A new chapter in Augusta awaits

Hello friends, and welcome to the 2025 Masters. The greatest week in golf is here, which means the most beautiful golf course is ready to welcome the likes of defending champion Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood and more. 

This year is not short of star power by any means, as the tournament will boast 18 former Masters Champions. Outside of the 18, Wyndham Clark, McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau and Xander Schauffele head the glamorous group.

The coverage leading up to the tournament was dominated by one storyline — McIlroy. Coming off a come-from-behind win in a playoff against J.J. Spaun for the Players Tournament, McIlroy is one Masters win away from completing the golf “Grand Slam” — a win of all four major golf tournaments — The Open, The U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and the Masters.

Golf Digest has McIlroy No. 2 in their Masters Power Ranking, and one of his best shots to win the tournament is this weekend. 

Ahead of McIlroy is Scheffler. The world number one golfer and Olympic gold medalist returns in hopes of making his presence felt once again in Butler’s Cabin. Last season, Scheffler set the standard, winning the Masters and seven other tournaments in dominant fashion. This year tells a different story. After undergoing hand surgery and missing his first two starts, Scheffler has yet to register a win.
This week, Scheffler will look to become the first player to win consecutive Masters titles since Tiger Woods accomplished the feat 23 years ago. In his five career appearances at Augusta National, Scheffler has never placed worse than 20th overall. A large part of this statistic is credited to his iron play. Scheffler is the best iron player in the world by nearly a fifth of a shot, according to Data Golf. In his last three Masters plays, Scheffler ranked number one in nearly every statistical category and even has the largest scoring average in the course’s history. 

Although Scheffler looks tough to beat at Augusta National, there are dark horses looming in the shadows.
Jordan Spieth returns to the course responsible for his career-crowning and career-worst achievements. Over his last four appearances, the trend has gone downhill for Spieth in Augusta, and if it is anything like those (T3, CUT, T4, CUT), his Masters days are in the past. Spieth is making his 12th Masters start after capturing his first green jacket in 2015 when, at the age of 21, he tied a then tournament record of 270, shot 18-under-par and beat Phil Mickelson and Justin Rose by four strokes. Spieth has recorded top-four finishes in six of his 11 appearances at Augusta National, including runner-up finishes in both 2014 and 2016. A decade since Spieth last wore the jacket, many think now is the time when he can come back to his former self and win it all.
The other major dark horse contender is Russell Henley. He may not have the statistics for Augusta National, but he constantly proves that numbers do not mean everything. Fresh off of a breakthrough performance at the Bay Hill course last month, Henley finished with four top-10 finishes in his last six starts, and with strong showings at the U.S. Open and The Open in 2023, he has quietly become a fixture at the Masters, making the cut in his past seven starts, including a T4 finish not too long ago.
This tournament will occur without multiple notable former champions. As the Masters extends automatic invitations to former champions, the tournament will feature older winners such as Fred Couples and Bernhard Langer. On the other hand, both Vijay Singh and Woods bowed out of the tournament in the weeks leading up to it due to injury, marking the first time that neither Singh nor Woods will play in the Masters since 1993. 

The Masters, the event that kicks off the summer golf season calendar, is not one to miss. Regardless of the winner, the field looks as tough as ever and should prove an interesting weekend for fans and players alike.