A supercomputer has predicted Rory McIlroy will be presenting the Masters‘ Green Jacket to his nemesis Bryson Dechambeau at Augusta National.
The Masters will begin on Thursday, with McIlroy bidding to retain the title he famously claimed last year to complete the career Grand Slam.
Ahead of the first major of the season, data analysts at Action Network have attempted to predict the likeliest winner of the 2026 event.
Their supercomputer is claimed to take into account each qualified player’s recent form, the current Official Golf World Rankings and past performances at Augusta.
Their model, comprising these three factors, was run 10,000 times with the most frequent results highlighted from the top 50 players expected to make up the final leaderboard.
The supercomputer has projected that Dechambeau will claim his first Masters title and earn the third major of his career.
A supercomputer has predicted who will succeed Rory McIlroy as Masters champion
McIlroy is expected to have to hand over the Green Jacket to his nemesis Bryson DeChambeau
Dechambeau, whose fifth place in 2025 is his best Masters showing to date, was projected to win by a score of -13.
The American star is 68.6 per cent likely to make the cut, according to the supercomputer, while he has a 33.1 per cent chance of claiming the title.
Should the supercomputer predict correctly it could lead to an awkward moment of reigning champion McIlroy being on hand to present DeChambeau with the Green Jacket at the end of this year’s event.
The pair have had a fierce rivalry for several years, which became more personal after the American left the PGA Tour for LIV Golf.
McIlroy had been paired with DeChambeau on the final round of The Masters last year, when his decade-long major drought came to an end.
DeChambeau stated after the event that McIlroy refused to talk with him during the final 18 holes at Augusta.
The supercomputer is currently at odds with the bookmakers, who have two-time champion and world No1 Scottie Scheffler as the favourite.
Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg is backed by the supercomputer to be DeChambeau’s closest challenger, finishing two shots behind on 11-under-par.
| Rank | Golfer | Projected score | Projected win % | Made cut % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bryson DeChambeau | -13 | 33.1% | 68.6% |
| 2 | Ludvig Aberg | -11 | 19.2% | 68.4% |
| T3 | Justin Rose | -9 | 8.1% | 67.3% |
| T3 | Cameron Young | -9 | 8.1% | 67.3% |
| 5 | Matt Fitzpatrick | -8 | 6.8% | 66.3% |
| 6 | Scottie Scheffler | -7 | 5.4% | 66.2% |
| T7 | Rory McIlroy | -6 | 3.3% | 66% |
| T7 | Xander Schauffele | -6 | 3.3% | 66% |
| T7 | Tommy Fleetwood | -6 | 3.3% | 66% |
| 10 | Brooks Koepka | -5 | 3% | 65.2% |
Three-time runner-up Justin Rose is backed to finish in a tie for third on nine-under-apar alongside Players Championship winner Cameron Young.
Matt Fitzpatrick, who finished second to Young at the Players Championship, is expected to complete the top five at eight-under-par.
Scheffler has been given just a 5.4 per cent chance of winning at Augusta, with the two-time winner projected by the supercomputer to finish down in sixth.
He would finish one place ahead of reigning champion McIlroy, who would be joined on six-under-par with Xander Schauffele and Tommy Fleetwood.
The top-10 would be rounded off by Brooks Koepka on five-under-par.
