Five storylines to watch for at the 2024 Masters

The world's best golfers are descending upon Augusta this week for 2024's first major. The Masters tees off on Thursday, and here are five storylines we're watching for at this year's event.

Scottie Scheffler is an overwhelming favorite

It's Scheffler versus the field. Per ESPN Bet, the 2022 Masters winner is +475 to earn his second green jacket. Rory McIlroy (+1100) is a distant second, followed by last year's winner, Jon Rahm (+1200). Xander Schauffele (+1400), Brooks Koepka (+1800) and Hideki Matsuyama (+1800) round out the top five in pre-tournament odds.

Scheffler already has seven top-10 finishes in eight events this year, including back-to-back wins in March at the Arnold Palmer Invitational (-15) and The PLAYERS Championship (-20).

Tiger Woods returns

The best golfer of his generation, Woods is making another comeback at the hallowed Masters. He last played at The Genesis Invitation in February, but withdrew after the first round. He also withdrew during the third round of last year's Masters, one of three tournaments he appeared in during the 2022-23 golf season. Per ESPN, it's a toss-up whether he makes it past the second round this year. Woods has the same odds of making the cut as he does of missing it (-115).

Akshay Bhatia, Stephan Jaeger and Ludvig Aberg are young names to know

Bhatia won last weekend's tune-up to the Masters, the Valero Texas Open, in a playoff at -20. Jaeger defeated Scheffler, Tony Finau and Taylor Moore by a stroke at the Texas Children's Houston Open from March 28-31. Meanwhile, Aberg has seven top-10 finishes in 19 tournaments over the past two seasons and was a member of Europe's winning Ryder Cup team last year. He made headlines by partnering with Viktor Hovland for a historic 9 and 7 match win against Koepka and Scheffler.

Can Phil Mickelson build on a strong 2023 finish?

Mickelson began the final round of last year's Masters as an afterthought at one-under-par and 10 strokes back of first on the leaderboard. However, he shot an excellent 65 on Sunday and finished in a tie for second. A three-time Masters winner, Mickelson only has one top-10 finish in LIV Golf this year, but always seems to dial in at Augusta. 

Bryson DeChambeau puts past Masters misery behind him

After once infamously describing Augusta National as a "par-67," DeChambeau has seen the Masters course get the better of him. He missed the cut the past two years and has never finished in the top 20. DeChambeau has four top-10 finishes in his past four LIV Golf events, but as he's painfully aware, the Masters is an entirely different beast.