheffler, unsurprisingly, in first place.
Scheffler won it in 2022, while Jon Rahm won last year, months before his December announcement that he was joining LIV Golf. The main storylines for this year’s tournament include:
- Scottie’s dominance so far, while other big names have yet to make any significant waves this year.
- Can Rory McIlroy complete a career grand slam? This was also a question asked at last year’s Masters. Only five other golfers have done so.
- Can Rahm repeat? This would be the first time a current LIV golfer has won the Masters.
- Will five-time Masters champion Tiger Woods set a Masters record by qualifying for the 24th consecutive time?
The famous names grab the headlines, but here are some value picks for your Masters pool. Here’s how it works: One player is selected in each level of 10 in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking. Fantasy master choices will also be noted in parentheses.
Let’s move on to the choices!
Level 1 (1-10) | Ludvig Aberg (International)
It is very tempting to select the highest ranked player, Scheffler, who I chose as a former champion in the fantasy game Masters. He’s been on a tear since switching putters before the Arnold Palmer Invitational — winning twice and finishing one stroke away from forcing a playoff at the Texas Children’s Houston Open. But we will go with the new kid on the block, Ludvig Åberg, number 9 of WGR.
Åberg, 24, has recorded three top-10 finishes this season and was in position to push for his second PGA Tour victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am before weather conditions led to the cancellation of the final round.
He turned professional in 2023 and has already won one tour victory and climbed into the top 10 in the world golf rankings. Year to date, he ranks second among tour players with 1.72 true strokes gained per round, according to datagolf.com.
He joined the tour with a reputation as a winner. At Texas Tech, he became the seventh player to win all three National Player of the Year awards.
Åberg will attempt to become the first player since Fuzzy Zoeller (1979) to win the Masters on debut.
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Level 2 (11-20) | Sahith Theegala (United States)
Theegala finished ninth at last year’s Masters after a strong final round that saw him shoot 5 under. That charge gave him a total of 2.88 true strokes gained at Augusta, putting him second behind Will Zalatoris among this year’s Masters players.
Aside from the confidence that such a good game on debut should provide, Theegala’s game has improved and the numbers bear that out.
Theegala’s 1.77 true strokes gained this year is up from 0.91 over the same period in 2023, according to datagolf.com. This jump can be seen in his results. He has totaled eight top-10s in 2023, including ninth at the Masters. Theegala already has four top-10 finishes this year.
Level 3 (21-30) | Russell Henley (Wild card)
Most of those picks were made before last weekend’s Valero Texas Open, where Henley finished fourth and climbed six spots to No. 17 in the WGR. Last weekend’s result was his third top-five finish of the season and his second in his last three events.
He also finished tied for fourth at last year’s Masters, where he finished the event with 3.31 true strokes gained.
The form he’s found this season, coupled with the success he’s had at Augusta – four top-25 finishes in seven starts – have made it difficult not to stick with this pick even if he doesn’t is officially not in this level.
If your pool rules don’t allow it, Sam Burns is a good choice at this level. Burns has performed at a high level this season, especially during a streak of four straight top-10 finishes.
Level 4 (31-40) | Akshay Bhatia
The initial pick at this level was rejected after Bhatia’s dramatic victory last weekend catapulted him 53 places in the rankings and into his Masters debut.
Bhatia is on fire right now. Including this victory, he has finished in the top 25 in his last three events, a stark contrast to his previous three tournaments where he missed the cut.
Perhaps more importantly, Bhatia showed mental strength in her victory. He entered the final round at the Valero with a five-shot lead, but found himself needing a birdie on the final hole to force a playoff with Denny McCarthy. McCarthy holed seven straight holes on the back nine as part of his charge to erase Bhatia’s lead, but the 22-year-old managed to find the shots he needed to secure victory. That level of focus should serve him well in Augusta.
Level 5 (41-50) | Harris English
If the Englishman was a bit of a specialist at the US Open (three top 10s out of his last four), he did not have the same success at the Masters.
But there is reason to be optimistic, as he is in much better shape heading into this year’s major. English has finished in the top 25 in six of his nine events this season. He hasn’t had a run like this since 2021, when he won the Sentry Tournament of Champions and the Travelers Championship.
(Photo illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic; Photos: Harry How, Brennan Asplen, David Cannon via Getty)