Mastering the Masters: Tips for Masters Contest Picks

The azaleas are blooming, Amen Corner awaits, and the eyes of the golf world turn to Augusta National. The Masters Tournament — often called “a tradition unlike any other” — is not just a golf major, it’s a full-blown spectacle​. Since 1934 it’s been held at the iconic Augusta National golf course every year, with its Green Jacket ceremony and timeless traditions making it a celebration of golf’s history. For fantasy golf diehards, Masters week is pure gold: it’s where your season-long strategies meet the sport’s most hallowed ground. Contests like One & Done and Tiers add an extra layer of excitement, letting us draft our own Masters storylines alongside the real tournament. It’s major season – time to make those picks count!

Whether you’re eyeing one pick for your One & Done contests or breaking down the field for your Tiers picks, Masters week demands a balance of analytical strategy and pure fan hype. Let’s break down strategies for both contests on Splash Sports.

One & Done: Swinging for Major Glory

One & Done contests reach a fever pitch at the Masters. By this point in the season, many fantasy players have already burned through some top-tier names in pursuit of prize money at tournaments like THE PLAYERS, The Arnold Palmer Invitational, The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-AM, and The Genesis Invitational, all of which boasted $20 million+ purses this season. Picking just one golfer for a major is always a high-stakes decision, but it’s even trickier when you’re deep into the year and your pool of available superstars is shrinking. If you’ve managed your picks wisely, Masters week might be when that foresight pays off.

Why the Masters is different: First off, the Masters is one of the four events (the majors) in One & Done contests on Splash where PGA Tour and LIV Golf players collide in the same field. That means some elite names you haven’t been able to touch all year in PGA events are suddenly on the menu. (Remember, 18 LIV players teed it up at Augusta last year, and while that number fluctuates, it underscores that you’ll see both Tour loyalists and defector stars vying for the Green Jacket.) For One & Done, this opens the door to using a heavy-hitter like a Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, or Jon Rahm – guys who might not have been available in any other week but are eligible at Augusta. Having access to those wildcard picks can be a game-changer if you’ve already exhausted many PGA Tour big guns.

Another wrinkle: the money. The Masters purse is massive – and still growing. The prize pool hasn’t been announced at the time of writing, but last year Augusta National bumped it to a record $20 million. The winner’s share was about $3.6 million alone! In One & Done, where your score is the money your pick earns, hitting it big at Augusta can rocket you up the season leaderboard (or cement your lead if you’re out front). In fact, a Masters winner in your entry is about as clutch as it gets – it’s like holing out at 18 on Sunday. With so much on the line, you can bet everyone in your pool is agonizing over their Masters pick just as much as you are.

Strategy check: At this stage, you need to assess who you have left and how to maximize value:

• Have a top-five player still available? This is what you saved them for. If you haven’t used a Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, or Rory McIlroy yet, you’re likely not alone – many competitors plan their season to save one elite name for each major. These guys are favorites for a reason and carry the highest expected value (win probability). Scheffler (the 2022 and 2024 champ) and Rahm (the 2023 champ) know how to get it done at Augusta, and Rory is forever chasing the career Grand Slam. Deploying a remaining superstar here can feel like unleashing your secret weapon.

• Already used the obvious picks? Don’t worry, the Masters is rich with course-horse options. Augusta National has nuances that often let certain players shine year after year. Jordan Spieth is Exhibit A – if you still have him available, his track record here is incredible (a win and four other top-3 finishes). Even in seasons where Spieth’s form is spotty (which seems like every season), he finds another gear at Augusta. Experience matters on this course – no first-timer has won a Masters since 1979​ – so leaning on a past champ or consistent contender can pay off. Think Hideki Matsuyama (2021 winner who always seems comfortable on these greens) or Ludvig Aberg, a young superstar who finished 2nd in his very first Masters appearance last year.

• Consider the LIV wildcards: As mentioned, Masters week is unique because you can actually pick LIV players in many fantasy formats. Guys like Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, and Cameron Smith are worth a hard look. Koepka has a Major pedigree second to none (five major titles); you know he lives for these pressure moments. Cam Smith has four top-10 finishes in his last five Masters appearances and has the short game magic suited for Augusta’s slick greens. And Bryson, well, is Bryson. These guys might fly under the radar for some opponents who are hesitant to trust LIV form, but their ceiling is as high as anyone’s this week.

• Under-the-radar value plays: Maybe you’re out of elite names or you want to save one last big gun for later in the season – then it’s time to get crafty. Look for players who combine good current form with a love for Augusta National. Russell Henley is a great example: he’s not a headline star, but he’s got PGA Tour winning experience, and has placed top-5 in a Masters before. That kind of course comfort is One & Done gold. Sungjae Im (T2 in 2020) or Jason Day (multiple Augusta top-5s in the past) are other names that won’t be favorite picks in your contest but have genuine chances to crack the top 10 if things go right. Picking an under-the-radar contender who pops this week can feel like you found a hidden Easter egg at Augusta. Just be sure whoever you choose has the mettle to handle the Sunday back-nine pressure cooker.

One & Done is all about risk vs. reward. At the Masters, the reward side is supersized – a huge purse, major glory, and bragging rights. Don’t be afraid to swing for the fences if you need to make up ground in your league. Conversely, if you’re leading, you might play it a bit safer to ensure you don’t whiff on this important week (maybe pick a solid top-10 lock rather than a boom-or-bust). Either way, relish the moment – having skin in the game at Augusta makes the roars on Sunday all the more exhilarating.

Tiers Contest: Navigating Tiers and a Dropped Score

Another popular way to spice up Masters week is playing in a Tiers contest like our $350K Augusta Tiers Showdown contest. If you haven’t tried Tiers contests, the concept is pretty straightforward: the field is divided into groups (tiers) based on skill/rank, and you must pick one golfer from each tier. In our flagship Masters contest (an 8-tier Splash Sports showdown with a “worst-score drop” rule), you’ll end up selecting 8 golfers – one from each tier – and your lineup's final score is based on how those players score to par in the tournament. The catch (and the fun twist) is that the worst score among your 8 is dropped. In other words, if one of your picks completely blows up or misses the cut, it won’t count against you – only your best 7 scores count. It’s a bit of a safety net, but you only get one – so you can’t afford two guys bombing out!

Here’s how that format works in practice: Suppose Tier 1 is the superstars, Tier 2 is the next-best, all the way down to Tier 8 which might include underdogs, or past champs on the tail-end of their careers. You choose one from each. If, say, your Tier 6 pick ends up +10 and is your worst performer, that score is dropped. Everyone else’s scores (hopefully in red numbers) are added up, and the lowest total score to par wins the contest. (So, essentially, you want as many under-par rounds as possible, and you’re forgiven for one trainwreck round by one player.) The example contest even labels it clearly: “Entrants select 1 golfer from each of the 8 tiers… The 1 golfer with the highest score for the tournament will not count.” That worst-score drop means you can take one misstep and still survive – a huge relief when Augusta’s hazards claim a victim or two every year.

The full tier list on Splash won’t be announced until Masters week, but you don’t have to wait idle. A savvy fantasy player can scout ahead by using resources like the DataGolf rankings to anticipate tier groupings. DataGolf’s model ranks the best golfers in the world by true skill, which often mirrors how tiers are formed. For example, you can imagine Tier 1 will include names like Scheffler, Rahm, McIlroy, Morikawa, etc., while Tier 2 might have the next set of contenders like Aberg, Lowry, and so on. By looking at who’s in the top 10, top 20, top 50 of a ranking system, you can pretty much guess where many players will fall. (This helps you start thinking about who you’d take in each tier before the contest even opens.) When the tiers are officially out, you’ll be ready with a shortlist for each group.

Tiers contests are a different puzzle than One & Done because you’re managing a squad of golfers rather than banking on one. Here are some tips to construct a winning lineup:

• Play it safe at the top: In the highest tiers (Tier 1 and 2, where the elite players reside), you don’t want to get too cute. These are your anchors. With the worst-score drop in play, it might be tempting to take a wild gamble even in Tier 1, thinking “oh if he busts, I’ll drop him,” but remember – you only drop one player out of eight. Chances are, your worst score might come from a lower-tier pick anyway. So in Tier 1, pick a stud you trust to at least make the cut and ideally push for a top 5. The top-tier guys are the top tier for a reason: their floor is higher. For instance, a world #1 like Scheffler has a very low chance of blowing up completely. Don’t overthink it: grab the steady superstar. The goal here is to avoid disaster at the top. Let your opponents get burned if they try a contrarian pick that misses the cut.

• Target upside in lower tiers: The beauty of dropping one score is that it gives you license to take a swing on a risky pick in the lower tiers. By the time you’re picking from Tier 7 or 8, you’re often choosing among veterans well past their prime, or Masters rookies. In these tiers, everyone is a longshot, so don’t be afraid to choose the guy with boom-or-bust potential. If he “booms” (say a first-timer makes a miraculous top-20 or a 60th-ranked pro catches fire for a couple rounds), you’ll gain major ground on the field. If he busts (MC or finishes +15), well, that’s likely your drop score anyway. Example: If Tier 8 has a few past champions who barely play anymore and a young up-and-comer who’s inconsistent but talented, you might roll the dice on the youngster – he could be this year’s Cinderella story. Thanks to the drop rule, a big risk down here won’t kill you, but a big reward could set you apart.

• Find hidden value in the middle tiers: This is where research can really pay off. Tiers 3 through 6 (approximately) are usually comprised of solid Tour pros – not the super-elite, but very good players (think world rank ~30 to 60 range). These middle tiers win or lose the contest for you. The key is identifying players in each tier who are underrated or especially well-suited for Augusta. DataGolf’s rankings or metrics can highlight some names: perhaps a player ranked 40th in the world but top 20 in an analytic ranking due to strong ball-striking stats. Those are the gems to target. For instance, if DataGolf’s model really likes a player who isn’t a household name but lands in Tier 5, that’s a cue that he has a better chance than his tier-mates to post a low score. Also consider Masters history here: a guy who has played Augusta a few times and made the cut consistently is a safer pick than a Masters first-timer in the same tier. In these mid tiers, you want guys with high upside but reasonable consistency – the ones who could pop up on the leaderboard if things go right. Think of players in the 30th–60th world ranking range who maybe haven’t won big events yet but have the talent to hang with the big boys for a week. Those “hidden” talents can outperform bigger names who might be slumping.

• Balance your roster construction: Because you get to drop one score, you can afford one aggressive pick (as noted). But don’t go too crazy with all risky choices, or you might end up with two or three blowups (and only one gets dropped). A good approach is to identify one sacrificial tier – e.g., “I’ll take my big shot in Tier 8,” – and play more percentage picks in the others. If every pick you make is a wild card, the odds are someone’s going to be that second-to-worst score that does count and sinks you. So spread your risk wisely. Load up on a few reliable cut-makers, then mix in a couple of high-ceiling guys. The dropped score format is basically a free mulligan – use it once, but you don’t get a second.

Finally, remember that in a tiers contest the winning lineup often isn’t all the obvious favorites; it’s the lineup where each tier pick beats the majority of others in his tier. You’re essentially playing 8 little mini-matches (your pick vs. your opponents’ picks in the same tier). If you can “win” more of those tier matchups than not, you’ll be in great shape. So focus on making the best choice within each tier rather than worrying about how big a name the player is overall. Sometimes a Tier 4 pick that finishes T8 is more valuable than a Tier 1 pick who finishes T5, because you probably expected the Tier 1 to do that, but if your Tier 4 beats everyone else’s Tier 4 pick by ten strokes, that’s your edge.‍

Conclusion

Masters week fantasy contests on Splash Sports are the perfect blend of analysis and adrenaline. You’ve got the stats, the course history, the DataGolf models on one hand – and on the other, the sheer thrill of watching your picks navigate Augusta’s cathedral of pines with your contest on the line. Whether you’re sweating a single one-and-done selection as he plays the 72nd hole, or tracking eight of your tier picks all over Amen Corner, the Masters delivers drama like no other golf tournament. Do your homework, trust your gut, and enjoy the ride. This is why we play fantasy golf – to have a stake in those magical moments when someone slips on the Green Jacket. Good luck with your Masters picks, and here’s to hearing the sweet sound of your picks making their own roar at Augusta!