Players Not Named Scottie Scheffler Who Could Win The Masters

Scottie Scheffler is the odds-on favorite to win the 2024 Masters, and rightfully so. Scheffler has had an unbelievable start to his campaign and is by far and away the best player on the planet at the moment. While it would be a massive surprise not to see his name at or near the top of the leaderboard come Sunday, this is major championship golf, unexpected things happen.

With only 89 players in the field at Augusta National this week, it's not the easiest of tasks to pick out names a bit further down the board, even with Scheffler having historically low odds. Let's narrow the list of players who could put on the green jacket this weekend from different spots across the odds board.

The (Other) Masters Favorite: Brooks Koepka

Odds, via DraftKings: 20-1

Not too much needs to be said about Brooks Koepka other than the Masters is a major championship and there hasn't been a better big-game hunter in the sport over the last decade than Mr. Koepka. Since winning his first major at the 2017 U.S. Open, Koepka has played in 23 major championships, and in that span he's found the winner's circle four times and earned another nine Top 7 finishes.

(Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)

He hasn't shown too much life in his five starts on LIV this season with just one Top 10 finish, but doubting him heading into a major when he's healthy - and all signs point to him being just that - is a bold endeavor.

READ: Brooks Koepka Sounds Like A Man Possessed Ahead Of The Masters

This year's Masters also serves as a revenge spot for Koepka after he squandered a Sunday lead a year ago before Jon Rahm ultimately put on the green jacket.

The Almost-Favorite: Viktor Hovland

Odds: 35-1

Given that we haven't seen much of Viktor Hovland at all this year, this is more a play on the 35-1 number instead of the player himself because nobody knows what to expect out of the 26-year-old.

The only headlines Hovland has made this season revolve around him parting ways with his swing coach yet again and making just five PGA Tour starts since January, with just one Top 20 to show for it.

While there is essentially no reason at all to be optimistic about Hovland's chances this week, he is still the No. 6 ranked player in the world for good reason. It's a tall ask for him to find that Top 10 player in the game mindset and ability on the game's biggest stage after taking weeks off from competing, but he's still experienced and young enough where doubt and fear don't play too big of factors.

 Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

In three starts at Augusta National as a professional his worst finish is T-27. Hovland finished T-7 in the 2023 Masters.

The Guy Who Wouldn't Surprise You: Shane Lowry

Odds: 55-1

Shane Lowry is the perfect example of a player who has gotten more comfortable at Augusta National each time he's teed it up in the Masters. In his first four Masters appearances beginning in 2015, Lowry missed the cut three times to go along with a T-39 finish in 2016.

 (Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)

Across his next four appearances he finished inside the Top 25 on each occassion including a T-3 in 2022 and T-16 a year ago. He also added his name to the Claret Jug in 2019 and has two Ryder Cup appearances under his belt which means even more added comfort on the biggest stages.

Lowry enters the week ranked third on the PGA Tour in strokes gained: approach, second in driving accuracy percentage, and first in approach shots from 125-150 yards. 

The Mega Longshot: JT Poston

Odds: 200-1

There is nobody being disrespected on the odds board more than JT Poston heading into the Masters. The fact his odds are longer than Tiger Woods, Adrian Meronk, Kurt Kitayama, Keegan Bradley, Sepp Straka just to name a few among many others, makes no sense whatsoever.

 (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Poston ranks 47th in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) but comes in at No. 36 in Data Golf's rankings, which is the standard these days. He also has four Top 11 finishes in nine starts on Tour in 2024 and showed some signs of life in the 2023 Masters with a T-34 finish. 

The strokes statistics aren't Poston's friend at the moment, but sometimes those need to be overlooked when the odds simply don't add up to the caliber of player on the board. This is one of those instances.