Scottie Scheffler will be the favorite to win his third Masters next week, and a victory by any of the players ranked in the top 10 in the world would not be a surprise.
But the top-ranked players don’t always win at Augusta; Danny Willet shocked the world with his victory in 2016, and Trevor Immelman did the same in 2008.
With the first major only a week away, who are some of the others lurking a bit further down the rankings who are in good form and could challenge to win their first green jacket.
Here are five “long shots” outside the top 10 who are worth watching in Augusta next week:
Sepp Straka: The University of Georgia graduate and native of Austria is ranked No. 13 in the Official World Golf Ranking. He won the American Express and has had two other top-10 finishes and finished among the top 15 in six of eight events. This will be his fourth Masters, and he finished a personal-best T-16 at Augusta in 2024.
UGA coach Chris Haack had to talk Straka into returning to school for his final season of eligibility. “He had graduated from school and was thinking about just getting a job,” Haack said. “I was like, no, dude, you’re finally starting to figure this out. You’re finally starting to play with comfort and starting to play with pressure on, so keep going.”
Straka has won three times on the PGA Tour and played on the winning European Ryder Cup team in 2023.
“I think Straka has the best backswing in golf,” two-time U.S. Open winner and ESPN analyst Curtis Strange said. “He’s so efficient, so accurate and he’s playing very consistent golf.”
Robert MacIntyre: The intense Scot may be the best left-hander in the field next week. He is ranked No. 17 in the world. He has been in great form, finishing no worse than T-11 in five of the past six events. MacIntyre failed to make the Masters field the past two years, but has two top-25 shows in his two previous visits and finished T-12 in 2021.
MacIntyre played at the DP World Tour’s Singapore Open and took 10 days off before heading to Orlando, Florida, for a four-day training camp to prepare for Augusta.
Corey Conners: The Canadian is ranked No. 21 in the world and is coming off three consecutive top-10 appearances, including third at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and T-6 at the Players Championship. Conners will be making his eighth start in the Masters and had three consecutive top-10s (2020-22), with a career-best T-6 in 2022. He made the cut in all four majors in 2024 and was T-9 at the U.S. Open.
Akshay Bhatia: He’s only 22, but has been a professional since he was 18. Ranked No. 23, Bhatia showed great poise last month by overcoming tough circumstances to remain in contention at the Players Championship, where he finished third. He has not competed since but is in the field this week to defend his title at the Valero Texas Open. He finished T-35 in his Masters debut in 2024.
Michael Kim: The California graduate, a two-time All-American and Haskins Award winner, is ranked No. 50 in the world — better than 100 spots higher than this time last year. He has five top-15 finishes worldwide in 2025, including a runner-up showing at the Phoenix Open. This is only his second Masters; he missed the cut in 2019.
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