The Masters heads for the weekend with a star-studded leaderboard battling for the green jacket at the 90th edition
The 2026 Masters heads for the weekend with a star-studded leaderboard battling for the green jacket at the 90th edition of golf’s most prestigious tournament.
Reigning champion Rory McIlroy created separation from the field as he followed his first-round 67 with a second-round 65, taking a historic six-shot lead for the tournament. Patrick Reed and Sam Burns are tied for second at 6 under, with nine other golfers at either 5 under or 4 under waiting to make a move if McIlroy falters over the weekend.
The 2026 Masters odds heading into the weekend list McIlroy as the -280 favorite (risk $280 to win $100). That leaves a big list of Masters longshots on the board with Tommy Fleetwood and Reed at +1800, Justin Rose at +2000, Burn at +2200 and Cameron Young at +2500. Before locking in any 2026 Masters picks heading into the weekend, be sure to see the 2026 Masters predictions and projected leaderboard from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
SportsLine’s proprietary model, built by DFS pro Mike McClure, simulated every PGA Tour event 10,000 times and reveals golf betting picks that have a history of being extremely profitable.
This same model has also nailed a whopping 16 majors entering the weekend, including the 2025 Masters — its fourth Masters in a row — as well as last year’s PGA Championship and Open Championship. Anyone who has followed its sports betting picks could have seen huge returns on betting sites.
One surprise the model is calling for at the 2026 Masters: Burns, who enters Saturday tied for second, stumbles down the stretch and finishes outside the top 5. The 29-year-old American surged into an early tie for the lead following Round 1 after shooting a 67 on Thursday.
He cooled off with a second-round 71 on Friday. That’s enough to keep him tied for second with Reed, but now, he sits six shots off the lead.
Instead of Burns making a weekend run, the model is projecting that he’ll largely fall out of contention. He has a poor historical track record at Augusta, missing two cuts in his four appearances and never finishing higher than T29. The model doesn’t like his +2200 odds to win outright, and also advises fading him in top-five bets. See who else to fade at SportsLine.
