There’s still plenty of golf to be played between now and the Masters, including historic events like the Phoenix Open and The Players Championship, but, as these tournaments are, all roads lead to Augusta National for the first major of the year.
As always, the narrative grows, and the opportunities for the Masters grow. Will Rory McIlroy become the fourth player to win consecutive Masters? Will Scottie Scheffler be inducted into his third green jacket in five years? Or will someone like Ludvig Aberg or Tommy Fleetwood break their big ducks at the Georgia sanctuary?
We’ll have to wait and see, but for now, let’s take a look at the last five winners and how they got the most coveted award in sports.
2025: Rory McIlroy
It had reached the point, if it hadn’t already, where it looked like Rory McIlroy would never win the Masters. He’s tried and come close several times in the past, including a runner-up finish in 2022, but just fell short of winning Augusta National with a consistent four rounds for the crown.
That all changed last year. McIlroy battled his demons in Georgia, eventually defeating Ryder Cup teammate Justin Rose in a dramatic playoff. His emotional celebration after the winning putt on the 18th green will be remembered for years.
2024: Scottie Scheffler
2024 marked Scottie Scheffler’s second Masters victory. Few players have won Augusta National as quickly as the World No.1, as this was his fifth start at the tournament. In fact, this victory made him the second fastest person to win two blue jackets behind Horton Smith, who did it three times starting back in the 1930s.
Scheffler is already a modern day master, and this Masters program was rarely in doubt, as the American won by four strokes over the starting Aberg. He will be a popular choice for those looking to bet on golf again this year.
2023: Jon Rahm
Jon Rahm wrote his name in legends in 2023, again winning in comfortable conditions. A resurgent Phil Mickelson shot an eye-catching seven under par on the final day, but that put the three-time champion at -8 and four strokes behind Rahm (-12).
He ended Spain’s 40-year wait for a fourth Masters title, his victory coming four decades after Seve Ballesteros’ second Augusta success. To make this moment even more memorable, it would have been the legend’s 66th birthday. Some things are just written in the stars when it comes to sports.
2022: Scottie Scheffler
Scheffler enters the 2022 Masters on a hot streak, with wins at the Phoenix Open and the Arnold Palmer Invitational helping him climb to No.1 in the world. He marks his first start as the world’s best player with an emphatic victory at Augusta.
Opening rounds of 69 and 67 gave Scheffler the lead in the middle, and he maintained that position with consecutive rounds of 71 to finish at -10, three strokes ahead of McIlroy, whose final round of 64 was not enough to deny the Texan his big girlfriend.
2021: Hideki Matsuyama
One of the biggest shocks of today’s Masters came in 2021, when the great outsider Hideki Matsuyama defied the odds to become the first Japanese golfer to win the emergency. Some bookies had the 2011 Low Amateur as big as 60/1 to claim the green jacket, but even a final round of 73 was not enough to dislodge Matsuyama, who defeated Will Zalatoris by a shot.
