Nick Faldo’s ‘cheeky Masters tenner’ is on 200/1 Englishman making Augusta debut

Nick Faldo is one of three men to win back-to-back at Augusta, so knows a few things about the iconic course.

The three-time Masters champion is now a respected pundit and has taken a look at the 2026 field to try and find the winner this year.

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Defending champion Rory McIlroy is coming off a back injury and Scottie Scheffler‘s first-round struggles have resulted in a rare run of relatively poor form for the world No 1.

That has thrown the doors open to the rest of the field.

talkSPORT.com asked Faldo for his pre-tournament favourite and the three-time champion picked Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg after his top-five finish at The Players Championship.

“I think Aberg was my favorite last year, and obviously he was right in there at the Players,” he said. “And he probably learned from it.

“If it’s as simple as his takeaway got a bit quick. Well, that’s an easy fix, isn’t it? So, I just love the way he was playing that particular week. That’s only a month in between. So he’s probably my favorite.”

Nick Faldo’s Masters outsider

Faldo also named McIlroy, Bob MacIntyre, Justin Rose and Matt Fitzpatrick as the British players who could be donning a Green Jacket by Sunday.

Asked for a dark horse worth putting a tenner on, he went for a Englishman in Harry Hall – who is playing the Masters for the first time.

“You want somebody who is going to finish, Harry Hall,” he said. “How about that? Great putter! So, yeah, somebody like that.

“You get really some good odds to get them in them top five.

“But I think local guys, our local home lads are looking very good this year, aren’t they?

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Hall would be the first Englishman since Danny Willett’s unlikely triumph in 2016, while a win on his debut would make him the first player since Fuzzy Zoeller, in 1979, to win on his first appearance at the tournament.

“I think we’ve got, we will definitely have a couple of them in the mix by Sunday. Fingers crossed.”

Faldo won The Masters in 1989 and added a second Green Jacket the following year.

Only Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus can match the feat despite the tournament featuring a smaller field than the three other Majors.

Rory McIlroy out to defend Green Jacket

Faldo thinks McIlroy has what it takes to join the club.

He explained: “Obviously, on paper, it’s doable, isn’t it? I mean, he said his goal, which is, I saw that the other day, he’d love to be a two-time Grand Slam winner, which is very impressive.

“So that means he wants to go forward, that would be unprecedented.

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“I mean, all the men that have gone, Jack, same with Tiger, same with Ben Crenshaw, nobody has then continued on.

“But Rory is special, the way he plays, and you know what, the fitness of the game. And, maybe down to mental strength, last year was so emotional, the whole build-up. It was kind of in the air, wasn’t it?

“You win The Players, and you start thinking, this is his best chance to do it. So it’s you can’t flip the light switch and just reproduce all that emotion again. I don’t believe that happens.

“So yeah, whether he says, ‘Right, let’s start again. Let’s get out and then get in the mix.’ Yes, he’s certainly good enough to do that.

“I’m sure that’s his goal, to get in the mix and see who he’s got to battle against. I got a feeling all the usual, all the big names will come to the top, and I’m sure it’s gonna be another great Masters.”

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