Can Collin Morikawa Add a Masters Triumph to His Other Major Titles?

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is the favorite to defend his title this week at the 89th Masters and win for the third time in four years. Second-ranked Rory McIlroy is a sentimental choice to finally complete the grand slam of golf majors.

But Collin Morikawa, ranked fourth in the world and already a winner in two majors, is getting a lot of support from those who follow the sport closely.

John Schwarb of SI Golf is picking the 28-year-old Cal grad this week. “Morikawa’s ball striking is completely dialed and his last three Masters have been T3, 10th, fifth,” Schwarz wrote. “I think he’s going to have to stare down Scheffler to put on the jacket, but Scottie hasn’t been as bulletproof as he was a year ago.”

Here are the odds on the top players and the four Cal alums for the Masters, which offers a $25 million total purse and will get started Thursday at Augusta National:

Odds per FanDuel Sports Book on SI.com

Scottie Scheffler +400

Rory McIlroy +650

Jon Rahm +1400

Ludvig Åberg +1600

Collin Morikawa +1600

Xander Schauffele +1800

Justin Thomas +2200

Bryson DeChambeau +2200

Joaquin Niemann +2500

Hideki Matsuyama +2500

Other Cal entries:

Byeong Hun An +12000

Michael Kim +15000

Max Homa +25000

Morikawa is making his sixth start at the Masters and has finished in the top-10 the past three years. He tied for third last year, along with fellow Cal alum Max Homa and England’s Tommy Fleetwood. Morikawa has never missed the cut at Augusta.

Byeong Hun An who played one season at Cal before turning pro in 2011, is No. 34 in the current world rankings. Still without a PGA Tour victory, the 33-year-old Korean is making his sixth Masters start. He finished in a tie for 16th a year ago.

Michael Kim, 31, with three top-6 finishes, is playing the Masters for the first time since 2019, when he missed the cut. Kim began the year at No. 155 in the Official World Golf Rankings but climbed to No. 50 after the Houston Open, earning him an invite to Augusta.

Homa, 34, enjoyed his finest performance in a major last year when he shared third place at the Masters. He reached No. 5 in the world rankings but has slumped badly since then, missing the cut in his past five events and without a top-25 finish this year. Homa’s world ranking has dipped to No. 81.

Morikawa has not won since the Zozo Championship in October 2023, but he has three top-10 finishes this year and posted eight of them in 2024. He was among the top 20 in all four majors a year ago. He already has career wins in the PGA Championship and The (British) Open.

Here’s what the experts say about Morkawa’s chances this week:

— Matt Vincenzi, SI Golf: “Over his past 24 rounds, Collin Morikawa leads the field in strokes-gained approach. Augusta National is a second shot golf course and no one in the field has that part of their game dialed in as well as Morikawa. In five starts this season, the two-time major winner’s worst finish has been T17. He finished runner-up at both the Sentry and the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Morikawa gets one step closer to the career grand slam this week.”

— Brentley Romine, NBC Sports: Romine ranks Scheffler as the favorite but lists Morikawa at No. 2. “Coming off his best Masters finish, a T-3, his third straight top-10 here. He’s also the PGA Tour’s leader in strokes gained approach and proximity, and is the hottest player according to Data Golf. A win Sunday would put him just a U.S. Open away from the career grand slam.” Romine also lists Kim as “a worthy sleeper.”

— Mark Schlabach, ESPN: Morikawa is listed among eight Tier 1 players judged by Schlabach to have the best chance to win the Masters. “As Kyle Porter of Normal Sport noted on X, 10 of the past 12 Masters champions were gaining at least 1.7 strokes or better from tee to green in the three months before the first major of the season. Morikawa leads the tour in that statistic (1.999), as well as approach (1.190). The two-time major champion hasn't won since October 2023, but it sure feels as if his drought is about to end. He was tied for the lead after eight holes in the final round in 2024 but posted two double-bogeys in the next three holes. He tied for third at 4 under.”

— Adam Christensen, Golf.com: “It’s tough to choose among the trio of Scheffler, McIlroy and Morikawa at the top. All three have been playing fantastic golf this year, but Morikawa has managed to get in the top three on the odds list despite not winning since October of 2023. His golf has been consistently superb, and the golf gods tend to reward that level of play eventually. Since his odds are the longest out of the three, I think he is the favorite to bet.”

— Mark Giannotto, USA Today: Giannotto projects Morikawa to win. "Morikawa currently ranks second behind only McIlroy in strokes gained tee-to-green in 2025. It's perhaps gone under the radar because Morikawa is searching for his first win in more than 18 months and fell short again with a chance to win this year's Arnold Palmer Invitational. But he has three top-10 finishes in five starts this season, in addition to winning the PGA Championship and British Open previously. Maybe he's ready to prove his mettle at The Masters.”

— Keith Stewart, Golf Digest: Stewart has Morikawa at No. 3 in his pre-Masters power rankings, behind Scheffler and McIlroy. “Morikawa is at a crossroads. Since the 2024 Masters, he has 10 top-10 finishes in 21 events. He passed the 30 under par plateau on the Plantation Course and lost by three to Hideki at The Sentry. Russell Henley nipped him by one at API, and he had the low gross score at the Tour Championship. Golf is a brutal game when you are doing everything right and cannot win. Now heading into Augusta, Morikawa faces Rory in remarkable form and Scottie as defending champ. As a PGA Coach, I don’t think Collin needs to change anything. In his last four Masters starts, Morikawa has gained strokes in all four major categories. While some implore change, I say take three straight top 10 results and play with confidence Collin.”

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