The 88th Masters has arrived. The best week on the golf calendar will feature all of the world's best players coming together for the first major championship of the season. Not since The Open have we seen both PGA Tour players and LIV Golf members on the same golf course, with Augusta National serving as the stage this week.

LIV Golf's biggest offseason acquisition, Jon Rahm, is set to defend his green jacket. Getting the better of his new league mate, Brooks Koepka, on the final day of last year's tournament, the Spaniard captured his second major championship with conviction. Rahm aims to become just the fourth man in history to go back-to-back at the Masters, joining the likes of Tiger Woods, Nick Faldo and Jack Nicklaus.

Rahm will have to deal with a player he has not faced so far in 2024 and that is world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. A top-10 finisher in last year's Masters in his defense effort, Scheffler was unable to hole putts with consistency to threaten Rahm and the rest of the top of the leaderboard. That club has been in the spotlight in recent months as Scheffler made a switch to a mallet-style putter and it has paid dividends.

The winner at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Players Championship, Scheffler has eyes on his second green jacket in the last three years. The clear cut best player in the world, Scheffler has widened the gap in terms of quality over the rest of the field and is a key storyline to follow from both a betting and golf perspective.

Speaking of storylines, there is none bigger than Rory McIlroy's quest for the career grand slam. Now in his 10th attempt to round out the quartet of majors championships on his mantle, the four-time major winner arrives in Augusta fresh off a podium finish at the Texas Open. McIlroy has gotten off to poor starts over the last decade at the Masters with a Round 1 scoring average of 72.2 and Round 2 scoring average of 72.4. If he gets off to a good start, watch out.

Jordan Spieth is always a factor at Augusta National, as are players looking for their first major championships like Xander Schauffele and Will Zalatoris. Joaquin Niemann has made headway on LIV Golf as has Hideki Matsuyama on the PGA Tour in the first three months of the year.

2024 Masters odds leaders

• Scottie Scheffler: +400
• Rory McIlroy: +1000
• Jon Rahm: +1200
• Xander Schauffele: +1400
• Brooks Koepka: +1800
• Hideki Matsuyama: +2000
• Jordan Spieth: +2000
• Joaquin Niemann: +2500

So which 2024 Masters players should you target or avoid? And which player could bring a MASSIVE payday? ... Join SportsLine right now to see Patrick McDonald's best value picks