This article is part of our Majors Value Meter series.
The 2021 Masters are just around the corner, and below are RotoWire's rankings for the field.
This list is geared toward winner-take-all leagues and leagues that reward the lowest aggregate score, but it can serve other leagues and DFS players as well, no matter the nuance.
The 85th Masters is taking place only five months after the 84th, which was played in autumn for the first time.
There is a field of 88, down from 92 in November. The group includes three amateurs and eight "legacy" champions, or golfers who don't play on the PGA Tour any longer. There's a chance some of those 13 amateurs/legacy champs will make the cut – perhaps a Bernhard Langer or a Fred Couples – but the number will be small, and come Sunday, their impact on the leaderboard will likely be minimal. That leaves 78 others, with the top 50 and ties making the cut.
Thus, the list is broken down into six categories:
- Favorites
- Contenders
- Making the Cut
- Borderline
- Long Shots
- Legacy Champions
- Amateurs
As a reminder, this is a par-72 track at 7,475 yards, and it shouldn't play as long as it did in November. The forecast calls for high temperatures in the 80s, with moderate winds and a chance of rain increasing every day. But the first round is still a long way out, and the weather surely could change.
These rankings were determined before the completion of the Valero Texas Open. The winner of that event, if not already