Looks Like Tiger Versus The World
Having never learned the game of golf I usually have just a passing interest in what is going on with the PGA but this weekend I must admit will be different. I probably will be watching parts of all four rounds of the Masters and I most definitely will be glued to CBS come 3:00PM Easter Sunday. Like many viewers I will be curious whether Tiger Woods can win his fifth green jacket and inch closer to Jack Nicklaus’s record six winning Masters. Of course as always I will be viewing it from a gambler’s perspective. The current odds on Tiger capturing the 2009 Masters are YES +225 NO -265 or simply put if you believe Tiger will be successful you will be wagering $100 to win $225. If you believe anyone BUT Tiger will win then you are risking $265 to win $100. History shows that Mr Woods has entered the Masters a dozen times and has come away with a brand new green sport coat after four of them. So shouldn’t the fair odds on him adding to his wardrobe this weekend be more like 3 to 1? Tiger’s victories have come in 1997, 2001, 2002 and 2005 and he owns the record for widest margin of victory (12 strokes) in 1997.
Many of the casinos in Las Vegas will be offering various proposition bets on Woods a few of of which I have listed below:
Best Finish-Tiger-250 versus Phil Mickelson+210.
Finishing Position of Tiger-Over 3.5 +110 Under 3.5 -130. Tiger must tee off for action. If he withdraws, is disqualified or misses the cut the OVER is the winner.
First Round Score for Tiger-Over 72 -110 Under 72 -110. He must complete all 18 holes.
Will Tiger Win NO Majors (Masters, US Open, British Open, PGA) this year 6/5.
Tiger Will Win ONE Major this year 2/1.
Tiger will Win TWO Majors this year 12/5.
Tiger Will Win THREE Majors this year 11/2.
Tiger Will Win ALL FOUR Majors this year 15/1.
Now I believe Tiger is easily the greatest golfer in my lifetime (Yes, better than Arnie and Jack) but he is also human not a machine. Coming off an injury and a long layoff I would lean towards laying the $265/$100 and taking the field. It took Jack Nicklaus seventeen trips around to Augusta to capture his fifth Masters Championship and eleven more after that to get number six. So I will play on history’s side and lay the wood (No pun intended).
The next prop Woods versus Mickelson is very intriguing since there is no love loss between the two of them and Lefty is listed as a 7 to 1 shot to win this year’s Masters. Once again the public will be betting Tiger and I will be taking Phil especially in light of the fact he has won two of the last five Masters (2004 and 2006).
Wagering on whether Tiger finishes in the top three -130 or fourth or worse at +110 I would have to lay the juice and bet he will be near the top at the end.
The next wager is basically a pick’em wager on whether Tiger will shoot par or better in the first round. With the threat of bad weather on the horizon and his long layoff I will have to go with the over on this prop. He is tough to beat if he goes into the final round with a lead but I have seen him struggle early in more than a few tournaments.
Now as far as the last wagering opportunity as to how many Majors Tiger will win this year I believe the odds are a joke. Winning the Grand Slam is only 15 to1? A sucker bet if there ever was one. I believe the odds should be at least twice that. Of course the lights are shining a little dimmer these days in Las Vegas so you can’t expect to catch a break on ANYTHING. That includes rooms, cocktails, shows and dining. I miss the old Vegas but there is no chance it is EVER coming back. If that lawmaker in New Jersey gets his bill passed making sports wagering legal in every state than I will have absolutely no reason to drive the four hours to the Las Vegas jungle.