2009 Masters – He’s Back!
I have been looking at various sportsbooks in the last couple of weeks and Tiger Woods was the overwhelming favorite and I was a bit suspect, as he had not won since coming back from a major knee surgery. However, now it looks as if he is definitely THE man to beat at the upcoming Masters, as he roared back and birdied the 72nd hole and won Bay Hill yesterday.
Woods started the last round at Bay Hill 5 strokes back of leader Sean O’Hair, but O’Hair only shot a 1 over for the day, which opened the door for Woods. Bad idea Sean. Woods chipped away at the lead and shot a 67, including sinking a 12 foot birdie on the last hole to win the title.
Woods’ win does not bode well for the field, as I have been hearing all week that the Masters is Tiger’s tournament and how can it not be, as he has won the Green Jacket 37 times and won by an average of 14.6 strokes. Ok, well those facts are a tad exaggerated, but he has won the Masters 4 times in the last 12 years.
While Woods heads into the Masters as the big favorite there are other golfers that have a legit chance.
Phil Mickelson won the WGC-CA Championship and the Northern Trust Open and heads into the Masters as the golfer with the 2nd best odds to win the Green Jacket. Phil has played in only 6 events this season and he has finished in the top 10 3 times.
Another player to watch is Geoff Ogilvy. Ogilvy has already won twice this year, Mercedes-Benz Championship and World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship, and the new #1 ranked player in the world is leading the tour in putting average. That will be huge on the tough greens at Augusta.
Other players that have decent odds for winning the Masters are Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington, and Retief Goosen, who has already won this season at the Transitions Championship a couple of weeks back.
A good long shot pick may be 2007 Masters champion Zach Johnson. He has played in 8 tournaments this year and has 3 top 10′s. Johnson also won the Sony Open in Hawaii in the 2nd tournament of the season. He knows how to win and he has low odds at sportsbooks to win his second Green Jacket.
It is always hard to bet against Woods in any tournament, especially the Masters. However, it is a double edged sword when betting on Tiger, as he wins many of the tournaments he plays in, but he is always the overwhelming favorite and because of it the odds posted on him do not give good payouts.
Dont Agree? Let us Know. We love hearing your thoughts and picks!
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