Rory McIlroy‘s long-awaited Masters triumph did more than complete the career Grand Slam — it reset the conversation around Augusta and the next wave of contenders.
With that pressure finally lifted, attention now turns to who might be ready to follow him into a Green Jacket.
Eleven British players are taking on the unique challenge of Augusta this week, each with a different backstory and in different form. ESPN guides you through them all.
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– Masters 2026: Ranking favorites, contenders, hopefuls and everyone else
– How to watch The Masters in the UK: TV channel, schedule, tee times
Age: 38. World ranking: 400
Masters entries: 11. Best finish: 1st (2016)
Willett, who didn’t even have a PGA Tour card at the time, shocked the world when he won on his second visit to Augusta in 2016, taking advantage of a collapse from Jordan Spieth — who led by five strokes after 10 holes. He was the first Englishman since Nick Faldo in 1996. Since then, it’s been tough sledding for the golfer who is just two years older than McIlroy. The Masters remains his only PGA Tour win, and he has only three other notable victories since then on the DP World Tour, the last coming five years ago.
As for his Masters form, he became the first defending champion since Mike Weir in 2004 to miss the cut after failing to advance to the weekend in 2017, though his performances — given his world ranking — have been notable recently. He has only been cut twice in his last six attempts, finishing in the top 25 twice along the way.
Age: 23. World ranking: 105
Masters entries: 0
Dubbed the new McIlroy from a young age due to his roots and home club, McKibbin hasn’t quite burst onto the scene like Rory just yet. Moving to LIV Golf — a controversial move for a golfer so young — rather than taking up a PGA Tour card in 2025 hasn’t helped with that, nor have his performances (he is ranked 38th of 61 golfers with a best of T17 in tournaments this year). He earned his Masters spot with an impressive win at the Link Hong Kong Open on the Asian Tour last year, and he’ll be looking to at least make the cut this week. He has only been cut once in his previous four appearances at Majors.
Age: 28. World ranking: 62
Masters entries: 0
Hall is another Masters debutant, although, unlike McKibbin has been ticking along nicely on the PGA Tour. Hall won the ISCO Championship in 2024 and earned a spot at the Tour Championship in 2025 after recording top-25 finishes in more than half his PGA Tour starts. He has missed the cut in three of his eight Tour events this season, but has finished in the top 30 in all five other events, including at T6 in Hawaii. He made two Major appearances last year and finished T19 and T28 at the PGA Championship and The Open.
Age: 31. World ranking: 39
Masters entries: 1. Best finish: T27 (2025)
Since earning his PGA Tour card in 2022, Rai has been a consistent presence on tournament weekends without seeing his career take off just yet. Rai won the Wyndham Championship in 2024 and has made the cut in all seven of his last Major appearances, including at his Masters debut last year. He’s finished no higher than 19th in those events, however. Rai secured a headline playoff win over Tommy Fleetwood in Abu Dhabi last year but hasn’t quite taken that form into this season so far.
Age: 27. World ranking: 37
Masters entries: 0
Penge enjoyed a superb season in the DP World Tour in 2025 with his first three career victories at the Hainan Classic, Danish Golf Championship and Spanish Open, which earned him a spot in this year’s Masters. His form also saw him challenge for a Ryder Cup spot, and McIlroy for the Race to Dubai crown. Ultimately, he missed out on both, but he did earn a PGA Tour card, and the big-driving 27-year-old tied for fourth at the Valspar Championship last month. One to watch at Augusta this year.
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Eisen and Co. break down Rory McIlroy’s Masters menu
Rich Eisen and his crew break down what they find appealing from Rory McIlroy’s Masters menu.
Age: 34. World ranking: 31
Masters entries: 9. Best finish: T9 (2024)
Though not in the best of form on the LIV Tour, Hatton continues to challenge at Majors and could be a factor on Sunday this year. In 2025, he finished in a tie for 10th at the PGA Championship and in a tie for sixth at the U.S. Open, while he has placed inside the top 15 at Augusta in each of the past two years. He has only won once in America before, but starred in his fourth Ryder Cup appearance last year and has eight career victories on the European Tour, as well as one in LIV. He finished in a tie for third in Adelaide, his best result of the season so far.
Age: 45. World ranking: 9
Masters entries: 17. Best finish: 2nd, T2 (2015, 2017, 2025)
If not for McIlroy undoubtedly being the story last year, we would all be talking about Rose being Augusta’s nearly man. Rose has finished second — outright or tied — three times at the Masters and last year was only denied by McIlroy’s brilliance in a playoff, after the 45-year-old roared into contention via an epic back-nine. Given his form in recent years — on the Tour and at Ryder Cups — it’s remarkable Rose still only has that one Major to his name at the 2013 U.S. Open, but expect him to be in the mix come Sunday. He already has one victory this year, at the Farmers Insurance Open.
Age: 29. World ranking: 8
Masters entries: 3. Best finish: T12 (2021)
Now a mainstay on the Tour and in the top-10 of the world rankings, MacIntyre is just waiting for a true breakout moment. He has two career victories on the PGA Tour — in Canada and Scotland, split by six weeks in 2024 — and has impressed at Ryder Cups and Majors, finishing in the top-10 on five occasions in 19 events, including a near-miss at the U.S. Open last year (2nd). He has a game to suit Augusta and arrives in fine form, just missing out on victory in Texas last week and placing fourth at The Players.
Age: 31. World ranking: 6
Masters entries: 11. Best finish: T7 (2016)
Fitzpatrick’s path back into contention at the highest level has not been straightforward. After building momentum following his 2022 U.S. Open win, his form dipped markedly through 2024 and into early 2025, with uncharacteristic struggles across his long game and on the greens leading to a run of inconsistent results. That has changed over the past year.
Fitzpatrick rediscovered his rhythm in 2025 — securing two top-10s in Majors, starring in the Ryder Cup and winning his first tournament since 2023 — and has carried that resurgence into this season, finishing second at The Players and winning the Valspar Championship. His Masters record suggests comfort rather than contention so far, but in his current form, he looks far better equipped to make a serious push than in previous visits.
Age: 35. World ranking: 4
Masters entries: 9. Best finish: T3 (2024)
Fleetwood continues to hover just below the very top tier despite one of the most consistent records in world golf. He enjoyed another strong season in 2025, highlighted by winning the FedEx Cup, and has carried that form into this year with a string of solid finishes in big events. His tee-to-green game remains among the most reliable on Tour, even if he has not converted those performances into regular victories.
Augusta has often looked like his best chance to contend for a first major thanks to his iron play, and he came close in 2024. Fleetwood has all the tools — the question remains whether he can take the final step.
Age: 36. World ranking: 2
Masters entries: 17. Best finish: 1st (2025)
McIlroy’s place among the modern greats was long secure before his Augusta breakthrough, but his 2025 victory finally completed the one missing piece — the career Grand Slam. A four-time major champion before that win, he has spent more than a decade among the world’s elite, winning multiple FedEx Cups and consistently contending in the game’s biggest events, even during a prolonged major drought that stretched from 2014 to 2025.
Augusta had often been the outlier. Since his final-round collapse in 2011, McIlroy repeatedly put himself in position without converting, recording a string of top-10 finishes before finally breaking through. Now he returns as defending champion with an almighty weight lifted. There are legitimate questions about his fitness — a back injury made him a doubt at The Players, and he only just made the cut there — but McIlroy, of course, has the pedigree to contend again.
