It is time to rank the field. This is, of course, a fool’s errand, or at least you will look dumb if the 34th or 56th-ranked player on your list wins the Masters, but it is simply an exercise to get a sense of the range of players entering the week. In other words, who is the best hitter, who has a solid track record at Augusta National, and who can be trusted at a major championship?
The first three are straightforward. It’s Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, and Jon Rahm in some kind of order. After that, things get considerably more complicated. How do you handle the huge middle? What about Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, two former winners with weak form?
It’s certainly difficult, but here’s my best shot at ranking the whole field for what promises to be another incredible Masters as practice continues at Augusta National. If you want a complete list of predictions for this week at Augusta National, check out our CBS Sports experts’ Masters picks and predictions. Also, don’t forget to check out the Masters TV schedule and coverage guide so you can watch from beginning to end each day.
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 has two significant advantages. The first is that you could convince yourself into him putting away some demons with that courageous 64 in the last round last year, which concluded with one of his best shots ever. The second is that he’s playing excellent golf but hasn’t won anything this year, unlike in 2019 when he won The Players. He is still theoretically waiting to peak, and this would be a good position to do so as he attempts to complete the career grand slam once more.
McIlroy’s birdie propelled him to sole possession of second place on the leaderboard and earned him the week’s only bogey-free round. It was also his first bogey-free round at the Masters since November 2020, when he shot 66 in Round 2. He finished three strokes behind Scheffler’s Masters-winning score of 10 under and earned the $1.62 million prize for finishing second.
