Masters 2021: Rory McIlroy tipped for nightmare '27th place' finish

Research from Sporting Index has tipped the four-time major winner to finish a lowly 27th out of the 88 players who will take part in the four-day competition, which takes place between April 8th-11th.

The prediction has been generated from a number of factors, including current form, previous finishing positions, and world ranking.

McIlroy, who has had six top ten finishes at Augusta in the last decade, has never been outside of the top ten in the world rankings heading into the Masters

However the average world ranking of Masters winners over the last twenty years has been 17, suggesting McIlroy slipping out of the top ten isn't as drastic as it may seem.

In 2011, the Northern Irishman famously threw away the chance to win the iconic Green Jacket in the final round, shooting a horrendous eight-over-par 80 after playing flawlessly in the first three rounds.

Meanwhile, the bookies currently have last year's Masters winner and current world number one Dustin Johnson as the 7/1 favourite to win the competition, ahead of Bryson Dechambeau (9/1), Jon Rahm and Jordan Speith (both 10/1).

McIlroy last won a major championship seven years ago, when he scooped both the Open Championship and the PGA Championship in a dazzling 2014, that also saw him finish runner-up in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award, behind F1 legend Lewis Hamilton.