The 2023 Masters has arrived, and as always, the field is stacked with nearly all of the world's best golfers.
Nearly all of the world's top 50 golfers are participating in this year's event. The lone exception is 46th-ranked Aaron Wise, who has bowed out of the competition to focus on his mental health.
Also included in this year's Masters field are the LIV Golf participants. There will be 18 members of the Saudi-backed start-up tour participating in the event including world No. 6 golfer Cameron Smith, former Masters champions Dustin Johnson and Patrick Reed and rivals Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau.
MORE: Who is playing LIV Golf? Complete field for 2023
Suffice to say, the Masters should be highly competitive, as usual, and anyone from the stacked field could emerge as the victor.
But how exactly do the players in the field stack up against one another? Sporting News ranked the 30 top golfers participating in the 2023 Masters and broke down their chances of winning.
Here's a look at the list, from Rory McIlroy to Tiger Woods.
MORE: Who will win the Masters? Expert picks for golf's first major of 2023
Ranking the top 30 players in the Masters field 2023
The Masters is played yearly at Augusta National Golf Club, which is one of the PGA Tour's longest at 7,510 yards. The course is known for having somewhat forgiving rough but extremely difficult greens that will play easier the closer players can get to the hole.
With that said, strokes gained on approach (SG:APR) and greens in regulation (GIR) percentage will be two key stats to watch. That will tell golf fans exactly who can make the greens less of a factor and avoid some tough scrambles around the hole.
It will also be important to trust some of the bigger hitters because of the course's length. Those with good strokes gained off the tee (SG:OTT) marks will be able to shorten the course with their strength and downfield accuracy. That will be especially important on Augusta's four tricky Par-5 holes.
Naturally, putting will be important given the difficulty of the greens. That said, putts inside of 10 feet at Augusta are the easiest to make, so players who convert a high percentage of those while also avoiding three-putts will be the ones to watch at the event in 2023.
Below is a breakdown of Sporting News' top 30-ranked golfers for the Masters in 2023. All odds to win the event are courtesy of BetMGM.
1. Rory McIlroy
- OWGR: 2
- Odds: +700
McIlroy's tee-to-green game is perhaps the best among the field participating in the 2023 Masters. McIlroy ranks sixth in SG:OTT this season and seventh in SG:APR so at his peak, he should set himself up for some easy putts.
McIlroy can be a bit erratic at times, so he will need to show consistency early in the week to compete for the title. Last year, he finished second at the event after carding a 7-under on the final day of play. If he can have a day like that early, he could find himself in the driver's seat for this major title.
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2. Patrick Cantlay
- OWGR: 4
- Odds: +1800
Cantlay has had his share of issues at majors over the years, but he has two top-20 finishes in five previous professional appearances at the event. He ranks second in the PGA Tour in SG:OTT this season, so he will be able to shorten Augusta's long Par 4s and 5s better than most. He also ranks top-five in GIR percentage, so he'll only need to putt a bit more consistently than usual to be in the running to win his first-ever major.
3. Max Homa
- OWGR: 5
- Odds: +2500
Homa has enjoyed a great season to date on the PGA Tour, as he has yet to miss a cut, has two wins and has logged seven top-20 finishes this season. That includes a T-6th at The Players Championship.
Homa's game is well-rounded and while he may not be as big a hitter as McIlroy and Cantlay, he has a top-five approach game and ranks 37th in putting from inside of 10 feet. That will give him plenty of chances to earn birdies on Augusta's unforgiving greens.
4. Jon Rahm
- OWGR: 3
- Odds: +900
Rahm started the season at a torrid pace, winning three of his first 10 events and logging seven top-10 finishes during that time. He has hit a rough patch in recent weeks, including a missed cut at The Players Championship and a group-stage knockout at the Dell Technologies Match Play, but he still has the tee-to-green game needed to thrive at the Masters.
Rahm's top-five marks in SG:APR and GIR percentage should make him one of the hardest golfers to beat in this year's Masters. The only thing that may hold him back a bit is his putting, which ranks just slightly above average.
5. Scottie Scheffler
- OWGR: 1
- Odds: +700
Some may be surprised to see Scheffler ranked just fifth in this tournament, but it's worth noting that no player has repeated as Masters champion since Tiger Woods in 2000 and 2001. Scheffler has the talent needed to do that, but his below-average putting from inside of 10 feet — he's ranked 136th among the PGA Tour's 209 statistical qualifiers — could sink him this time at Augusta.
Still, Scheffler can't be counted out. He leads the tour in SG:OTT and GIR percentage while ranking top-three in three-putt avoidance. He could certainly win if he has another stellar week tee-to-green as he did last year.
MORE: Breaking down Scottie Scheffler's Masters dinner menu
6. Cameron Smith
- OWGR: 6
- Odds: +2000
Smith is the highest-ranked LIV Golf player on this list, as he won The Open Championship in 2022 before defecting for the Saudi-backed start-up tour. Smith hasn't yet won on the LIV Golf circuit, but he did log a T-5th finish at Mayakoba earlier in the year.
Smith is known to be a great putter and has posted a top-10 finish in four of his last five appearances at the Masters. It remains to be seen whether he and other LIV participants will be a bit rusty coming off longer layoffs and having to play for four days instead of LIV's three, but if you can trust any golfer to put up a good performance, it's Smith.
7. Jason Day
- OWGR: 35
- Odds: +2500
Day is putting together a superb bounce-back season and is showing flashes of the game that once made him the world's No. 1 player. He hasn't missed a cut since November and has finished no worse than 21st in the 10 events during which he made the cut.
Day has a well-rounded game that is well-suited for Augusta. That's part of why he has three career top-five finishes in the Masters. He has missed the cut in each of his last two trips to the course, but golf fans have reason to expect him to be closer to the top 10 than the cut line in 2023.
8. Tony Finau
- OWGR: 13
- Odds: +2500
Finau has the tee-to-green game needed to find success at the Masters. In particular, his approach game in his strength, as he ranks third overall in SG:APR and ninth in GIR percentage. However, his putting is hit-or-miss and has proved to be a make-or-break part of his game.
Finau won three times during the 2022 calendar year when his putter cooperated, and he has finished T-24th or better in nine consecutive events with no missed cuts. Add in that Finau has had three top-10 Masters finishes since 2018 and he looks like an intriguing value bet at 25-1 odds.
9. Viktor Hovland
- OWGR: 9
- Odds: +3300
Hovland is a young player, but he is by no means inexperienced. This is his third Masters appearance as a PGA Tour pro, and he made the cut and logged top-30 finishes in each of his first two outings at Augusta.
It makes sense that Hovland would do well at the Masters. He is one of the PGA Tour's best at getting from tee to green, as he ranks eighth in SG:OTT and 29th in SG:APR, and is an above-average putter from inside of 10 feet, too. His one issue is that he ranks near the bottom of the tour in three-putt avoidance (189th overall) so his short stick can sometimes hold him back.
10. Xander Schauffele
- OWGR: 7
- Odds: +2200
Golf fans have grown accustomed to seeing Schauffele's name atop leaderboards at the majors, but he actually missed the cut at the Masters in 2023. He will look to bounce back from this, but he will need to be a bit better off the tee than he has been this season to do so. He ranks just 126th in SG:OTT this season.
Still, Schauffele has a top-10 rank in SG:APR and has two top-five finishes at Augusta to his name. He also has four top-10 finishes this season and has yet to be cut from an event. He's a good, safe pick as a top-10 bet or a DFS lineup anchor.
11. Collin Morikawa
- OWGR: 12
- Odds: +2200
Morikawa has improved year-to-year in each of his first three appearances at the Masters. He finished T-44th in 2020, T-18th in 2021 and fifth outright in 2022. If he continues that year-to-year trend, he will have a chance to top the field at Augusta.
Certainly, Morikawa's top-10 ranks in SG:APR and GIR percentage along with his 22nd-best SG:OTT will help him in that quest. But like many of the other top contenders, Morikawa will need his worst club, his putter, to get hot to have a chance to win. He ranks 183rd in putting inside of 10 feet and has 155th in three-putt avoidance, so that will be no easy task.
MORE: Why Tiger Woods won't talk to Bryson DeChambeau amid LIV Golf dispute
12. Will Zalatoris
- OWGR: 8
- Odds: +3300
Zalatoris tends to perform well in majors, as he has logged six top-10 finishes in 10 major appearances during his career. He has finished no worse than T-6th in his two Masters appearances, so another top-10 outing is a distinct possibility for the young golfer.
Zalatoris will rely on his strength off the tee and his 26th-ranked GIR percentage to carry him in this tournament. That said, he ranks just 76th in SG:APR, so that gives him a slightly lower floor than other top candidates given the way that Augusta plays.
13. Sungjae Im
- OWGR: 18
- Odds: +3300
It is hard to find a weakness in Im's game, and that's why he's such a consistent competitor on the PGA Tour. He ranks 15th this season in SG:OTT and he ranks no worse than 77th in any other major statistical category that we are watching ahead of the Masters.
Im also has two top-10 finishes in three appearances at the Masters, though a missed cut is sandwiched between them. There isn't much risk in trusting him to compete though, so he should have a chance to earn a top-10 or top-20 finish at this tournament.
14. Tyrrell Hatton
- OWGR: 17
- Odds: +4000
Hatton is coming off a missed cut at the Valero Texas Open, but before that, he had logged consecutive top-five finishes at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship. So, while he hasn't had an overwhelming amount of success at golf's majors, those two outings on difficult courses were quite encouraging.
More encouraging is that Hatton ranks ninth on tour in SG:OTT and 11th in SG:APR. That should give him a chance to both shorten the course and get the ball close to the pin, two elements that are critical to winning at Augusta.
15. Tom Kim
- OWGR: 19
- Odds: +8000
If you're looking for a Masters sleeper to trust, look no further than Tom Kim. The South Korean golfer took the PGA Tour by storm last year and continued his strong play into this season. He won the first event of the 2022-23 season and has posted four top-10 finishes to date.
Kim is above average off the tee and in putting inside of 10 feet, but his big strength is his approach game. He ranks top-20 in SG:APR and 11th in GIR percentage, so that will bode well for him in his first test at Augusta National.
16. Dustin Johnson
- OWGR: 69
- Odds: +2500
Johnson is the other top LIV Golfer defector to trust in the 2023 Masters. He hasn't performed particularly well on the LIV tour this year, but he has 22 top-10 major finishes to his name and five of those have come since at the Masters and since 2015.
Johnson has finished top-12 in six of his seven Masters appearances since 2015, including his green jacket win in 2020. Don't be surprised if his best arrives as the 38-year-old challenges for his third career major.
MORE: Best bets, predictions, strategies for picking a winner at Augusta
17. Jordan Spieth
- OWGR: 16
- Odds: +1800
Might this be a bit low for Spieth, who has the fourth-shortest odds to win this tournament? Sure, but given the way he has played during the 2022-23 season, there's no guarantee he will post a strong outing.
Spieth has managed to finish within the top 20 at six events during the PGA Tour season. Despite this, he ranks just 81st in SG:OTT, 42nd in SG:APR and 121st in putting inside of 10 feet. He makes his living as a scrambler, but Augusta National isn't as conducive to that playing style as other courses may be.
Spieth still may be able to string together some strong performances in 2023 and regain the form that saw him earn top-five finishes in four of his first five Masters starts. That includes a win in 2015. But if he is erratic, he could miss the cut, just like he did last year.
18. Justin Thomas
- OWGR: 10
- Odds: +2000
Here's another star player who may ranked be a bit lower than usual. Like Spieth, Thomas has some deficiencies in his game this year that could prove problematic. He still rankings 41st in SG:OTT and 54th in SG:APR, but his putting is well below average. In fact, his three-putt percentage of 4.69 ranks second-worst on the PGA Tour.
So, unless Thomas can awaken something in his putter, he is bound to disappoint. He has a good history at the Masters (two top 10s, two top 20s, no missed cuts) but this may be a better spot than usual in which to fade him.
19. Cameron Young
- OWGR: 14
- Odds: +3000
Young is still a relatively fresh face on the PGA Tour. He won the Rookie of the Year award in 2022 and logged two top-three finishes at majors during that campaign. He did, however, miss the cut at the Masters and has cracked the top 10 just once this season despite missing zero cuts.
Like so many on this course, Young has the tee-to-green game needed to perform well, as he ranks top 20 in both SG:OTT and SG:APR. His issue is that he is a below-average putter, so he will need to have a better-than-usual week in that category to stay competitive.
20. Sam Burns
- OWGR: 11
- Odds: +3300
Burns is starting to find his game at the right time. He finished sixth at the Valspar Championship and followed that up by winning the Dell Technologies Match Play, his final event before the Masters.
While that recent return to form paints a positive picture for Burns, his weakness this season has been his approach game. He ranks just 175th in SG:APR, so that will make it hard for him to compete with the other top golfers at the tournament. Still, his top-10 mark in putting from inside of 10 feet as well as his 35th-ranked SG:OTT numbers should allow him to stay the weekend at Augusta and push for a top-20 spot.
21. Brooks Koepka
- OWGR: 118
- Odds: +3300
You could make a case for Koepka being ranked a bit higher, but as mentioned, it's hard to know exactly how the LIV players will perform in a four-day tournament. Still, Koepka is one of the world's best golfers when healthy and is coming off a win at LIV Golf Orlando. His form could carry over to Augusta, where he has a T-2nd finish to his name.
Koepka is known for performing well in majors, and he won four from 2017 to 2019. He hasn't made a cut at the Masters since 2020, but perhaps he will be able to make it to the weekend as he works his way back from several nagging injuries.
22. Corey Conners
- OWGR: 28
- Odds: +4000
Conners is another player who has fared well of late, as he is coming off a win at the Valero Texas Open and a T-21st at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He missed the cut at The Players Championship but his game should be better suited for the Augusta National course.
Conners has top-30 ranks in SG:OTT, SG:APR and GIR percentage, so he figures to be a rock-solid tee-to-green player this week. The question is whether his putting, which ranks below average from 10 feet and in, will be good enough to keep him in the mix for back-to-back titles. He did well enough at Valero in that quest, carding just six bogeys or worse while nailing 23 birdies, and he also posted two bogey-free rounds.
Repeating that feat at Augusta could put Conners and Canada in the potential green jacket mix.
23. Matt Fitzpatrick
- OWGR: 15
- Odds: +4000
Fitzpatrick is mired in a bit of a slump, so that is what's holding him back in these rankings. He has missed the cut in four of his last six events and has struggled with his usually sharp iron play during that run. That's part of why he ranks an uncharacteristically low 172nd in SG:APR.
That said, Fitzpatrick still ranks top 25 in SG:OTT and has been the tour's best putter inside of 10 feet this season. So, if he can find the range with his irons and improve his approach game, he could go on a run at this year's Masters. He has just one top-10 finish at the Masters but has made the cut at the event seven consecutive times.
24. Hideki Matsuyama
- OWGR: 21
- Odds: +4000
Matsuyama put up a respectable defense of his 2021 title in 2022, finishing T-14th. It was his seventh top-20 finish in his last eight appearances at the event and he should have a chance to find similar success in 2023.
However, Matsuyama has had a bit of an up-and-down year. He comes into the event having logged a fifth-place finish at The Players Championship and a T-15th at the Texas Open, but he missed the cut in consecutive events before that. Matsuyama has also posted a below-average year putting and ranks just 60th in SG:APR, so it's hard to be overly confident in him coming into the major.
25. Justin Rose
- OWGR: 36
- Odds: +6600
Rose is in a similar boat to Matsuyama, as he is entering the Masters after a strong performance at The Players and a decent one at the Texas Open. His game has been a bit sharper than Matsuyama's this season, however, as he ranks top 50 in SG:APR, GIR percentage and putting inside of 10 feet.
Rose does have a penchant for three-putting when he gets himself out of position, so his approach game will need to be strong, as it has been this season. His solid history at Augusta — six top 10s in 17 appearances — makes that possible, but it's worth noting his only two missed cuts at the Masters have come in his last four trips to Augusta. So, his success is more of a coin flip than usual.
26. Patrick Reed
- OWGR: 70
- Odds: +6600
Reed is the last LIV Golfer to make this list. He is a former champion at the event, having won it in 2018. Since then, he has never missed a cut and has added two top-10 finishes to his name.
Reed is coming off a T-3rd at LIV Golf Orlando and finished second earlier in the year at the Dubai Desert Classic. The Masters field will contain within it stiffer competition than those events, but Reed should still have a chance to near the top of the leaderboard if all goes well.
27. Keegan Bradley
- OWGR: 22
- Odds: +10000
Bradley has been hot at times this year, winning the ZoZo Championship in October and finishing second in the Farmers Insurance Open back in January. He has missed two of his last three cuts, but those outings are sandwiched by another top-10 performance — this one at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. His high-end potential makes him a nice potential sleeper top-10 pick at the 2023 Masters.
That said, Bradley has never finished higher than T-22nd at the event and hasn't played at it since 2019. So, while his well-rounded game — which comes with solid SG:OTT, SG:APR and three-putt avoidance — may suit Augusta well, his recent lack of familiarity with it will knock him down a couple of pegs. But there's still no doubt that he should make the cut.
28. Sepp Straka
- OWGR: 33
- Odds: +25000
OK, let's get weird. Yes, Straka's history in majors is not only short but unimpressive. Even still, his game profiles as one that should suit Augusta National and could ultimately make him a surprise contender for this year's tournament.
Straka has a consistently good approach game, ranking 18th in both SG:APR and GIR percentage. That means he should get the ball closer to the hole than most. That will benefit Straka, as he thrives at putting within 10 feet; he ranks 11th on tour in that category and 33rd in three-putt avoidance.
So, why is Straka such a long shot? Simple. He isn't a big-time hitter of the ball, as demonstrated by his 151st rank in SG:OTT. As such, he will need to make very, very few mistakes to ensure that he can stay competitive with other players at the Masters.
Still, Straka has the type of game that makes this a possibility. And if he is a bit longer off the tee than expected but keeps his accuracy... look out. At the very least, he is worth a top-10 or top-20 bet flier.
29. Tom Hoge
- OWGR: 26
- Odds: +10000
Hoge falls into a category similar to Straka. He isn't very long off the tee, but he has the best approach game on the PGA Tour, ranking 1st in SG:APR and 12th in GIR percentage. He's not quite as good a putter as Straka, but he ranks top 50 in three-putt avoidance.
Hoge also has four top-10 finishes this season and finished T-9th in The PGA Championship last year. So, he has a track record of higher-level success. That could make him a surprise top-10 candidate and a strong sleeper at the very least.
30. Tiger Woods
- OWGR: 1,001
- Odds: +6600
I know, I know. Tiger doesn't really play much anymore, and there's no guarantee that he will even be able to make it through the entire tournament, let alone win it. Even still, he's a five-time champion at the Masters and can never be considered out as long as he continues playing.
Tiger's finish of 47th last year was the worst of his career at the Masters since his lone missed cut at the event back in 1996. Even still, it was viewed as a monumental achievement considering that he had suffered a debilitating car crash just over a year earlier.
Now, Woods will seek to improve upon that and tie Jack Nicklaus with six career Masters wins.
MORE: What to know about Tiger Woods' status for the 2023 Masters
Full Masters field 2023
Below is the full Masters field for 2023 listed alphabetically by first name. Also included is each player's Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR). The top-ranked player in the field is the World No. 1 Jon Rahm while several amateurs participating in the tournament rank last at 3,343rd overall.
Several other players are unranked and will be marked with a "UR" designation. Players with an (a) by their names are amateurs.
| Golfer | OWGR |
| Aaron Wise | 46 |
| Abraham Ancer | 31 |
| Adam Scott | 40 |
| Adam Svensson | 56 |
| Adrian Meronk | 59 |
| Aldrich Potgieter (a) | 2,170 |
| Alex Noren | 41 |
| Ben Carr (a) | 3,343 |
| Bernhard Langer | 3,343 |
| Billy Horschel | 24 |
| Brian Harman | 29 |
| Brooks Koepka | 118 |
| Bryson DeChambeau | 155 |
| Bubba Watson | 222 |
| Cameron Champ | 201 |
| Cameron Smith | 6 |
| Cameron Young | 14 |
| Charl Schwartzel | 214 |
| Chris Kirk | 32 |
| Collin Morikawa | 12 |
| Corey Conners | 28 |
| Danny Willett | 92 |
| Dustin Johnson | 69 |
| Francesco Molinari | 130 |
| Fred Couples | 3,343 |
| Gary Woodland | 100 |
| Gordon Sargent (a) | UR |
| Harold Varner III | 60 |
| Harris English | 42 |
| Harrison Crowe (a) | 504 |
| Hideki Matsuyama | 21 |
| J.T. Poston | 49 |
| Jason Day | 35 |
| Jason Kokrak | 87 |
| Joaquin Niemann | 25 |
| Jon Rahm | 3 |
| Jordan Spieth | 16 |
| Jose Maria Olazabal | 2,748 |
| Justin Rose | 36 |
| Justin Thomas | 10 |
| Kazuki Higa | 82 |
| Keegan Bradley | 22 |
| Keith Mitchell | 45 |
| Kevin Kisner | 47 |
| Kevin Na | 96 |
| Kurt Kitayama | 20 |
| Kyoung-Hoon Lee | 43 |
| Larry Mize | 3,343 |
| Louis Oosthuizen | 120 |
| Mackenzie Hughes | 57 |
| Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira (a) | 3,343 |
| Matt Fitzpatrick | 15 |
| Matthew McClean (a) | 3,343 |
| Max Homa | 5 |
| Mike Weir | 3,343 |
| Min Woo Lee | 48 |
| Mito Pereira | 53 |
| Patrick Cantlay | 4 |
| Patrick Reed | 70 |
| Phil Mickelson | 425 |
| Rory McIlroy | 2 |
| Russell Henley | 38 |
| Ryan Fox | 37 |
| Sahith Theegala | 30 |
| Sam Bennett (a) | 1,313 |
| Sam Burns | 11 |
| Sandy Lyle | 3,343 |
| Scott Stallings | 66 |
| Scottie Scheffler | 1 |
| Seamus Power | 34 |
| Sepp Straka | 33 |
| Sergio Garcia | 161 |
| Shane Lowry | 23 |
| Si Woo Kim | 39 |
| Sungjae Im | 18 |
| Talor Gooch | 58 |
| Taylor Moore | 50 |
| Thomas Pieters | 44 |
| Tiger Woods | 1,001 |
| Tom Hoge | 26 |
| Tom Kim | 19 |
| Tommy Fleetwood | 27 |
| Tony Finau | 13 |
| Tyrrell Hatton | 17 |
| Vijay Singh | 3,343 |
| Viktor Hovland | 9 |
| Will Zalatoris | 8 |
| Xander Schauffele | 7 |
| Zach Johnson | UR |
