The opening major of the year is upon us and the GolfWRX staff have had their say on who they think will don the green jacket come Sunday evening.

Also, if you want to see what a professional statistician is saying, check out Richie Hunt’s “The 23 players who can win the Masters,” but if you’d like Masters picks from the rest of us, read on!

Brian Knudson

Win: Adam Scott – The 2013 Masters Champion hasn’t been on fire, but the tall Australian hasn’t missed a cut in the 2021 season. He knows Augusta National, loves the course, and has years of experience to guide him to a second green jacket. His wedge game has also been sneaky good this year.

Place: Scottie Scheffler – Scheffler has been playing some really solid golf the past month, and I think that trend continues this week. He is long enough to play with some of the big hitters and typically hits a consistent draw off the tee. If he can keep the putter rolling true we could see him battling for a jacket on Sunday!

Player I’m fading: Jordan Spieth – I absolutely loved seeing Jordan win last week; it was long overdue! He has been on fire since early February but this is the Masters and everything is a little different. Only two players, Phil Mickelson and Sandy Lyle, have ever won the Masters after winning the week before. I hope he proves me wrong this week!

Ryan Barath

Win: Dustin Johnson – The big man is as consistent as they come, and although his form hasn’t been red hot lately, it has still looked good. With that in mind, heading to Augusta just six months after winning the same event has to be a boost, and I expect he will end up on top.

Place: Bubba Watson – To me, Bubba is a big “vibes” guy, and he loves Augusta National. It inspires creativity and requires golfers to hit it both ways – something he is quite keen on. He played well at the WGC match play recently and we can’t forget that he is still one of the longest players on tour, which plays right into his hand.

Player I’m fading: Adam Scott – This pick is either going to look brilliant or make me look like a complete fool. He is a former champion and has had a great start to the season, but Adam lives and dies by his putter, and I just don’t see it all coming together this week. For many reasons, I hope I’m wrong, but the only way to melt wax is to fly close to the sun, and picking Adam here could have me falling back to earth come Sunday.

Gianni Magliocco

Win: Bryson DeChambeau – It’s only a matter of time before Bryson figures it all out at Augusta, and there’s plenty of signs that this will be the year he does just that. He’ll have learned an awful lot from November, and on a fast and firm course, he’s going to have nothing into these par 5s all week. Besides that, he also ranks top of the field for Strokes Gained: Total over his past 12 rounds. It’s Bryson’s time to shine at Augusta.

Place: Jason Day – There was a time that a win for Jason Day at Augusta seemed like a question of when not if, but the Aussie’s back issues have led to it being very much a question of if these days. However, the Players Championship was Day’s best strokes gained performance Tee to Green since 2015 and that is enough to convince me he can content here.

Player I’m fading: Dustin Johnson – DJ is the favorite and defending champion, but his recent form is concerning. Over his previous 12 rounds, Johnson ranks 51st for Strokes Gained: Off the Tee and 77th on the greens. Combine that with the difficulty of going back-to-back at Augusta, and it makes him an easy fade this week.

Ben Alberstadt

Win: Xander Schauffele – “He’s due” is never a great argument, but he’s due for a major. Third in total strokes gained: total among players in the field, Xander will have gotten things dialed following a missed cut at The Players. Plenty comfortable at ANGC as demonstrated by top-20 finishes his past two tries.

Place: Scottie Scheffler – After something of a coming-out party at the WGC, Scheffler is poised to make a major splash.

Player I’m fading: Jon Rahm – Reverse nappie factor will be in effect. Hard to bet on a guy who hasn’t picked up a club in a week and will only get one full day of practice.

We will be doing plenty of coverage leading up to Thursday tee-off, so stay tuned to the front page, social, and the forums for updates and info.