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The Masters is very unpredictable, putting some long shots clearly on the board when it comes to picking a winner at Augusta.
Every year, the best golfers on the planet descend upon Augusta National for the Masters Tournament. The 88th iteration has some added flare with the reigning champion, Jon Rahm, having ditched the PGA Tour for LIV Golf.
There are countless storylines as usual.
The low-hanging fruit is of course LIV Golfers playing alongside PGA Tour stars once again. But there is also Rory McIlroy still in search of the career Grand Slam. Will Brooks Koepka avenge last year’s back nine faltering?
Don’t forget about Tiger Woods. He is looking to make history by reaching the weekend for the 24th consecutive year. That would break a tie with Fred Couples and Gary Player.
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With all of the big names in this tournament, it’s easy to overlook the long shots. But let’s not forget, 2024 has been the year of the underdog.
Stephan Jaegar (Houston Open), Peter Malnati (Valspar), Brice Garnett (Puerto Rico), Austin Eckroat (Cognizant), Jake Knapp (Mexico Open), Nick Taylor (Phoenix Open), Mathieu Pavon (Farmers), Nick Dunlap (The AMEX), Grayson Murray (Sony Open) and Chris Kirk (The Sentry) were all long shots that won this year already.
So, that got us at SB Nation thinking; which dark horses could win the Masters and take home the Green Jacket?
Kendall Capps – Senior Editor / Cameron Young 55-to-1
I am going with Cameron Young as a dark horse with a shot to win in Augusta.
Young has been knocking on the door of a major championship for a couple years now. He picked up a T3 finish at the PGA Championship in 2022 and followed that up with a runner-up finish at The Open that year.
He struggled mightily and missed the cut at the Masters earlier that year. But the 26-year-old bounced back just one year later, finishing tied for seventh.
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Young is a great ball striker and is decently long off the tee. We have seen a number of long hitters win at Augusta in the last decade or two, but if you can’t control your irons, that won’t matter.
I think the 2021-2022 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year could be on the verge of a breakout. If that happens, what better place to do it at than Augusta National.
Savannah Richardson – Staff Writer / Russell Henley 60-to-1
Savannah’s dark horse is Russell Henley.
She is going with the bulldog due to pedigree, literally and figuratively.
Henley is currently 60-to-1 odds, per DraftKings. Yet, he finished T4 at Augusta National last year. Clearly, he can play this tricky track well.
The 4-time PGA winner already has two top-5s on the season also, including tying for fourth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Maybe playing difficult courses is his specialty.
The former Georgia Bulldog’s game sets up nicely for Augusta National. Henley could shock the world by becoming the second-ever Dawg to win a green jacket alongside Bubba Watson, who won twice.
Jack Milko – Staff Writer / Nick Taylor 150-to-1
Jack, our resident golf architecture and historical guru, is going with Nick Taylor as his dark horse.
Taylor’s game sets up well at Augusta National, as he has a pair of attributes that suit the course. He is a solid ball striker and an above-average putter, and that formula often translates to success at The Masters. So far in 2024, Taylor ranks 14th on the PGA Tour in strokes gained: approaching the green and 15th in strokes gained putting.
That was on full display at the WM Phoenix Open, where Taylor chased down Charley Hoffman on the final four holes with superior ball striking and clutch putting. When you need someone to make a putt with the tournament on the line, very few people rank above Taylor. He has ice in his veins. Just ask Tommy Fleetwood, who witnessed Taylor make Canadian Open history last year in Toronto with his 72-foot bomb.
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ESPN’s Curtis Strange even called that the best shot of the year. Plus, Taylor has played at Augusta before, which always helps. His lone Masters appearance came in 2020, when Dustin Johnson set new tournament records. Taylor tied for 29th, but he uncharacteristically had three double bogies that week.
This year, Taylor ranks 33rd on the PGA Tour in bogey avoidance at 12.91%. He knows how to play smart and when to attack, another recipe for success on golf’s hallowed grounds.
If there is a long shot on the board with a chance, it’s Taylor.
Kendall Capps is the Senior Editor of SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social media platforms.
