Golf Betting: Tiger’s Odds Cut for US Masters

In the wake of Tiger Woods’ last-gasp victory in the Bay Hill Invitational, bookmaker William Hill have slashed the odds on Woods winning the US Masters from 9/4 to just 7/4. Woods’ Bay Hill triumph was only his third competitive appearance after eight months on the sidelines following reconstructive knee surgery and his sixth win in the event.

However, despite the lengthy layoff, it appears Woods has returned to the fairways better than ever and that has the bookies running scared of the American winning at Augusta in April. For thousands of William Hill punters, Woods’ return to form has seen them collect on the US Masters already, as Hills have reportedly paid out to those who had bet the world’s Number One to win the first Major before he had even returned to action.

Similarly, William Hills’ odds on the number of Majors won by Tiger in 2009 have also been subject to change following his Orlando victory and Hills offer 13/8 that Tiger wins no Majors this season; 6/4 that he wins just one; 11/4 that he picks up any two; 11/1 any three, and 20/1 about a clean sweep of all four Majors.

Meanwhile, Irishman Padraig Harrington can be backed at 150/1 with William Hills to complete his own ‘Grand Slam’ by capturing both the US Masters and US Open to add to his British Open and USPGA successes.

‘In all the hype over Tiger’s return people have forgotten that Padraig Harrington has won the last two Majors and could have his own ‘Padraig’-Slam to boast about if he collects the next two,’ said William Hills spokesman, Graham Sharpe.

Kjeldsen Wins Andalucia Open

To Soren Kjeldsen, winning golf tournaments seems akin to waiting on a bus… you wait ages to record a tournament win, and then two come along in quick succession. Only four months after a European Tour title win at the Volvo Masters at Valderrama and with only one previous win in some 300 tournaments prior to that, the Dane has added again to his tally with victory in the Andalucia Open in Seville.

Kjeldsen won through in the final round from Scotland’s David Drysdale after a protracted battle over the closing holes before edging out his opponent by a comfortable three shot margin. Kjeldsen tried his best to throw the title away at the long 16th hole when he found the lake with his second shot and then had to sink a 5-metre putt to stay level with the Scot, before a birdie on the 17th gave the Dane a two-shot cushion after Drysdale had failed to save par by failing to get up-and-down from a greenside bunker.

Drysdale, who himself was bidding for his first tour victory in 166 starts, found another bunker off the tee at 18 before knocking his second shot into the water and eventually carded a double-bogey, effectively giving Kjeldsen the title by default. Although the Dane himself carded a bogey, it made little difference and Kjeldsen duly picked up the £156,000 first-prize and also earned himself a crack at the US Masters into the bargain.

Colin Montgomerie, who was playing in his 500th competitive Tour event as a professional faded after an opening 67 to finish in 31st place.

Tiger Roars Again at Bay Hill

Tiger Woods sent out a warning to the rest of the golfing world that he is back and ready to add to his Majors tally after overhauling a five-stroke deficit in the final round of the Bay Hill Invitational tournament to win the Arnold Palmer hosted event. It was Tiger’s 66th title and his first since returning to competitive action following knee surgery.  It was also the sixth time he has won the event.

Woods fired a final-round 67, to peg back countryman and overnight leader Sean O’Hair, who folded under the intense media spotlight and pressure of playing with Tiger to shoot a one-over-par 73 and lose out by a single shot. O’Hair had been chasing a third PGA Tour title.

Woods had started the day brightly with birdies on the second and third holes, and finally drew level with O’Hair on the 15th following a 25-foot birdie putt. Tiger edged in front at the 16th after O’Hair bogeyed the hole to Woods’ par, but Woods promptly gave the shot back on 17. It wasn’t until the 72nd hole that Tiger finally sealed the win to claim the title and $1.08million in fading light at the Orlando venue by sinking a 16-foot putt for birdie.

Although defeated, O’Hair wasn’t too downbeat about missing out. In an interview afterwards he said:

“I’ve got to look at the positive side of this, I’m playing great and the swing changes that I’m making are coming around … I didn’t give myself enough birdie opportunities out there today.”

Woods was understandably delighted to be back among the winners and in a greenside interview after celebrating the win with his caddie, Stevie Williams, said:

“It feels good to be back in contention again and to feel the rush and to have to deal with everything coming down the stretch. It’s been a while but it kind of felt good.”

Zach Johnson, the 2007 US Masters champion, finished a further two strokes behind after shooting a final round 69.

Greg Norman Goes Back to the Masters

At last year’s Open Championship one of the great stories was the wonderful play of Greg Norman. He contended for three days but fell out of the lead on the Sunday back nine as Padraig Harrington won his third major. In addition to all the adulation Norman received for his third place finish was Read more

Tiger Going Down Under

Recently the Australia Golf Tour announced that Tiger Woods would be playing in the 2009 Australian Masters this November. That appears to be great news for Australian golf. The U.S. PGA tour is finishing its’ Fall Series at that time and Woods rarely plays in any of those events. It is a bit of a coup that the Masters was able to Read more

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