Bettors are putting their trust – and money – in Rory McIlroy ahead of the 2025 Masters, as the Northern Irishman is the most popular selection to don the green jacket at theScore Bet/ESPN Bet.
McIlroy has garnered 9.5% of all bets placed on the tournament winner market and a staggering 15.1% of the handle (money wagered). That means both big and small bettors believe this is the week McIlroy ends his major championship drought to become only the sixth golfer to achieve the career grand slam.
While he’s second on the oddsboard at +600 behind defending champion Scottie Scheffler, a case could be made that McIlroy deserves to be the favorite based on his body of work this year. This is the first time in his career that McIlroy will tee it up at Augusta National with two victories from the season already under his belt.
Scheffler (+475), meanwhile, isn’t in the same form as last year entering the Masters, with no victories and only two top-five results. Plus, defending at Augusta is difficult. Only three players – Tiger Woods, Nick Faldo, and Jack Nicklaus – have accomplished the feat.
That hasn’t prevented bettors from backing the favorite, though. Scheffler is the second-most bet-on golfer as he goes for his third green jacket in four years.
Player
% of bets
Player
% of handle
Rory McIlroy
9.5%
Rory McIlroy
15.1%
Scottie Scheffler
6.9%
Scottie Scheffler
12.2%
Bryson DeChambeau
6.9%
Collin Morikawa
7.3%
Collin Morikawa
6.5%
Bryson Dechambeau
6.6%
Ludvig Aberg
5.1%
Ludvig Aberg
4.8%
Xander Schauffele
4.3%
Xander Schauffele
3.9%
Brooks Koepka
3.5%
Tommy Fleetwood
3.7%
Jon Rahm
3.0%
Jon Rahm
3.5%
Justin Thomas
2.9%
Viktor Hovland
3.4%
Will Zalatoris
2.5%
Brooks Koepka
2.9%
Collin Morikawa (+1400) and Bryson DeChambeau (+1500) round out the top four options, but both see a significant drop off from Scheffler in terms of handle.
McIlroy is also getting love in the prop markets. A top-five finish for McIlroy is the most bet-on prop at +150. Morikawa’s top-five finish and top-10 finish are the second and fourth most bet-on props, respectively.
On the flip side, bettors do not like Max Homa’s chances of playing weekend golf. Homa to miss the cut is the fifth-most bet-on prop and has accumulated the fourth-most handle.
Homa’s struggles this year are well-documented. He’s missed four straight cuts and finished near the bottom of the leaderboard at two no-cut events this season. He’s changed equipment, swing coaches, and will have a new caddie on the bag this week in Augusta. He did finish T3 at the Masters last year but bettors are hoping those good vibes do not return this week.
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