The 13 Most Exciting Ways the 2026 Masters Could End on Sunday, Ranked

This Masters is set up for a dramatic finish, but not all finishes are created equal. Here’s a ranking of potential outcomes, ranked by overall excitement level.

McIlroy and Lowry have teamed up to win the 2025 Ryder Cup and the 2024 Zurich Classic, shown here. | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

AUGUSTA — This Masters has been a 54-hole thrill ride. Rory McIlroy made some history. Shane Lowry made an ace. Scottie Scheffler made himself a factor. This thing could break a lot of different directions on Sunday. Here’s a quick primer on the various ways it could end, ranked in reverse order from the least exciting to utterly epic. Odds are good that we’re in store for a Masters Sunday to remember.

13. Patrick Reed rallies from five shots back to win his second green jacket. Reed’s popularity may be juuuust a tick on the upswing out here this week after he recently announced his departure from LIV Golf and impending return to the PGA Tour. But Reed is now and forever a lone wolf, and the rare player who doesn’t care if his fellow players like him, if fans like him, or if you, dear reader, also like him. He just wants to win another Masters—and on Sunday he just might.

12. Patrick Cantlay rallies from five shots back to win his first major. Not sure we’ve seen Cantlay hit a shot this week. But the mercurial Californian still has a puncher’s chance on Sunday.

11. Russell Henley rallies from five shots back to win his first major. The 36-year-old started his Saturday tied with Scheffler at even par and shot just one stroke higher, a 66, to give himself an outside shot at swiping his first major title.

10. Haotong Li rallies from four shots back to win his first green jacket. He would also become the first major champion from China, which like Hideki Matsuyama’s win in 2021 would have global impact. Also, if he can actually win a jacket after hitting a cold shank into the pond on 15 on Saturday, it’ll only add to his Cinderella story.

9. Jason Day rallies from three shots back to win his second major title. This would be Day’s first green jacket, and after a career marred by injury-related stops and starts, a win in Augusta would be sweet. It might be equally sweet for Malbon, which has given Day a unique style … though we remain skeptical if wearing a bird-printed shirt is ultimately good for a player’s Masters karma.

8. Sam Burns rallies from one shot back to win his first major title. The 29-year-old playing his fifth Masters hung tough with a bogey-free 68 while paired with McIlroy on Saturday. It would be no surprise to see him bag his first major while playing one group ahead of the final pairing.

7. Cam Young pulls away from McIlroy in the final pairing and rolls to his first major title. The reigning Players champion is playing the best golf of his life, and he seems ready for this moment. He may be the second-most popular player in his Sunday pairing, but his down-to-earth, humble nature would play well with a green jacket. Again, the fact that this is the seventh-most exciting way this year’s event can end tells you just how great we’re set up on Sunday.

What would be your ideal finish this Masters Sunday? | Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated

6. Shane Lowry rallies from two shots back to claim his first green jacket. The Irishman has already bagged a British Open in Ireland, and his power and touch have improved through the years, making him a prime contender this week. Especially if he keeps making aces.

5. McIlroy and Young separate themselves from the field, waging an all-time head-to-head duel that goes down to the wire. It’s always epic when the final pairing in a major reaches a higher plane and head-to-head match play breaks out.

4B. Justin Rose rallies from four shots down, then clips McIlroy in sudden death to win his first green jacket. Snuffing out his friend’s shot at a repeat would be bittersweet for Rose, but a first green jacket after his near-miss last year would be popular.

4A. Rose rallies from four shots down, then falls to McIlroy in a playoff. Man, this one would really sting for Rose, as he’s already the only player in Masters history to lose two sudden-death playoffs. A third would be brutal.

3. Patrick Reed storms back from five shots down, then falls to McIlroy in a playoff. Seeing these rivals together on the big stage would be juicy. Would they even shake hands when it was over?

2. Scottie Scheffler rallies from four shots back to win the green jacket. Scheffler is in the fourth-to-last group, which is not typically a place where jackets are won. But Scheffler of course is no ordinary pursuer. A run by the best player of his era would be epic.

1B) Shane Lowry beats Rory McIlroy in  a sudden-death playoff. Honestly, no matter which way this playoff breaks, it would absolutely riveting television to watch these two in a playoff.

1A) McIlroy beats Lowry in a sudden-death playoff. The best friends could find themselves in a battle down the stretch. If it went to extra holes, it would give them (and us) a chance to see this friendship tested under one of golf’s ultimate gauntlets.

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