Masters 2025 predictions: Rory McIlroy will not win and Jon Rahm to miss cut

Telegraph

09-04-2025

The Masters tees off on Thursday and the scramble for the famous green jacket begins. We know the tee times for the first two days and we know the field. But there are some big questions that still need answered, however.
Will Rory McIlroy finally complete his set of majors; will Scottie Scheffler return to his Terminator-like best; will any new stars emerge?
Our experts weigh in below.
Who will win the Masters?
James Corrigan: Scottie Scheffler
Impressed as runner-up at Houston two weeks ago. His game and temperament are made for Augusta. Can emulate Nicklaus by winning third green jacket in four years.
Oliver Brown: Scottie Scheffler
The swagger with which Scheffler captured his second green jacket 12 months ago was astounding. Not once during his Sunday back nine did he even look faltering. With the forecast set fair throughout this Masters, he should have firm, fast-running conditions on which to dominate and become the first back-to-back champion since Tiger Woods.
Tom Cary: Collin Morikawa
Scottie Scheffler is justifiably favourite and Rory McIlroy the romantic choice. But Morikawa is in form, Augusta suits his strong iron game, and he is getting closer. Has finished fifth, T10 and T3 in his last three starts.
Frankie Christou: Collin Morikawa
With the PGA Championship and the Open in the already in the bag, Morikawa is next to close in on the career grand slam. In the last 3 years the American has finished 5th, T10 and T3 at Augusta and despite not having a win for 18 months he is in form again. He went close at the Arnold Palmer Invitational a couple weeks ago and has the game and mental resilience to wear the green jacket.
Who are the dark horses?
James Corrigan: Sergio Garcia
The Spaniard has been playing excellent on LIV and at 45 is clearly enjoying an Indian summer. Has so much motivation with a Ryder Cup return on the line.
Oliver Brown: Justin Thomas
The two-time US PGA winner is flying under the radar this year, with the anguish of two straight missed cuts exemplified by his tearful reaction in 2023. But he could be finding form at precisely the right time: the statistics in his approach play, such a crucial skill at Augusta, have improved at 14 consecutive tournaments, dating back to last summer's Open.
Tom Cary: Sergio Garcia
A very dark horse. Has missed five cuts in the six Masters since he won in 2017. But his LIV form is strong, we know he can play at Augusta, and he has the carrot of a Ryder Cup place to spur him on.
Frankie Christou: Corey Conners
The Canadian is one of the finest ball strikers in the game and is coming in hot with three top 8 finishes in the run up this week.
The breakout star will be . . .
James Corrigan: Maverick McNealy
Has risen to world No 10, so is hardly an unknown. But this prodigious talent has yet to announce himself to the world at large and this could be his moment. A licensed pilot the 29-year-old is the son of a billionaire.
Oliver Brown: Jose Luis Ballester
Ever since Seve Ballesteros was first introduced at Augusta as 'Steve', Spain has savoured an abundance of riches on these fairways. While it might seem implausible that he could join a roll of honour spanning Jose Maria Olazabal, Sergio Garcia and Jon Rahm, the 21-year-old brings an enviable pedigree as the first from his country to win the US Amateur.
Tom Cary: Maverick McNealy
Should make headlines on the strength of his name alone. If he feels the need for speed at Augusta, perhaps he can be the top gun, or the wingman, or something. Went close to winning at Torrey Pines a few weeks ago with a final round 64.
Frankie Christou: Jose Luis Ballester
Spain has a knack of producing generational talents and the latest being tipped to come off the tapas conveyor belt is amateur Jose Luis Ballester. The 21-year-old has won the European Amateur, Spanish Amateur and US Amateur in the last three years and is hot favourite to be low amateur this week.
Big names to miss the cut
James Corrigan: Max Homa
The US Ryder Cup star has endured a torrid time of late, tumbling from fifth in the world rankings to 81st. Augusta is no place to battling one's game.
Oliver Brown: Phil Mickelson
You would never put anything past Mickelson – after all, he finished with a 65 at the Masters only two years ago – but you question if, aged 54 and buttressed by a nine-figure bounty from LIV, his motivation is quite what it was.
Tom Cary: Jon Rahm
Big call as he could just as easily contend for the green jacket, but the 2023 winner has not been at his best since joining LIV and perhaps he will give a lot of people a lot of opportunity to say 'I told you so'.
Frankie Christou: Xander Schauffele
After his major wins last year, Schauffele has been struggling with a rib injury which saw him take two months off earlier this season. In the four events he has managed, the American has failed to post a top ten finish. Augusta takes no prisoners and it seems Schauffele needs a few more months to get back to his best.
It will be a disappointing Masters for
James Corrigan: England
None the players are in peak form and it appears highly likely that the nation will go on waiting for another green jacket.
Oliver Brown: Brooks Koepka
He might have won as many majors as Ballesteros, but since the last of his five, at the 2023 USPGA, Koepka has claimed just one top-25 finish at the majors. On the latest evidence, he looks ill-equipped to stay the course.
Tom Cary: Tyrrell Hatton
Love Hatton and actually think he has the game to do well at Augusta, but not sure he thinks so. Have followed him around the course a few times and he will probably blow a gasket at some point.
Frankie Christou: Brooks Koepka
Nobody would have groaned more than Koepka when the tee times were released on Tuesday. After calling out Patrick Cantlay's 'brutally slow' round last year, he has found himself in the group behind him again.
Koepka may find more benefit from just standing on tees boxes and fairways to build up patience rather than hitting any golf shots during Wednesday's practice round.
And finally, our experts would love to see . .
James Corrigan
Ángel Cabrera to be booed.
Oliver Brown
Rory McIlroy completing the career Grand Slam. The memory endures of McIlroy's little-boy-lost act in 2011, when he ended up wedged against a whitewashed cabin as he threw-away a four-shot lead. Rounding off his set of majors on the same stage would represent the definitive purging of that pain.
Tom Cary
Rory McIlroy win. Would be epic after all the heartache. Playing well. Or Tommy Fleetwood. T3 last year (his seventh consecutive cut made at Augusta). Would love to see Fleetwood break his major duck.
Frankie Christou