Written By Road to CFB | Published at April 9, 2025
Former Masters' champion Trevor Immelman of South Africa applauds 2009 Masters golf champion Angel Cabrera of Argentina with his Masters' green jacket at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga., Sunday, April 12, 2009. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
You may have heard it said: The Masters Tournament is a tradition unlike any other – Magnolia Lane, green jackets, Amen Corner, and pimento cheese. Those who win the coveted green jacket have their name etched in the history of golf. Although longshots don't often win, some improbable victories have made the most iconic Masters moments. While we remember Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus, some victors came out of nowhere. Below, we'll look at the eight golfers with the longest odds to win the Masters since 1986, when odds record-keeping began.
8 Biggest Masters Longshots To Win The Green Jacket
8. Patrick Reed (40-1, 2018)
The PGA Tour's brief heel put his name on the radar not for alleged skirting around some rules but with his Masters victory in 2018. Reed closed at 40-1 odds just ahead of the first round but quickly vaulted himself into the competition. He posted a 69, 66, and 67 in the first three rounds – the only golfer in the field to shoot sub-70 in all three rounds. At +120 heading into Sunday, Reed shot a 71 and survived a surging Jordan Speith, who shot 64 on Sunday (second-lowest round ever).
Former Masters champion Sergio Garcia, right, of Spain, helps Patrick Reed with his green jacket after winning the Masters golf tournament on Sunday, April 8, 2018, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
7. Bubba Watson (50-1, 2012)
Watson won his first of two green jackets in 2012 with 50-1 odds before the first round. Drama ran high as he chased down Louis Oosthuizen, shooting one better than him to force a playoff. It took two extra holes to notch his victory finally, but Watson did so, closing at +800 going into Sunday. The 2012 Masters is one of the most thrilling rounds in recent memory, partly due to both Watson and Oosthuizen (66-1) being longshots.
Charl Schwartzel, left, of South Africa, helps Bubba Watson put on the winner's green jacket after winning the Masters golf tournament on the 10th hole after a sudden death playoff Sunday, April 8, 2012, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
6. Danny Willett (50-1, 2016)
Perhaps the most memorable Masters longshot, Willett closed ahead of Round 1 with 50-1 odds. However, what puts him above Watson is that he opened at 150-1 in November 2015. In 2016, Augusta National ate its participants for lunch, with Willett needing to shoot just five-under for the tournament to win. This year also featured the infamous collapse of Speith, who had a five-shot lead heading into Sunday's back nine. Willett endured, winning the tournament by three strokes.
On April 10, 2016, in this photo, defending champion Jordan Spieth, left, helps 2016 Masters champion Danny Willett, of England, put on his green jacket following the final round of the Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Ga. Spieth's back-nine collapse five years ago cost him back-to-back Masters titles. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson, File)
5. Hideki Matsuyama (60-1, 2021)
Nerves nearly got the best of Matsuyama on Sunday, who shot one-over in the final round. Behind him were Will Zalatoris and Speith, who each posted two-under for the round. But he finished with a one-stroke lead after closing at 60-1 odds ahead of Round 1. Storms plagued most of the field Saturday, even stopping play for a while, but Matsuyama posted his best score (65) that day.
On Sunday, April 11, 2021, this photo shows Hideki Matsuyama, of Japan, wearing the champion's green jacket after winning the Masters golf tournament as Dustin Johnson watches in Augusta, Georgia. Matsuyama is already thinking about what to serve at the champion's dinner next April. It likely will include sushi. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)
4. Charl Schwartzel (100-1, 2011)
Four Masters winners embody the "longshot" category, with Schwartzel's 2011 win being the last time someone with 100-1 odds or longer won the green jacket. He beat out Jason Day and Adam Scott thanks to a 66 on Sunday and a 14-under finish. Ahead of that final round, Rory McIlroy led the field by four strokes, and Schwartzel was 14-1 to come back and win, improbable. Rory melted down the finish, shooting an 80 on the final day and finishing T15. Schwartzel took advantage and became the penultimate winner in six years of longshot dominance.
On April 10, 2011, this photo shows former champion Phil Mickelson helping Charl Schwartzel of South Africa with his green jacket after winning the Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Georgia. Schwartzel became the first Masters champion to close with four straight birdies, and that's about what it took to separate himself on one of the most mesmerizing final rounds ever at Augusta National. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)
3. Angel Cabrera (125-1, 2009)
As if Watson's 2012 victory in a playoff wasn't drama enough, Cabrera ended Sunday in a three-way playoff with Chad Campbell and Kenny Perry at 12-under. Perry fumbled the final two holes, shooting two bogeys, and fell into the playoff. Cabrera outlasted the other two in two extra holes, staving off Perry. He became the first (and still the only) Masters winner from Argentina and South America. Perry closed ahead of Round 1 with 125-1 odds of winning the tournament.
Former Masters' champion Trevor Immelman of South Africa applauds 2009 Masters golf champion Angel Cabrera of Argentina with his Masters' green jacket at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga., Sunday, April 12, 2009. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
2. Zach Johnson (125-1, 2007)
Johnson also closed at 125-1 ahead of the 2007 Masters Tournament. What made his win slightly more fantastic is that he remains the only winner to never finish inside the top 30 before this tournament. Johnson battled some of the worst playing conditions in recent Masters history, with Saturday featuring cold temperatures and winds over 33 mph. The cut was grotesque +8, and Johnson finished with a two-stroke lead at +1. Nobody shot better than 70 in Round 3, and Johnson shot 76 – six strokes worse than second-place Retief Goosen.
In an April 8, 2006 file photo, Zach Johnson receives the Masters green jacket from last year's champion Phil Mickelson after winning the 2007 Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga. The green jacket is one of the most revered symbols in all sports, right up there with an Olympic gold medal and the Stanley Cup. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)
1. Trevor Immelman (150-1, 2008)
Sandwiched between two of the least probable Masters victories of all time sits Trevor Immelman, the least probable Masters victor of all time. He closed ahead of Round 1 with 150-1 odds but led the tournament wire-to-wire. Immelman posted a 75 on Sunday with Tiger Woods in his rearview mirror (who shot a 72). Heavy rain Saturday stopped play and bogged the course down Sunday, with just two golfers in the field posting better than a 70 final round. But Immelman headlines the biggest Masters longshots since 1986.
Zach Johnson, left, shakes hands with Trevor Immelman of South Africa after Immelman won the 2008 Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga., Sunday, April 13, 2008. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
Historic Masters longshots data courtesy of Sports Odds History, dating back to 1986
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