The 2026 Masters will begin next week in Augusta, Georgia, and a familiar face — Scottie Scheffler — is the betting favorite to win the first major of the year at +500 odds at BetMGM.

Scheffler won the 2024 Masters by four strokes — his second green jacket — and came in fourth place last year at -8, three shots behind 2025 Masters winner Rory McIlroy (-11), who won his first title at Augusta in a playoff over Justin Rose. Patrick Reed (-9) finished in third.

Scheffler was a +450 favorite entering last year’s tournament and a +500 favorite entering the 2024 Masters.

McIlroy and two-time U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau have the next-best odds to win this year’s tournament at 10-1, followed by Jon Rahm (12-1), Ludvig Aberg (14-1) and Xander Schauffele (14-1). No other golfers have odds better than 20-1 at BetMGM.

Scheffler has continued his terrific form so far in 2026, winning The American Express in January and finishing in the top 25 in every tournament he’s played in — including three top-five finishes.

However, all eyes will be on the status of Tiger Woods, who was involved in a car crash last Friday afternoon, and was arrested after failing a field sobriety test. Police officers discovered two hydrocodone pills in his pants pocket and Woods told police he was looking at his phone before the crash, according to an affidavit released on Tuesday.

Woods, a five-time Masters champion, is still among the list of entries, but he’s yet to announce if he will play or not. He currently has odds of 250-1 to win the tournament at BetMGM — the same odds as Johnny Keefer and Andrew Novak. Phil Mickelson is also a long shot at 250-1.

The Masters is usually the most-bet golf event of the year, both due to its popularity and because sportsbooks now keep futures odds on the tournament open nearly year round.

The No. 1 seed Michigan Wolverines have looked impressive throughout the 2026 NCAA tournament, winning every game by at 13 points, including a 95-62 demolition of No. 6 Tennessee in the Elite Eight on Sunday afternoon to advance to the Final Four.

There they'll meet fellow No. 1 seed Arizona, which defeated 2-seed Purdue 79-64 on Saturday despite being down seven points at half. The Wolverines opened as a slight 1.5-point favorite at BetMGM in Saturday's second Final Four matchup, with a total of 157.5.

If the line holds, it would mark t he first time the Wildcats have been an underdog since they were a 5.5-point 'dog at Houston on Feb. 21. Arizona won that game 73-66.

The other Final Four matchup will see surprise 2-seed UConn — which stunned No. 1 Duke on Sunday 73-72 as a 4.5-point underdog thanks to a last-second 3-pointer from Braylon Mullins — take on No. 3 Illinois. The Fighting Illini were impressive pulling away in the second half in a 71-59 win over No. 9 Iowa.

Illinois opened as a 2.5-point favorite against UConn with a total of 139.5.