After 18 holes of flawless weather and some special moments, the top score at the 2026 Masters belongs to Rory McIlroy and Sam Burns at 5-under. We’ve had Jack Nicklaus (1965-66), Sir Nick Faldo (1989-90), and Tiger Woods (2001-02) go back-to-back at Augusta National and McIlroy is hoping to join that esteemed class of elite players. Rory’s win last year completed the Grand Slam and his 5-under performance on Thursday was nearly half of his 11-under score in beating Justin Rose in a playoff last year.
The always dangerous Scottie Scheffler is lurking a three shots back at 2-under, one spot behind those grouped at 3-under – Patrick Reed, Jason Day, and Kurt Kitayama. Only 16 players finished under par, so it was a pretty day weather-wise, but not a pretty day for a lot of the field, as the Hojgaards were a combined 10-over, Jon Rahm had an awful day with a 78, and so did Min Woo Lee. Ethan Fang is the low amateur at 2-over.
We’ll see if anybody can separate from the pack, as the winners from 2022-24 won by three or four strokes. Last year’s playoff was the first since 2017, and Justin Rose actually lost both of them, as he got off to an excellent start on Thursday and looks to be in contention yet again. With pristine conditions and hard, fast greens expected on Friday and over the 36 weekend holes, Thursday felt like a preview of what we may see going forward.
Masters second-round tee times
VSiN’s golf experts offered their first-round observations and second-round predictions . . .
Wes Reynolds
The 2026 Masters has begun just like the 2025 Masters ended with Rory McIlroy atop the leaderboard. Despite McIlroy being third to last in Driving Accuracy (5-for-14; 35.7%), his Driving Distance (336.1) led the field and Augusta National is not a course with thick rough and players can get away with being errant off the tee when they gain three shots on approach and nearly two and half strokes with the putter like Rory did.
McIlroy, who had drifted upwards in the market due to back injury concerns last month, did not exude confidence in his various media availabilities this week, but here he is sharing the first-round lead with Sam Burns, whose best finish in four Masters appearances is a T-29 in 2023. Burns gained strokes across the board and led the field for Greens In Regulation (16-for-18; 88.9%).
2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed had the lead for a while and eagled both Par 5s on the front nine before shooting 2-over on the back nine to end at 3-under in the T-3 spot with Jason Day and Kurt Kitayama.
2022 and 2024 Masters winner Scottie Scheffler is still the World No. 1, but it has been a little bit off to start 2026, especially first rounds where his scoring average led the PGA TOUR last season but came in ranked 96th this week and is averaging three shots worse in the opening round. Scheffler posted a 2-under 70 along with Shane Lowry, Xander Schauffele, and last year’s Masters runner-up Justin Rose, who has now been in the top 6 after opening round 10 times in 21 appearances.
In all, 16 of the 91 players posted red figures.
With the projected course conditions of being firm and fast, it was expected that Augusta National would play tougher, and it did as 59 players shot over par on Thursday.
Bryson DeChambeau (+4) and Jon Rahm (+6) had big expectations coming into this week, but the exclusively overseas LIV schedule played on birdie-fest courses certainly ended up doing them no favors in preparation for this week. 2023 Masters champ Rahm went without a birdie on his round for the first time in 37 career rounds at Augusta National.
Other notables finishing over-par included Cameron Young (+1), who was +4 after just seven holes but fought back for a round of 73, Matt Fitzpatrick (+2), Collin Morikawa (+2), Ludvig Åberg (+2), J.J. Spaun (+2), Viktor Hovland (+3), Patrick Cantlay (+5), Min Woo Lee (+6), and Robert MacIntyre (+8).
It is no surprise that McIlroy (+275) and Scheffler (4/1) are the current top two choices to earn another green jacket, but a major champion that is looking for his first Masters, Schauffele (10/1) seems to always be around now in majors and could be a pivot from the two favorites.
Another market that is playable is the Low Debutant market. The lone first-timer to finish under par was Jacob Bridgeman (-1) and he did so even by losing strokes putting. Bridgeman currently ranks No. 1 on the PGA TOUR for Strokes Gained: Putting and has not finished lower than 18th in any PGA TOUR event. One would expect an elite putter like Bridgeman to figure out these greens. He seemed to have the ball striking figured out in Round 1 by hitting 12 of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens. He is still available at around 3/1 for Low Debutant.
Matt Youmans
It was a nightmare beginning to the Masters with Patrick Reed sinking a pair of eagle putts to go 5-under on the front nine. Without a doubt, “Fat Pat” is America’s most hated golfer. Only those who bet on Reed actually love to see him play well. Fortunately, he came back to the pack and gave two shots back to finish the first round in a four-way tie for third at -3. A golf tournament can’t be won on Thursday, but it can be lost.
The biggest LIV stars, Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm, were the biggest busts in the first round and, unfortunately, I made pre-tournament bets on both players. DeChambeau and “Rahmbo” are lost causes. The good news is I have live futures plays on Scottie Scheffler (+550), Justin Rose (60-1), Jason Day (100-1) and Gary Woodland (125-1).
The DraftKings live market shows Rory McIlroy as the +245 favorite with Scheffler the second choice at +340. I believe Scheffler is a better bet to win, despite being three back of the leaders. A three-shot difference with three rounds to go is nothing. Scheffler has had a troubling trend of slow starts, so his 2-under 70 was a positive start. Scheffler ranked in the field’s top five in driving accuracy (85.7%) while McIlroy ranked in the bottom five (35.7%).
You will see several overreactions at this point. This is basically the end of the first quarter of an NBA game and there’s a lot of volatility ahead. I don’t typically add plays after the first round, but will have more to recommend Friday night as we evaluate everything and look to the weekend.
Kelley Bydlon
Round 1 of the Masters is in the books, and if you’re one of those people that likes to watch golfers struggle, Augusta delivered.
With very little rain leading up to the Masters, we thought the course could play tough this weekend, but you don’t usually expect to see it like this in the first round. Only 16 players finished under par, and watching throughout the round, it was only getting tougher as the day went on.
Sam Burns and your 2025 champion Rory McIlroy stand atop the leaderboard at -5, and have to feel pretty good about that. Tournament favorite Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele are only three shots back and are definitely not out of this. And then there’s guys like Justin Rose (-2) and Patrick Reed (-3) who just seemingly never play bad at the Masters.
I can’t wait to see what this course looks like tomorrow. I will be holding back any round matchups until Saturday, but the bet that jumps out most to me right now is a live Top 5 on Schauffele. He was someone I was high on heading into the tournament and, with Rory and Scottie in the mix, I’m not loving the idea of an outright play, but I expect he’s hanging around the top of the leaderboard for the next few days. Eighteen of the last 20 Masters winners have been in the top 10 after the first round, so regardless of who you like at long odds, I would be careful looking too far down the board.
