Rick Scuteri / AP
In this Jan. 29, 2015, file photo, Tiger Woods tees off on the 17th hole during the first round of the Phoenix Open golf tournament in Scottsdale, Ariz. Tiger Woods has made up his mind — he will play the Masters. After two trips to Augusta National this week, Woods announced his return to competition on his website Friday, April 3, 2015. He wrote: “I’m playing the Masters. It’s obviously very important to me, and I want to be there.”
Wednesday, April 8, 2015 | 2 a.m.
Related Coverage
Tiger Woods expressed without a whimper that he was capable of winning the 2015 Masters during his media session in Augusta, Ga., Tuesday afternoon.
Oddsmakers’ confidence of the former top-ranked golfer in the world is more shaken. Woods starts Thursday’s first round of play in the 79th Masters at Augusta National with unusually high odds after missing the last two months of the PGA Tour schedule to work on his game.
Woods is 40-to-1 at the Westgate Las Vegas Superbook, where the city’s foremost golf odds expert Jeff Sherman sets the lines. That’s four times higher than he’s ever been since earning his first of four green jackets in 1997.
The only time Woods hasn’t been favored at the Masters since the turn of the century was 2011, when he came in at 10-to-1. This year, 12 golfers are ahead of the 39-year-old.
Combined, that dozen has won 12 majors. Woods has sat with two more major titles than them, 14, for the last seven years since heroically winning the 2008 US Open in a playoff round on one leg.
This week marks a decade since Woods last won the Masters.
There are an excess of measures to illustrate how far Woods has fallen since his heyday. Las Vegas numbers might be the most jarring.
Once annually less than 50-to-1 to win golf’s Grand Slam, Woods was 500-to-1 to pull off the feat earlier this year before the Superbook pulled the prop off of the board due to his absence. Woods was a minus-600 (risking $6 to win $1) favorite to go without winning a single major in 2015.
The odds on Woods winning five more majors in his career to beat Jack Nicklaus’ all-time record, considered an inevitably as recently as a few years ago, are up to 15-to-1 at offshore sports books.
But despite his decline, Woods still carries far more clout than any of his peers at the betting window. That’s why the Superbook posted four proposition wagers on his performance this week before releasing the rest of its betting menu.
They were predictably harsh. Woods is a slight underdog at Even money to make the cut, which he’s done in 18 of 19 previous Masters, with odds of minus-120 that he won’t see a third round.
To finish in the top 20, he’s offered at plus-300 (risking $1 to win $3.50) with the price on him falling short of that cutoff coming back at minus-360. Adjusting for the house’s hold, the odds imply only a 23 percent chance that Woods makes the top 20.
The over/under on his first round score is 73.5, two strokes higher than his average for the course.
The sole golfers with more betting options than Woods are the two favorites — Rory McIlroy and Bubba Watson. The attention paid to Woods is overshadowing what could be historic weekends for McIlroy, 6-to-1, and Watson, 10-to-1.
Watson attempts to become the second man behind Nicklaus in 1966 to win the Masters three times in four years. The nearby University of Georgia graduate won in 2012 and 2014 at 20-to-1 and 30-to-1, respectively.
McIlroy, the top-ranked golfer in the world, is missing only a Masters championship from his trophy case of majors. McIlroy, the 25-year-old who’s now seen as a more realistic threat to break Nicklaus’ record, can rest easy in knowing Woods predicted him winning “many” Masters before the end of his career.
At the Masters, it always comes back to Woods.
Check below for the full list of Masters betting options from the Superbook with a few of Talking Points’ favorite picks bolded.
Matchups
Rory McIlroy minus-140 vs. Jordan Speith plus-120
Dustin Johnson plus-110 vs. Bubba Watson minus-130
Jason Day minus-125 vs. Adam Scott plus-105
Phil Mickelson plus-115 vs. Henrik Stenson minus-135
Patrick Reed plus-120 vs. Jimmy Walker minus-140
Matt Kuchar minus-130 vs. Lee Westwood plus-110
Sergio Garcia minus-130 vs. Justin Rose plus-110
Louis Oosthuizen Even vs. Brandt Snedeker minus-120
Keegan Bradley minus-110 vs. Hideki Matsuyama minus-110
Paul Casey minus-110 vs. Ian Poulter minus-110
Billy Horschel minus-110 vs. Hunter Mahan minus-110
Bill Haas minus-110 vs. Ryan Moore minus-110
Zach Johnson minus-110 vs. Victor Dubuisson minus-110
Russell Henley minus-120 vs. Chris Kirk Even
Charley Hoffman plus-105 vs. Kevin Na minus-125
Rory McIlroy minus-140 vs. Bubba Watson plus-120
Rory McIlroy minus-155 vs. Jason Day plus-135
Bubba Watson minus-120 vs. Jason Day Even
Dustin Johnson minus-110 vs. Adam Scott minus-110
Dustin Johnson minus-125 vs. Henrik Stenson plus-105
Dustin Johnson minus-145 vs. Phil Mickelson plus-125
Adam Scott minus-120 vs. Henrik Stenson Even
Adam Scott minus-140 vs. Phil Mickelson plus-120
Jimmy Walker minus-120 vs. Matt Kuchar Even
Jimmy Walker minus-125 vs. Justin Rose plus-105
Patrick Reed plus-110 vs. Matt Kuchar minus-130
Patrick Reed Even vs. Justin Rose minus-120
Matt Kuchar minus-120 vs. Justin Rose Even
Rickie Fowler minus-110 vs. J.B. Holmes minus-110
Rickie Fowler plus-105 vs. Sergio Garcia minus-125
J.B. Holmes plus-110 vs. Sergio Garcia minus-130
Tiger Woods plus-190 vs. Brandt Snedeker minus-220
Brandt Snedeker plus-110 vs. Lee Westwood minus-130
Louis Oosthuizen minus-130 vs. Paul Casey plus-110
Louis Oosthuizen minus-130 vs. Hideki Matsuyama plus-110
Paul Casey minus-110 vs. Hideki Matsuyama minus-110
Billy Horschel plus-115 vs. Keegan Bradley minus-135
Jim Furyk minus-165 vs. Ian Poulter plus-145
Martin Kaymer Even vs. Angel Cabrera minus-120
Ryan Palmer minus-130 vs. Charl Schwartzel plus-110
Victor Dubuisson minus-120 vs. Hunter Mahan Even
Zach Johnson minus-130 vs. Russell Henley plus-110
Ryan Moore minus-120 vs. Gary Woodland Even
Bill Haas minus-145 vs. Webb Simpson plus-125
Luke Donald minus-125 vs. Branden Grace plus-105
Graeme McDowell minus-110 vs. Jason Dufner minus-110
Chris Kirk plus-105 vs. Jamie Donaldson minus-125
Jonas Blixt minus-130 vs. Padraig Harrington plus-110
Kevin Na minus-125 vs. Shane Lowry plus-105
Ernie Els plus-120 vs. Charley Hoffman minus-140
Miguel Angel Jimenez plus-120 vs. Fred Couples minus-140
Danny Willett minus-130 vs. Bernd Wiesberger plus-110
John Senden minus-120 vs. Joost Luiten Even
Brendon Todd minus-145 vs. Matt Every plus-125
Thongchai Jaidee minus-120 vs. Camilo Villegas Even
Stephen Gallacgher Even vs. Robert Streb minus-120
Ben Martin minus-120 vs. Kevin Streelman Even
Bernhard Langer plus-110 vs. Vijay Singh minus-130
Over/Unders
Winning Score: 277.5
36-hole cut: 147.5
Lowest completed round by any golfer: 65.5
Tiger Woods first round score: 73.5
Rory McIlroy first round score: 70.5
Jordan Speith first round score: 71
Bubba Watson first round score: 71
Jason Day first round score: 71
Dustin Johnson first round score: 71.5
Adam Scott first round score: 71.5
Phil Mickelson first round score: 72
Keegan Bradley first round score: 72.5
Zach Johnson first round score: 72.5
Billy Horschel first round score: 73
Rory McIlroy finish position: 9.5
Jordan Speith finish position: 12.5
Bubba Watson finish position: 12.5
Jason Day finish position: 14.5
Dustin Johnson finish position: 17.5
Adam Scott finish position: 18.5
Henrik Stenson finish position: 19.5
Phil Mickelson finish position: 22.5
Rickie Fowler finish position: 26.5
Sergio Garcia finish position: under 24.5
Propositions
Will there be a hole in one: Yes minus-120, No Even money
Will there be a playoff: Yes plus-270, No minus-330
Will Rory McIlroy win: Yes plus-600, No minus-900
Will Tiger Woods finish in the top 20: Yes plus-300, No minus-360
Will Tiger Woods make the cut: Yes minus-110, No minus-110
Will Tiger Woods withdraw after starting: Yes plus-500, No minus-700
Will Rory McIlroy make the cut: Yes minus-800, No plus-550
Will Jordan Speith make the cut: Yes minus-600, No plus-450
Will Jimmy Walker make the cut: Yes minus-400, No plus-330
Will Matt Kuchar make the cut: Yes minus-360, No plus-300
Will Justin Rose make the cut: Yes minus-335, No plus-275
Will Jim Furyk make the cut: Yes minus-335, No plus-275
Will J.B. Holes make the cut: Yes minus-300, No plus-250
Will Hunter Mahan make the cut: Yes minus-215, No plus-185
Will Ryan Moore make the cut: Yes minus-215, No plus-185
Will Fred Couples make the cut: Yes minus-175, No plus-155
Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy