Five under-the-radar golfers who could crash Masters leaderboard

There aren't many golfers playing better than Conners. The Canadian has finished T18, T8, T6 and solo third in his past four starts, gaining strokes in all four major categories in three of them. The biggest difference for Conners this year has been a new putter that has led to him gaining strokes on the green in four of his past five starts.

Conners has three top-10 finishes in his past five trips to Augusta National, and his confidence is high entering the first major of 2025. 

Maverick McNealy

McNealy is set to make his Masters debut this year, and it wouldn't surprise anyone if he found himself in contention in his first trip to Augusta. The California native quietly has four top-10 finishes this season, and he nearly won the Genesis Invitational thanks to a final-round 64. 

McNealy is one of the best putters on the PGA Tour, and his iron play has been stellar this year outside of a poor performance at the Players Championship. Look for McNealy to vie for top debutant this week. 

Patrick Reed

There's just something about Reed and Augusta National that creates magic every year. The former Masters champ has five top-12 finishes in his past seven trips to Augusta, and he has gained strokes from putting in four straight starts at this golf course. 

Reed is heating up at the right time, notching three top-10 finishes in his last four worldwide starts. He had control of LIV Golf Miami until a final-round 74 knocked him back to T7, but his game is still trending in the right direction heading into the Masters. 

Sepp Straka

Approach play is the name of the game at Augusta National, and Straka has been dialed in with his irons all season. The Austrian ranks fifth on the PGA Tour this year in strokes gained on approach and second in greens in regulation percentage. 

Straka's precise iron play and accurate driving have led to a win and seven top-15 finishes in 10 starts this season. Coming off a T16 at last year's Masters, Straka is ready to contend for his first major championship title. 

Michael Kim

Kim will be making his second career Masters appearance after squeaking inside the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking right in the nick of time. He deserves the spot after recording four straight top-13 finishes earlier this season. 

Kim is hitting his irons and chipping better than he ever has in his career. The 31-year-old ranks 22nd on the PGA Tour this season in strokes gained on approach and 12th in scrambling. Those are two of the biggest keys to conquering Augusta National, so Kim should feel good about his chances to contend this week.