We are starting to get a decent feel for which golfers will be in contention on “moving day” at the Masters and on Championship Sunday. There are a few surprising names huddled around Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler on the Masters odds board as Friday play rolls on, so let’s take a look at some underdogs that might pose a challenge for the big dogs this weekend.
Sam Burns
Burns entered the tournament with +10000 Masters odds, and was +850 prior to teeing off Friday. The LSU product shot a 5-under 67 on Thursday and had the co-lead with McIlroy heading into play on Friday.
He teed off in the second round just after 12:30 p.m. ET and was even on the day at the time of publication.
Burns might have been a tad undervalued heading into Augusta, as he’s had a strong start to his 2026 season.
In tournaments in which he’s made the cut this year, he hasn’t finished worse than 27th. He also finished T6 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am back in February.
That said, his Masters history has not been great. Last year he finished T46 and in 2024 he missed the cut.
Kurt Kitayama
Kitayama had a wild opening round on Thursday as he birdied holes 10, 13, 15, and 17, but also had two bogeys and one double-bogey. The double-bogey came on Hole 12 when he sent one into Rae’s Creek.
Nonetheless, Kitayama was T9 through six holes on Friday.
Kitayama was +15000 heading into the Masters but was +500 by early Friday afternoon.
The Chico, California native has had a pretty average 2026 thus far. He finished T2 at the Genesis Invitational in February but also has a couple of missed cuts on his resume and multiple finishes in the 40s or worse.
His Masters history is weak as his best finish was T35 in 2024.
Ben Griffin
Not since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979 has someone won the Masters in their first appearance. Twenty-nine-year-old Ben Griffin is looking to accomplish the feat this weekend and so far he’s in decent shape.
Griffin was T9 at 2-Under early Friday afternoon at the Masters.
The kid from Chapel Hill, North Carolina was not exactly coming in hot to Augusta this week. He missed the cut in three straight tournaments in March before finishing T28 in his last tournament played (Texas Children’s Houston Open).
Griffin had pre-tournament Masters odds of +15000 but sliced those to +500 by early Friday afternoon.
Chris Gotterup
Gotterup shot an even-par 72 on Thursday but was 2-Under through 14 holes on Friday, and firmly in contention.
Gotterup is playing in his first Masters tournament despite having four PGA Tour wins under his belt. The Rutgers graduate had an outstanding start to 2026 as he won the Sony Open in January, and the WM Phoenix Open in February. He has missed the cut just once so far this season, and performed well in his last tournament (Texas Children’s Houston Open) with a T6 finish.
Gotterup entered the Masters with +4500 odds to win, and he had a +550 price early Friday afternoon.
(All odds courtesy of Fanataics Sportsbook at time of publication.)