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‘Augusta is a mind game’ – Nick Faldo picks his 2025 Masters favourite and ‘puts tenner’ on 75-to-1 dark horse winner
Nick Faldo won The Masters three times, including twice in a playoff, and is a six-time PGA Tour major champion. So the 67-year-old from Welwyn Garden City knows better than almost everyone else in the world what it takes to win The Masters, and how tough Augusta National Golf Club really is. GettyNick Faldo won The Masters three times and has remained close to the golf world[/caption] “Augusta is such a is such a mind game,” Faldo, an analyst for Sky Sports’ coverage of The Masters, exclusively told talkSPORT. “It demands 100 percent assessment, decision making, commitment. “You’ve got to be completely, ‘I want this. I’m going to do that. This is how I do it. Crack on.’ “If you keep churning that out, you’re stronger than 97 percent of the rest of the field.” Faldo is not a big supporter of the PGA Tour reuniting with breakaway LIV Golf, but he’s all-in on the 2025 Masters and views a 25-year-old golfer from Sweden as the pre-tournament favorite. “I’m wondering whether (Ludvig) Aberg, after finishing second last year,” Faldo said. “If the weather plays tough, I like Aberg.” Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau are the betting favorites entering the first round. Play is scheduled to run through Sunday, and two-time champion Scheffler is returning to Augusta trying to hold onto his 2024 green jacket. “Obviously Rory and Scheffler are really coming,” Faldo said. “Morikawa has come alive. Viktor Hovland has come alive now. Min Woo Lee obviously just won, he’s a young kid climbing.” GettyRory McIlroy is trying to make 2025 his year at Augusta[/caption] GettyScottie Scheffler wore the green jacket last time[/caption] GettyLudvig Aberg, right, has impressed Faldo and could break through this year[/caption] Aberg holds 18-to-1 odds, just trailing the top-five favorites. To Faldo, it’s hard to find real separation among the best current golfers in the world. Scheffler, Aberg, Morikawa and DeChambeau all finished in the top-six at Augusta last year, and golf’s top 10 are serious contenders again in 2025. “If you go down the list, you can see that they’re good players and they’re fit and strong,” Faldo said. “But you just have to ask yourself, ‘Could they mentally handle the last six holes to win?’ I mean, that’s how I look at it. “But, again, we’re only looking from the outside. We don’t really know what’s going on in somebody’s head.” Read more on The Masters All you need to know about 2025 Masters including talkSPORT coverage The favourites for Masters glory this year as stars do battle at Augusta Iconic green ‘completely destroyed’ as drama awaits at Masters’ toughest hole – hole-by-hole guide to Augusta National Exclusive: ‘You’re not going to believe this’ – I’ve covered The Masters for 40 years and this is the craziest rule golf fans don’t know about Scottie Scheffler speaks out as $108 Masters Champions Dinner decision receives backlash Exclusive: ‘The great disruptor’ – Bryson DeChambeau found his inner MrBeast to become Masters and YouTube fan favorite Exclusive: Nick Faldo hits out at ‘fail-free’ LIV Golf and says guaranteed millions has turned golfers ‘soft’ Sleeper picks to win The Masters include major champion, Scottish lefty and 125/1 shot Check out talkSPORT BET for the latest odds and bet boosts – welcome offer – Get £20 in free bets* Get 50/1 Rory McIlroy to make at least one birdie on Thursday or 50/1 Rory to make the cut To watch the Masters 2025, sign up to a Sky Sports subscription or read our guide to the best sky sports deals available now (if you click this link and make a purchase we will earn affiliate revenue) The winner of the 1989, 1990 and 1996 Masters does have his eye on a potential dark horse in 2025 — a golfer with 75-to-1 odds entering the first round. “My long shot pick, I like (Akshay) Bhatia,” Faldo said. “You know, that guy can putt. I mean, I’m not sure if he could win it. But I always like looking at the guys I can get some huge, high odds on. “Put a tenner on it. And maybe I make 30 quid or something out of it. But I think he could have a good week.” While Scheffler attempts to defend his title, McIlroy is trying to finally complete his golf grand slam. He’s won four majors, including the PGA Championship twice, and almost captured the US Open last year. Yet finishing in first at Augusta has eluded McIlroy since 2009, and this will be his 17th Masters. His best previous finish was second place in 2022. “At Augusta, there is no deserving,” said Bob Bubka, talkSPORT’s voice of golf. “You get what you earn and that’s what makes it.” Chad Mumm, executive producer of Netflix’s Full Swing, believes this could be the perfect time for McIlroy to put on the famous green jacket. “This Rory right now, he’s out for blood,” Mum
Nick Faldo won The Masters three times, including twice in a playoff, and is a six-time PGA Tour major champion.
So the 67-year-old from Welwyn Garden City knows better than almost everyone else in the world what it takes to win The Masters, and how tough Augusta National Golf Club really is.
“Augusta is such a is such a mind game,” Faldo, an analyst for Sky Sports’ coverage of The Masters, exclusively told talkSPORT.
“It demands 100 percent assessment, decision making, commitment.
“You’ve got to be completely, ‘I want this. I’m going to do that. This is how I do it. Crack on.’
“If you keep churning that out, you’re stronger than 97 percent of the rest of the field.”
Faldo is not a big supporter of the PGA Tour reuniting with breakaway LIV Golf, but he’s all-in on the 2025 Masters and views a 25-year-old golfer from Sweden as the pre-tournament favorite.
“I’m wondering whether (Ludvig) Aberg, after finishing second last year,” Faldo said. “If the weather plays tough, I like Aberg.”
Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau are the betting favorites entering the first round.
Play is scheduled to run through Sunday, and two-time champion Scheffler is returning to Augusta trying to hold onto his 2024 green jacket.
“Obviously Rory and Scheffler are really coming,” Faldo said.
“Morikawa has come alive. Viktor Hovland has come alive now. Min Woo Lee obviously just won, he’s a young kid climbing.”
Aberg holds 18-to-1 odds, just trailing the top-five favorites.
To Faldo, it’s hard to find real separation among the best current golfers in the world.
Scheffler, Aberg, Morikawa and DeChambeau all finished in the top-six at Augusta last year, and golf’s top 10 are serious contenders again in 2025.
“If you go down the list, you can see that they’re good players and they’re fit and strong,” Faldo said.
“But you just have to ask yourself, ‘Could they mentally handle the last six holes to win?’ I mean, that’s how I look at it.
“But, again, we’re only looking from the outside. We don’t really know what’s going on in somebody’s head.”
Read more on The Masters
All you need to know about 2025 Masters including talkSPORT coverage
The favourites for Masters glory this year as stars do battle at Augusta
Iconic green ‘completely destroyed’ as drama awaits at Masters’ toughest hole – hole-by-hole guide to Augusta National
Exclusive: ‘You’re not going to believe this’ – I’ve covered The Masters for 40 years and this is the craziest rule golf fans don’t know about
Scottie Scheffler speaks out as $108 Masters Champions Dinner decision receives backlash
Exclusive: ‘The great disruptor’ – Bryson DeChambeau found his inner MrBeast to become Masters and YouTube fan favorite
Exclusive: Nick Faldo hits out at ‘fail-free’ LIV Golf and says guaranteed millions has turned golfers ‘soft’
Sleeper picks to win The Masters include major champion, Scottish lefty and 125/1 shot
Check out talkSPORT BET for the latest odds and bet boosts – welcome offer – Get £20 in free bets*
Get 50/1 Rory McIlroy to make at least one birdie on Thursday or 50/1 Rory to make the cut
To watch the Masters 2025, sign up to a Sky Sports subscription or read our guide to the best sky sports deals available now (if you click this link and make a purchase we will earn affiliate revenue)
The winner of the 1989, 1990 and 1996 Masters does have his eye on a potential dark horse in 2025 — a golfer with 75-to-1 odds entering the first round.
“My long shot pick, I like (Akshay) Bhatia,” Faldo said.
“You know, that guy can putt. I mean, I’m not sure if he could win it. But I always like looking at the guys I can get some huge, high odds on.
“Put a tenner on it. And maybe I make 30 quid or something out of it. But I think he could have a good week.”
While Scheffler attempts to defend his title, McIlroy is trying to finally complete his golf grand slam.
He’s won four majors, including the PGA Championship twice, and almost captured the US Open last year.
Yet finishing in first at Augusta has eluded McIlroy since 2009, and this will be his 17th Masters.
His best previous finish was second place in 2022.
“At Augusta, there is no deserving,” said Bob Bubka, talkSPORT’s voice of golf.
“You get what you earn and that’s what makes it.”
Chad Mumm, executive producer of Netflix’s Full Swing, believes this could be the perfect time for McIlroy to put on the famous green jacket.
“This Rory right now, he’s out for blood,” Mumm exclusively told talkSPORT.
“He wants to slam the door on any of these conversations of the greatest player of his generation.”
Faldo said the initial key for McIlroy is to let the past go and only focus on the next four rounds at Augusta.
“Physically, he’s very good,” Faldo said. “He’s technically excellent. You know, it’s mentally.
“He’s got to deal with the history, the past, which is very difficult. … It’s only been Tiger (Woods) and (Ben) Crenshaw in about the last 50 years who have got an 11-year gap between majors. OK, so he’s got to forget that one.”
The three-time Open winner emphasized that McIlroy only has one option after watching the 2024 US Open painfully fall out of his grasp.
All the bad memories must become new motivation at The Masters.
“Can you turn those things into positives to motivate you?” Faldo said.
“And then what mental approach do you have? Do you go in and say, ‘I have a couldn’t-care-less attitude. I’m Monte Carlo or bust?’
“Or do I put my blinkers on and I’m not going to say a word to anybody, and I’ll come up for air on the 72nd hole and see where I am?
“I don’t know. That’s for him to choose, isn’t it? But the positives are he’s got to be saying to himself, ‘I’m the best player in the world.’ “
McIlroy will own those words on Sunday if he finally wins The Masters.
