There are so many ways to leverage your opinion of what will go down at the 2026 Masters, and the Golf Digest and Betsperts Golf team is ready to guide you. Masters pools are everywhere. Whether you dive into one-and-done formats, tiered pools, salary caps or Calcuttas, each option has its own strategy. The only thing better than being right is being right against friends, family, or some deep-pocketed stranger.
RELATED: Masters 2026: 5 longshots I’m betting to win at Augusta National
Regardless of what style of pool you’re looking to enter, there are a few golfers in this week’s field who deserve your attention. There is some game theory at play here as well. In most pools, your peers can roster the same golfers as you, so there’s an advantage to finding ways to be unique without sacrificing upside and win equity. Now, to the picks!
Xander Schauffele 
Hector Vivas
In most instances, Xander Schauffele will be in the top tier of selections, listed among the Scottie Schefflers, Rory McIlroys, Jon Rahms and Bryson DeChambeaus of the field. Those four are likely to soak up most of the selections, but you’re not really giving up much upside here by rolling with Xander. He’s finished inside the top 10 in six of the past seven Masters, and only Scottie Scheffler has gained more strokes tee-to-green on average at Augusta National over the past five years. He’s had a chance to win each of his past two starts, and his ball-striking metrics are all the way back to his 2024 rates.
Cameron Young
If it’s form we’re looking for as we handicap the 2026 event, Cameron Young has it in spades. He had an exceptional end to the 2025 season, building off his win at Sedgefield with excellent showings at all three playoff events. He was one of the U.S.’ bright spots at Bethpage, and he seems to have found another level this season, with three straight ball-striking clinics at Riviera (T-7), Bay Hill (T-3), and Sawgrass (first). He might be popular, but I consider this good chalk.
Patrick Reed
The Augusta University grad’s success at the Masters is difficult to ignore. The 2018 Masters champ shows up to Augusta National every year and competes, with four T-12 or better finishes in the past five years. He’s typically a form golfer, parlaying multiple strong performances in a row once he gets going. Considering that he’s already won twice in 2026, albeit in late January and early February, it’s hard not to be bullish on Patrick Reed. He’ll likely be out of sight, out of mind for some of your competitors.
RELATED: Masters 2026: We ranked all 91 players in the field
Min Woo Lee 
David Cannon
Min Woo has been in contention multiple times this season, finishing T-6 or better in three of his seven 2026 starts, all of which were top-40 showings. Min Woo’s fairway hit rate has jumped from 55.4 percent in 2025 to 62.1 percent this season. It turns out that it’s easier to hit a good approach shot from the fairway, because Min Woo is gaining 0.27 strokes per round on approach, a 0.77 stroke improvement from 2025 (-0.50).
Corey Conners
Perhaps no one in this year’s field has more sneaky Augusta National course history than Corey Conners. He has four T-10 or better finishes in his past six Masters starts, including a T-8 last season, where he gained strokes throughout the bag. Since tracking and sharing strokes-gained data at Augusta National became a thing a few years ago, only Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler, and Xander Schauffele have topped Conners’ 0.77 SG/approach per-round average. Conners did flash a bit the past two times out, with a T-13 at Sawgrass followed up by a T-14 at Copperhead.
Harris English 
Andrew Redington
No one’s super excited to click on Harris English, but he’s pieced together competitive rounds in each of his past five Masters starts. English also played well in all four 2025 majors, with top-2 finishes at The Open and PGA Championship to go along with his T-12 at Augusta National. Over the past two years, English has made the cut in all eight of his major championship starts, gaining an average of 1.41 strokes per round, the 11th-best mark in this week’s field (min. 16 rounds). In general, he plays his best on long tracks under difficult scoring conditions against strong fields.
Nicolai Hojgaard
Nicolai profiles well for Augusta National, with plus distance, high apex height and the ability to shape shots both ways. He flashed in a big way back in 2024, where he was in contention late before dying on Amen Corner. Nicolai is gaining throughout the bag this season. He’s made 12 starts worldwide since October’s Baycurrent Classic, and he’s finished inside the T-24 nine times. Five of those were T-6 or better, including a solo second-place finish in Houston the last time out. He gained an average of 0.78 strokes per round on the PGA Tour last season, and that number is up to 1.60 this season, the sixth-highest mark on the Tour.
RELATED: Masters picks 2026: Our Golf Digest betting panel gives our best bets for Augusta National
Sign up for the industry’s leading data tool to make golf stats easy to decipher—head to BetspertsGolf.com now and get access to The Rabbit Hole for only $10 for your first month. Use promo code GD10 at sign up for this amazing deal!
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
