The Break: It's Masters Week!

The first major championship of the year is here, and it feels like almost anything can happen at Augusta National.

Author

Ryan Ballengee
April 07, 2026

1986 vs. 2019 vs. 2025

The Masters is my favorite week of the golf year. It reminds me of so many things, including my daughter’s birthday. She was supposed to be born on Masters Thursday, and she came a few days late — just a few days after Jordan Spieth gave away the 2016 Masters to Danny Willett.

Yeah, Spieth didn’t go back-to-back at Augusta National, but I’ll always look fondly on that weekend.

I think your favorite Masters ever almost certainly depends on your age or which player you idolize most. I’m almost 43 years old, so I was only 3 when Jack Nicklaus won the 1986 Masters. I didn’t even know golf was something I cared about until 1995, the year Tiger Woods debuted at Augusta National (though my uncle is why I took an interest in golf). Tiger was the dominant golfer of my lifetime, and so it would make sense that the 2019 Masters might be my favorite.

Still, I think it’s 1986 for me. I’ve worn out DVD copies of that Masters film. Every time it’s on Golf Channel, and I catch it flipping through the guide, I stop what I’m doing to watch it. I have it practically memorized at this point. And, almost every time, I tear up at Jack and his son walking arm in arm off the 72nd hole.

What that image means to me has changed over time. I used to always think of that as the son, so proud of his father and incredibly grateful to have seen him live out the values I hold dear in working hard and treating people right (or least trying very hard to do the right thing). I still think of ‘86 that way, but now I think of it as much as a parent of two kids myself. I want nothing more than to see them succeed in what matters most to them and to put my arm around them, supporting them through it all.

But 2019 hits in a different way. The more miles you rack up in life, the more likely you’ll have broken down at some point. You’ll have fallen, failed or just ran into a rough patch you can’t seem to escape. And yet there’s still tomorrow. Tiger Woods is a greatly flawed human being, and plenty of his struggle in life has been self-inflicted. That doesn’t mean it diminishes the power of seeing him succeed again on his biggest stage some 11 years after his 14th major and 14 years after his fourth Masters. A lot of things had to go right that day for him to win, but again, to see the jubilation on his face as hugged his children, family and supporters is amazing.

I would put the 2025 Masters up there for me, too. I didn’t want to fall into the trap of recency bias, but the more I think about what happened last year, that’s as compelling of a Masters story there is.

I was there in 2011, when Rory McIlroy let the green jacket slip through his fingers. I will never forget the pall walk McIlroy and his girlfriend took from the 18th green to the locker room, even as Charl Schwartzel had made history with four-straight closing birdies to win his green jacket.

That final round last year was McIlroy’s Masters career perfectly encapsulated. The wet wedge on 13. The second shot on 15. The playoff approach against Justin Rose. The scream of relief when he won. If that’s not life, what is?

It’s often said that the Masters is about fathers and sons. For some people, I’m sure that’s true. To me, the way-too-deep meaning I assign to these four days in Augusta is an allegory for life. It feels familiar, yet things are always changing on the course and with the cast of characters involved. We sometimes can’t seem to get it right even though we’ve seen it a million times. When we break through, though, it feels like the achievement wasn’t what mattered so much as the people who were there with you all the way.

My Masters predictions are in the bottom story in this newsletter!

Make 2026 the year you earn rewards for playing golf. GolfN isn't just another digital caddie app. It's a rewards app that comes with a free digital caddie. The more you play, the more you earn: points redeemable for premium gear from L.A.B. Golf, Srixon, Cobra, Miura, and more. GolfN members have already redeemed over $250,000 in gear.

Masters Week is a big one for fans of fantasy golf, daily fantasy sports and betting. But it’s also a big week for casual fans who love a good Masters pool. No matter your interest level in predicting the Masters winner, we at Golf News Net have you covered with content.

And if somehow none of that does it for ya, then all of our Masters content is here.

If you would, please add Golf News Net as a trusted source on Google? All you have to do is click this link and confirm your choice. This tells Google that you want to see our content appear in your feed.

From the GNN Clubhouse

If you’d like your news included here and futher shared with our audience, I invite you to check out and join GNN Clubhouse.

Who will win the Masters?

This Masters feels somewhat wide open this year. There’s no dominant player, though Jon Rahm has been playing great on LIV, Rory has had some close calls, Scottie has already won and Bryson has won his last two events in playoffs.

Still, it’s hard not to think about the rules that typically guide who wins the Masters:

  • No amateur has ever won

  • No first-timer has won since 1979

  • No one over 46 years old has won

  • Only three players have ever gone back-to-back

That only narrows down the field of 91 by so much, though. The reality is that the Masters winner has historically been one of the best players of the calendar year so far. Looking at the last 21 Masters, 19 of those winners (and almost 20) averaged 1.5 stokes gained per round in the months of January, February, March and that one week in April leading into the Masters. There are 12 guys who fit that criteria.

While that full list is for Golf News Net members, you can research this for yourself and find some common names. The four guys I started with are on the list. The Players champion and runner-up are, too. There are some surprising names on there who have enjoyed great years, including several PGA Tour winners this year.

Even with all that, familiar horse-for-course names like Xander Schauffele — who has been in the top four in his last two starts — and Corey Conners — who is playing well and loves Augusta National — are worth a look. We’re kind of due for an unexpected winner after six consecutive years of world-class players donning the green jacket. Then again, that has been a run that followed some shocking winners: the aforementioned Willett, then Sergio Garcia finally breaking through in a major, then Patrick Reed doing it his own way, and then Tiger Woods completing an incredible comeback.

Good luck with your picks this week!