Five Outsiders Who Could Win The Masters

Will Zalatoris and Joaquin Niemann

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 2 March 2022

The men in the top-10 on the Official World Golf Ranking will have the bulk of the support going into this year’s Masters and with the likes of Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay and Viktor Hovland all on stellar form, beating the world’s very best will be a tough ask at Augusta.

But, flying under the radar a little could be a benefit to those just a bit further down the current pecking order. Here we consider five players who might just surprise the biggest star names and win The Masters.

Will Zalatoris

Will Zalatoris was a runner-up last year and he looked supremely comfortable around Augusta. A good finish in the American Express and then a runner-up placing at the Farmers Insurance Open shows he’s still got the touch with the putter.

Thomas Pieters

Back towards his best with victory in Abu Dhabi, following up a win in the Portugal Masters in November of last year. The Belgian was tied fourth in the 2017 Masters and has the all-round game to be a Major winner.

Lucas Herbert

Lucas Herbert stepped up a level with PGA Tour victory in Bermuda. The Australian is a superb putter, a strength required at Augusta.

Matt Fitzpatrick

Another man who’s brilliant with the flat-stick. Matt Fitzpatrick has made the cut for six years running at Augusta, including a tie for seventh place in 2016. He’s shown some good form in the USA with top-10 finishes at Pebble Beach and in Phoenix.

Joaquin Niemann

The young Chilean has great potential. A former winner of the Latin America Amateur Championship, he has the game to contend at Augusta. He recently won at Riviera, another testing course.

TOPICS

Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He has also worked with Golf Monthly to produce a podcast series. Called 18 Majors: The Golf History Show it offers new and in-depth perspectives on some of the most important moments in golf's long history. You can find all the details about it here.

He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly.

Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?