2025 Masters Predictions: Top Contenders and the Favorite Revealed by a Golf Insider

For golf enthusiasts across the globe, the most anticipated time of the year has arrived. This week marks Masters Week, drawing everyone’s focus to Augusta, Georgia, as it hosts the inaugural Major Championship of the season.

The lineup for the tournament consists of 95 participants, with one person poised to transform their professional journey and achieve iconic recognition by claiming victory and earning a green jacket by Sunday evening. Among them, well-known contenders like Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, and Xander Schauffele are expected to be at the forefront vying for the top prize.

Who will ultimately emerge as the victor on Sunday afternoon and claim the title of the 2025 Masters Champion? On Monday, Justin Ray from The Athletic, a highly regarded golf analyst, announced his official prediction.

Ray believes that the player in question will be Collin Morikawa, someone who has achieved significant success at Augusta National previously but hasn’t managed to secure a win at The Masters just yet.

“I’m betting on Collin Morikawa for the win,” Ray stated during an episode of the Fairway Rollin’ podcast. “The aspect I find most compelling is his consistent improvement on the greens each year since he started playing here. He’s managed to boost his strokes-gained putting stats at The Masters annually... So naturally, I have to put my money on Morikawa. Every performance metric points towards him reclaiming his status among the top approach players globally; currently, he leads the PGA Tour in strokes-gained approach per round. Combine this with enhanced putting skills from years spent competing at The Masters, and my pick remains Collin Morikawa.”

Choosing Morikawa as a winner isn’t a longshot since his chances rank fourth based on FanDuel Sportsbook’s odds. However, with +1600 odds, Morikawa lags significantly compared to top contenders like Scottie Scheffler (+400), Rory McIlroy (+650), and even Jon Rahm (+1400).

This marks Morikawa’s sixth appearance at The Masters, aiming to improve upon his tied-for-third-place finish from 2024. In last year's tournament, Morikawa was grouped with eventual champion Scheffler in the final pairing on Sunday but fell short after scoring a 74, which put him two over par, thus missing out on the win.

Morikawa has consistently improved at The Masters over time. Below are his performances across the years:

2020: T44th

2021: T18th

2022: 5th

2023: T10th

2024: 3rd

Could this be the year he finally claims victory and secures the green jacket? Given his status as a two-time major champion from winning the 2020 PGA Championship and the 2021 Open Championship, we know that high-pressure situations haven’t fazed him before.

As per Ray, this is the week when he will accomplish it yet again.

Related: Tiger Woods Responds to His New Role in Designing a Par-3 Course at the Home of the Masters

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