Masters First Round Leader
Navigating Augusta National for four days and 72 holes is one of the hardest challenges in golf. Playing well over the first 18 holes is easier, at least in a relative sense. There is nothing “easy” about the iconic golf course that hosts the first major of the season, but the First Round Leader board for The Masters has the potential for more value than narrowing down the winner, especially since Baby Scheffler has arrived.
There are so many elements of the course that make it difficult to post good numbers throughout the weekend, with the greens being one of the tougher ones to conquer. Anybody can putt well for a day to give themselves a chance to card a low score on Thursday. Anybody can play well tee-to-green in the first round and watch it all unravel the next day.
The Masters has a pretty exclusive field with a lot of players that can and have gone out there and played some great rounds at Augusta. Here are the guys who have been the First Round Leader over the last five years.
See the rest of our coverage of The Masters.
The Masters First Round Leader (FRL) Since 2021
2025: Justin Rose (65)
2024: Bryson DeChambeau (65)
2023: Viktor Hovland, Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka (65)
2022: Sungjae Im (67)
2021: Justin Rose (65)
It looks like 65 is the magic number to lead at the end of Thursday since that’s been the top score in four of the last five years. Players who have been in second after Day 1 include Corey Conners, Scottie Scheffler, Ludvig Aberg, Cam Young, Jason Day, Cam Smith, Brian Harman, and Hideki Matsuyama.
Maybe it matters, maybe it doesn’t that Rose has started at 12 p.m. ET or later in both of his years as the FRL, with Im teeing off just before 1 p.m. ET in his year. Hovland and Rahm both had tee times in the 10 a.m. hour. It should be noted that Rahm is the only one from that list to eventually win the tournament.
Masters First Round Leader Odds
Per DataGolf, which uses an average opening/closing price from DraftKings, bet365, PointsBet, and one offshore sportsbook, the closing odds to win The Masters for the First Round Leader were +10875, +3575, +900/+4000/+4000, +7150, +9000. The short price in there is for Rahm in 2023. The next shortest price using their historical data was DeChambeau in 2024.
Here’s what DraftKings Sportsbook had as of Monday at 5 p.m. PT for the First Round Leader odds:
- Scottie Scheffler (+1325)
- Jon Rahm (+1900)
- Bryson DeChambeau (+1950)
- Rory McIlroy (+2100)
- Ludvig Aberg (+2400)
- Xander Schauffele (+2900)
- Cameron Young (+3000)
- Matt Fitzpatrick (+3200)
- Tommy Fleetwood (+3300)
- Justin Rose (+3500)
- Brooks Koepka (+3500)
- Hideki Matsuyama (+3500)
- Collin Morikawa (+3700)
- Min Woo Lee (+3800)
- Robert MacIntyre (+3800)
- Chris Gotterup (+3900)
- Viktor Hovland (+4100)
- Jordan Spieth (+4100)
- Patrick Reed (+4100)
- Justin Thomas (+4200)
- Si Woo Kim (+4800)
- Akshay Bhatia (+4800)
- Russell Henley (+4800)
- Patrick Cantlay (+4900)
- Adam Scott (+5000)
- Jake Knapp (+5000)
- J.J. Spaun (+5200)
- Sam Burns (+5300)
- Shane Lowry (+5500)
- Nicolai Hojgaard (+5500)
- Jason Day (+5500)
- Tyrrell Hatton (+5600)
- Sepp Straka (+5600)
- Corey Conners (+5800)
- Maverick McNealy (+5900)
- Jacob Bridgeman (+6100)
- Max Homa (+6400)
- Gary Woodland (+6400)
- Cameron Smith (+6500)
- Kurt Kitayama (+6500)
- Harris English (+6700)
- Daniel Berger (+6800)
- Rasmus Hojgaard (+6900)
- Ben Griffin (+6900)
- Sung-Jae Im (+6900)
- Marco Penge (+7000)
- Keegan Bradley (+7400)
- Harry Hall (+8000)
- Wyndham Clark (+8000)
- Ryan Gerard (+8200)
- Alex Noren (+8200)
- Sam Stevens (+8600)
- Ryan Fox (+8800)
- Max Greyserman (+8800)
- Nick Taylor (+9200)
- Kristoffer Reitan (+9200)
- Michael Kim (+9200)
- Aaron Rai (+9600)
- Sergio Garcia (+9600)
- Casey Jarvis (+9600)
- Carlos Ortiz (+9600)
- Brian Harman (+9600)
- Dustin Johnson (+9800)
- Tom McKibbin (+10000)
- Andrew Novak (+10500)
- Haotong Li (+10500)
- Matt McCarty (+10500)
- Aldrich Potgieter (+11000)
- Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen (+11000)
- Nico Echavarria (+11000)
- Michael Brennan (+11500)
- John Keefer (+11500)
- Sami Valimaki (+12000)
- Bubba Watson (+14000)
- Zach Johnson (+15000)
- Charl Schwartzel (+15500)
- Davis Riley (+16000)
- Danny Willett (+26000)
- Ethan Fang (+26000)
- Angel Cabrera (+26000)
- Mason Howell (+27000)
- Brian Campbell (+27500)
- Pongsapak Laopakdee (+28000)
- Naoyuki Kataoka (+36000)
- Vijay Singh (+49000)
- Jackson Herrington (+50000)
- Fred Couples (+50000)
- Mateo Pulcini (+50000)
- Mike Weir (+55000)
- Brandon Holtz (+55000)
- Jose Maria Olazabal (+75000)
While the First Round Leader odds definitely condense the board a little bit by bringing some of the players with long odds back towards the pack, a guy like Scheffler is +490 to win The Masters, but +1325 to be the FRL. Similarly, Rahm is +910 for the tournament as a whole, but +1900 for the First Round.
Other times, things are pretty similar, like Justin Rose is +3500 to win the tournament, but also +3500 to be the First Round Leader. It all depends on the player, the form, and how consistent they are. Scheffler over 72 holes theoretically has less volatility than Scheffler over 18 holes because he’s just consistently so good and posting 68 on Thursday might not be the best score, but four rounds of 68 might win the whole thing.
2026 Masters First Round Leader Picks
Statistically speaking, there are a few numbers I’m going to try and incorporate, even though we know Augusta National is one of the hardest courses on the PGA Tour. I’m looking at Round 1 Scoring Average, Scoring Average Before Cut, Putts Per Round 1, and One-Putt Percentage in Round 1. Usually, the leader in Strokes Gained: Putting for Round 1 will be in contention and guys who start quickly on the greens, including their ability to leave an approach shot close, often do very well on Thursday at Augusta.
Price and current form are also major factors.
Min Woo Lee (+3800)
Min Woo Lee ranks fifth in Round 1 scoring average (68.3) because he’s been so good with the putter early on. He has the lower number of Putts Per Round in Round 1 with 26.29, narrowly ahead of Max Greyserman, who is a bomb worth considering at +8800, as he’s 36th in Round 1 scoring average and is a good putter early. Both guys opened with 71s last year, which was good enough for T-11th.
The 27-year-old Lee comes in 25th in the OWGR, has three top-10 finishes thus far and two in the top five. He’s finished 12th or better in four of his last five. While his first-round 62 at The American Express is a big reason why he’s done so well with his Round 1 scoring average, he’s had seven rounds of 65 or lower so far this year, with his putting as a big factor.
Viktor Hovland (+4100)
Hovland has started off well at The Masters three years in a row, including his tie for first back in 2023. He was T-11th in 2025 and T-14th in 2024. This season, while he’s 54th in Round 1 scoring average, he’s fifth in Putts Per Round in Round 1 over six tournaments and 20th in One-Putt Percentage.
He’s had a lot of issues off the tee this season, but his irons and wedges have been solid and his putting, at least in Round 1, has been good. He is coming off of a MC at the Valspar, but played well at the Players and the Arnold Palmer, finishing 13th in both events. There is a lot to be said about familiarity at Augusta and certainly a lot more to be said about confidence on such a demanding course. Hovland has both and has played strong first rounds here, even while having some ugly second rounds.
2026 Masters First Round Tee Times
Coming soon.
