PGA Golf Odds & Tiger Woods Betting Props
by Richard Gardner | Bodog Sportsbook Manager - 8/26/2010
Tiger Woods is a free man. His recent divorce from wife Elin Nordegren remains big news in sports and celebrity-gossip circles, and that’s why we’ve created a fun prop for our players to bet on at Bodog: Will Tiger get remarried in 2010 or 2011? If you think he’ll take the plunge in the next two years, you can get odds of 10/1.
Action on this prop, believe it or not, has been light. I guess most people expect Tiger to get back to what he’s good at: golf. Long-term commitment apparently isn’t his thing, unless it’s to his caddy Steve Williams.
Woods will tee off Thursday at the Barclays tournament, which is being held at the Ridgefield Country Club in New Jersey. We’ve got him as the 11/1 co-favorite, along with Phil Mickelson. Rory McIlroy is next at 12/1, followed by Steve Stricker at 14/1 and Padraig Harrington at 25/1. The unluckiest man in golf, Dustin Johnson, is next at 28/1.
So, will the divorce help Tiger move on and get back to golfing greatness? Many of our bettors seem to think so, as we’ve seen healthy action on his odds to win.
Some of his fellow golfers seem to agree with the notion that Tiger’s taken an important step in his professional recovery. "Maybe there is an ending to it," said Heath Slocum. "Maybe he knows where he's going from here. It wouldn't shock me if he played really well this week."
A couple of other Tiger bets we’ve got going this week:
Will he finish in the top ten at the Barclays? “Yes” is the slight underdog at +125, and we’ve seen good action on it as a result. Tiger finished in a tie for 28th at the PGA Championship, but there were flashes of his old brilliance.
Will he make the cut? “Yes” is the overwhelming favorite at -700, and plenty of bettors have been loading up on it. This surprises me a bit, since you have to risk so much to make a decent amount.
There’s also the matter of Tiger’s Ryder Cup status. Will he be one of Corey Pavin’s four captain’s picks? Almost definitely, but a strong performance this week wouldn’t hurt.
Our current odds to win the 2010 Ryder Cup that goes Oct. 1-3 at Celtic Manor in South Wales have Europe at -188 to win, USA at +188 and a tie at +1000.
Phil Mickelson, Hunter Mahan, Bubba Watson, Jim Furyk, Steve Sticker, Jeff Overton, Matt Kuchar and Dustin Johnson have already qualified for the American side, with only Mickelson, Mahan, Stricker and Furyk boasting Ryder Cup experience. That could be a huge factor, particularly without the home-course advantage.
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