Golfers to watch at the 2025 Masters Tournament
It’s almost time for the 2025 Masters Tournament, the 89th playing of the event! Here’s a look at a few guys to keep an eye on in the 2025 tournament!…
AUGUSTA, GEORGIA – APRIL 14: Scottie Scheffler of the United States poses with the Masters trophy after winning the 2024 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 14, 2024 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)
It's almost time for the 2025 Masters Tournament, the 89th playing of the event! Here's a look at a few guys to keep an eye on in the 2025 tournament!
VIKTOR HOVLAND
PALM HARBOR, FLORIDA - MARCH 23: Viktor Hovland of Norway reacts on the 18th green during the final round of the Valspar Championship 2025 at Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club on March 23, 2025 in Palm Harbor, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
Hovland has become, to me, one of the most mysterious figures in golf. He went from looking unbeatable to end 2023 to looking like a lost soul to start off 2024. He would then get himself into contention at the 2024 PGA Championship and finish solo 3rd before disappearing again until winning at the Valspar a couple weeks ago. During all of that he has made multiple swing coach changes and has been very open about his game not being great. So heading into Augusta National it’ll be interesting to see which version of Viktor Hovland we end up getting.
JUSTIN THOMAS
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA - MARCH 14: Justin Thomas of the United States lines up a putt on the 16th green during the second round of THE PLAYERS Championship on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass on March 14, 2025 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
It’s crazy to think but Justin Thomas is closing in on a three-year winless drought. His last win came in May of 2022 at the PGA Championship. Thomas will be coming off his closest call in that time frame at the Valspar Championship where a 2-over stretch in the final three holes cost him the title to Hovland. The big thing for Thomas is that he’s right there. He has 4 top-10 finishes in 8 starts in 2025 and had a near perfect 62 at TPC Sawgrass at The PLAYERS. He’s knocking on the door right now and it may only be a matter of time before he opens it up and walks away with a trophy. Or in this case, a green jacket.
RORY MCILROY
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA - MARCH 17: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland poses for a photo with the trophy after beating JJ Spaun in a three hole play-off during the final round of THE PLAYERS Championship 2025 at TPC Sawgrass on March 17, 2025 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
Can McIlroy finally complete the career grand slam at Augusta National? He enters the 2025 tournament with his most successful start to the season by winning more than once before the first major of the season. A T5 finish at the Houston Open last week helped him land his third top-5 of the year on the PGA Tour, two of which are wins. He’s currently the 2nd ranked golfer in the world behind Scottie Scheffler and will without a doubt have the most pressure on him at The Masters this week.
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER
AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 14: Scottie Scheffler of the United States poses with the Masters trophy after winning the 2024 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 14, 2024 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)
Scheffler will be looking to go back to back at The Masters and joins an extremely exclusive club that includes just Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo, and Tiger Woods. Scheffler’s year got off to a slow start after a hand injury on Christmas delayed his debut in 2025. His 2nd place finish at the Houston Open last week was his top finish so far this season. Could he be rounding into form at the perfect time to claim his 3rd green jacket in four years?
JON RAHM
PARIS, FRANCE - JULY 30: Jon Rahm of Team Spain walks on the ninth hole during a practice round ahead of the Men's Individual Stroke Play on day four of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Le Golf National on July 30, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
The 2023 Champion will be looking to rebound from what was an underwhelming major season in 2024. After getting a massive payday from the LIV Tour, Rahm struggled to contend in the majors last year. A Sunday 68 got him into the top-10 at the Open Championship, the seasons final major in 2024, but he was never truly in contention to win the tournament. That was grouped with a T45 at The Masters, a missed cut at the PGA Championship, and a withdrawal from the U.S. Open. I expect a big bounce back in the majors from Rahm this year and it could end in him once again swapping chairs with Scottie Scheffler and have the Texan place a second green jacket on him.
JOAQUIN NIEMANN
SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE - MARCH 16: Joaquin Niemann of Torque celebrates on the 18th green after winning the LIV Golf on day three of LIV Golf Singapore at Sentosa Golf Club on March 16, 2025 in Singapore, Singapore. (Photo by Thananuwat Srirasant/Getty Images)
If you ask some who cover and play on the LIV Tour they will tell you that Niemann is the best player in the world. Do I agree with that? No. Is he a top-10 player in the world? Yes. For the second straight year there will be a lot of noise surrounding Niemann as he’s been given a special exemption into the tournament. Niemann has deserved these exemptions, but he also has never been in contention at a major. So the question to me is...can he make good on this exemption and have his name in contention on the weekend at Augusta?
JORDAN SPIETH
AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 08: Jordan Spieth of the United States laughs on the seventh green during the third round of the 2023 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 08, 2023 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
The 2015 Champion is entering in interesting form. Spieth is coming off wrist surgery during the offseason and has been up and down since his return. In six starts he has two top-10’s to go along with a missed cut and three finishes outside of the top-25. He’s in action this week at the Valero Texas Open, so he’ll look to get into better form ahead of next week’s Masters. There’s really no telling what Spieth we’ll get at Augusta, but his success at the course makes me feel like we could be getting the good version in 2025.
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