Augusta 2026: Who Golf Pool Players Are Picking at Every Tier

Augusta 2026: Who Golf Pool Players Are Picking at Every Tier

ESTIMATED READ TIME: 4 MIN

Every year, golf pool managers think they are making unique picks. Most of them are not.

We pulled the live pick data from active Beat The Cut pools heading into Augusta week 2026. Here is exactly who the field is rostering at each tier — and what it means for your chances of winning your pool.

The Numbers

Tier 1

Scottie Scheffler leads by a wide margin at 61%. Rory McIlroy is next at 21%, followed by Tommy Fleetwood at 14% and Xander Schauffele at 11%. The rest of the Tier 1 field — Justin Rose, Collin Morikawa, Cameron Young, Robert MacIntyre — are all at 7% or below.

The takeaway: six in ten pool managers have Scheffler. If he wins, most of the field moves together. The teams that separate will have done it elsewhere on the roster.

Tier 2

Ludvig Aberg is the clear consensus at 36%, with Chris Gotterup at 25%. Russell Henley checks in at 11%, and the rest of the tier — Hideki Matsuyama, Justin Thomas, Ben Griffin, Jacob Bridgeman, Sepp Straka — are largely being ignored at 7% or below.

Tier 3

Bryson DeChambeau dominates at 54%. More than half of all active pools have him. Jon Rahm is the distant second at 18%, Akshay Bhatia at 14%. Viktor Hovland (7%), Patrick Reed (11%), and Keegan Bradley (4%) round out the tier with minimal pick share.

Tier 4

Tyrrell Hatton leads at 29%, Shane Lowry at 14%. Patrick Cantlay, Sam Burns, and Nicolai Hojgaard are each at 7%.

Tier 5

Jason Day is the runaway consensus at 39%. Corey Conners at 25% is the only other player with meaningful pick share. Jake Knapp (11%) is the one name showing up as a mild sleeper, with the rest of the tier in single digits.

Tier 6

Jordan Spieth and Brooks Koepka are tied as the most popular Tier 6 picks at 21% each. Ryan Fox follows at 14%, Adam Scott and Cameron Smith at 7%.

What This Data Actually Tells You

Three players account for the vast majority of Tier 1, 2, and 3 picks: Scheffler, Aberg, and DeChambeau. If you have all three and they all perform, you will likely finish in the middle of your pool — because so will everyone else who made the same calls.

The interesting spots are the players with real contention ability sitting at low pick rates: Schauffele and Fleetwood in Tier 1, Conners and Knapp in Tier 5, Lowry in Tier 4. These are not longshot picks — they are credible contenders that most of your pool has overlooked.

That is where golf pools get won.

Track Your Pool Live All Week

Beat The Cut updates every team's score automatically as play unfolds at Augusta. You can see live standings, individual player scores by tier, and how every team in your pool is tracking in real time.

If you do not have a pool set up yet, you can create one in a few minutes and still get your draft in before Thursday morning.

Set up your pool at beatthecut.com/pools/new

Related reading: Augusta Week Pool Strategy: Which Tier of Player Actually Wins It? How to Set Up a Golf Pool for Augusta Week (Step by Step)