Sir Nick Faldo and Butch Harmon name their favourites to win The Masters
Sir Nick Faldo is a three-time winner at Augusta (Picture: Getty) Sir Nick Faldo and Butch Harmon have made their predictions for the 2025 Masters as the action gets underway at Augusta National. 95 players are in the field for the first men’s major of the year as they hope to don the Green Jacket come the end of play on Sunday. World No.1 Scottie Scheffler returns as the defending champion after claiming his second Masters title with a composed final-round display last year. But the American will have to see off fierce competition if he is to defend his title, with Rory McIlroy hoping his impressive pre-tournament form can help him finally complete the career Grand Slam. Faldo is no stranger to success at Augusta having won the Masters on three occasions, and the golfing great believes this year could be the one for McIlroy at long last. ‘He’s 35. He’s playing great. It’s just the mental side. Rory knows he can beat everybody. He probably knows he can beat Augusta. But it’s himself. How long can he keep the trust in himself going?’ Faldo told the Telegraph. ‘You can’t be fragile on your trust at all. We have such a brutal game I don’t think you can lose even five per cent of your trust. You’ve got to be 100 per cent, every shot. Rory McIlroy is hunting for his first major since 2014 (Picture: Getty) ‘The most obvious is trust in his short irons. That’s the key for Rory this week. I mean, he drives it so beautifully. But I come back to where do your bad shots go? ‘Making bogeys with short irons in your hands, for pros, that’s demoralising. And it’s gone on for a long time with him. But if he just gets the trust in those short irons, he could do it.’ England last produced a winner of the Masters in 2016 when Danny Willett took advantage of Jordan Spieth’s back-nine collapse to land an upset victory. Scottie Scheffler returns as the defending champion (Picture: Getty) But legendary golf instructor Harmon, who previously worked with both Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, believes one of his current clients, Tommy Fleetwood, will end England’s wait for another winner this week. ‘I will go away from choosing the two obvious ones in Rory and Scottie Scheffler and pick Tommy as my winner this week.,’ Harmon said, speaking to the Mirror. ‘His game suits Augusta very well. He is a right-to-left player. I have done some work with him this year trying to hit the ball a little higher going into the greens because the greens get very firm and fast. I think Tommy’s game suits Augusta. Betting odds for the Masters Scottie Scheffler – 9/2 Rory McIlroy – 11/2 Colin Morikawa – 12/1 Jon Rahm – 12/1 Bryson DeChambeau – 14/1 Ludvig Aberg – 16/1 Justin Thomas – 20/1 Xander Schauffele – 20/1 Brooks Koepka – 25/1 Joaquin Niemann – 25/1 Hideki Matsuyama – 28/1 Patrick Cantlay – 28/1 Shane Lowry – 28/1 Tommy Fleetwood – 28/1 Jordan Spieth – 33/1 Min Woo Lee – 33/1 Robert MacIntrye – 33/1 Russel Hanley – 33/1 Victor Hovland – 33/1 BAR – 40/1 Odds provided by Betway (and subject to change) ‘The question for Tommy is how well he will putt those greens because I know his long game is excellent. He struggles a little on the 15-footers and in – the ones you need to make a lot of. ‘If he gets that sorted out, he will be in there with a real chance because his long game is very good for that golf course.’ Elsewhere, though, former Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley is finding it hard to look past the favourite as he backed Scheffler to become the first player since Tiger Woods in 2002 to win back-to-back Masters. ‘The last time he went and won The Masters, he was going in on the back of two and three wins in the season. He obviously hasn’t done that yet this year but he’s certainly trending towards that,’ McGinley said. ‘I don’t think he’s on his game the way he was last year coming in, not quite, but I think he’s got enough form to go and win. He’s got a lot of confidence around here. The golf course obviously suits him. He’s got a style of play that really suits it. He’s quite a patient golfer in general. ‘We are seeing a little bit more edginess from him this year, and he’s a little bit out of his comfort zone and getting a little bit ratty, which is unusual for him. We’ll have to keep an eye on that this week but I still think he’s the guy to beat.’ For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Sir Nick Faldo and Butch Harmon have made their predictions for the 2025 Masters as the action gets underway at Augusta National.
95 players are in the field for the first men’s major of the year as they hope to don the Green Jacket come the end of play on Sunday.
World No.1 Scottie Scheffler returns as the defending champion after claiming his second Masters title with a composed final-round display last year.
But the American will have to see off fierce competition if he is to defend his title, with Rory McIlroy hoping his impressive pre-tournament form can help him finally complete the career Grand Slam.
Faldo is no stranger to success at Augusta having won the Masters on three occasions, and the golfing great believes this year could be the one for McIlroy at long last.
‘He’s 35. He’s playing great. It’s just the mental side. Rory knows he can beat everybody. He probably knows he can beat Augusta. But it’s himself. How long can he keep the trust in himself going?’ Faldo told the Telegraph.
‘You can’t be fragile on your trust at all. We have such a brutal game I don’t think you can lose even five per cent of your trust. You’ve got to be 100 per cent, every shot.
‘The most obvious is trust in his short irons. That’s the key for Rory this week. I mean, he drives it so beautifully. But I come back to where do your bad shots go?
‘Making bogeys with short irons in your hands, for pros, that’s demoralising. And it’s gone on for a long time with him. But if he just gets the trust in those short irons, he could do it.’
England last produced a winner of the Masters in 2016 when Danny Willett took advantage of Jordan Spieth’s back-nine collapse to land an upset victory.
But legendary golf instructor Harmon, who previously worked with both Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, believes one of his current clients, Tommy Fleetwood, will end England’s wait for another winner this week.
‘I will go away from choosing the two obvious ones in Rory and Scottie Scheffler and pick Tommy as my winner this week.,’ Harmon said, speaking to the Mirror.
‘His game suits Augusta very well. He is a right-to-left player. I have done some work with him this year trying to hit the ball a little higher going into the greens because the greens get very firm and fast. I think Tommy’s game suits Augusta.
Betting odds for the Masters
Scottie Scheffler – 9/2
Rory McIlroy – 11/2
Colin Morikawa – 12/1
Jon Rahm – 12/1
Bryson DeChambeau – 14/1
Ludvig Aberg – 16/1
Justin Thomas – 20/1
Xander Schauffele – 20/1
Brooks Koepka – 25/1
Joaquin Niemann – 25/1
Hideki Matsuyama – 28/1
Patrick Cantlay – 28/1
Shane Lowry – 28/1
Tommy Fleetwood – 28/1
Jordan Spieth – 33/1
Min Woo Lee – 33/1
Robert MacIntrye – 33/1
Russel Hanley – 33/1
Victor Hovland – 33/1
BAR – 40/1
Odds provided by Betway (and subject to change)
‘The question for Tommy is how well he will putt those greens because I know his long game is excellent. He struggles a little on the 15-footers and in – the ones you need to make a lot of.
‘If he gets that sorted out, he will be in there with a real chance because his long game is very good for that golf course.’
Elsewhere, though, former Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley is finding it hard to look past the favourite as he backed Scheffler to become the first player since Tiger Woods in 2002 to win back-to-back Masters.
‘The last time he went and won The Masters, he was going in on the back of two and three wins in the season. He obviously hasn’t done that yet this year but he’s certainly trending towards that,’ McGinley said.
‘I don’t think he’s on his game the way he was last year coming in, not quite, but I think he’s got enough form to go and win. He’s got a lot of confidence around here. The golf course obviously suits him. He’s got a style of play that really suits it. He’s quite a patient golfer in general.
‘We are seeing a little bit more edginess from him this year, and he’s a little bit out of his comfort zone and getting a little bit ratty, which is unusual for him. We’ll have to keep an eye on that this week but I still think he’s the guy to beat.’
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