Masters Golf Odds: Tiger Instilled as Betting Favorite
by Richard Gardner | Bodog Sportsbook Manager - 3/17/2011
Tiger Woods hasn’t won a golf tournament in over a year, but he still make news when he speaks. Even when most of the sports world is focused on the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
When asked to name the best golfer in the world by ESPN's Tom Rinaldi on Wednesday's "SportsCenter," Woods answered with a question, “When I get my swing dialed in?”
Translation: Me.
Was it just empty bravado from Woods, or should everyone who bets on golf take notice?
Woods, of course, doesn’t have his swing dialed in. Not yet anyway. Last Friday at the WGC-Cadillac Championship, he drove his tee shot a whopping 122 yards at the second hole of the Blue Monster course. Granted, he wasn’t willing to admit that it was a big deal.
"I've done it before. I mean, it's not the first time I hit a snipe. Did it at the Masters. It is what it is," said Woods following the round. "I hit a bad shot, no big deal, left myself with an opportunity to make par ... and hit a bad pitch."
To be fair, Woods finished the tournament in a tie for 10th, eight strokes behind winner Nick Watney, after an impressive final-round 66. So maybe it’s not time to fire swing coach Sean Foley quite yet.
Next week, Woods will tee it up at Bay Hill in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, a tournament he’s won six times during his career, including four in a row from 2000 to 2003. He also won it the last time he entered, in 2009. In 2010, he had a few personal issues to work out and didn’t enter.
As a book maker, I’ll be curious to see how Bodog bettors react when we release the odds to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Our players still love to bet on Tiger to win, even though he hasn’t paid off for them in quite some time.
We’re giving Woods 6/1 odds to win the 2011 Masters making him the favorite in a major he hasn’t won since 2005. After Woods, it’s defending champion Phil Mickelson at 7/1, followed by Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer, each at 14/1.
We’ve also put together odds on how many majors Woods will win in 2011. No majors is the favorite (-200), followed by one (+200), two (+900), three (+3300) and four (+5000).
Let’s just say we haven’t booked much action on the Grand Slam.
Not yet anyway.
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