Posted on
1/29/2008 5:51:17 PM
Golf Betting - Tour, Tiger Go Their Separate Ways
By BetUS Staff
Anyone who decided to go against the grain with their golf betting last week and wager on someone other than Tiger Woods to win the Buick Invitational probably regretted that decision fairly quickly. Woods shot an opening-round 67 in that event, followed up with a 65 in the second round, and cruised from there to the easy victory on Sunday afternoon.
So does that mean you should go back to Woods for this week? Maybe, but not if you’re wagering only on the PGA Tour. Golf’s top player will be skipping the FBR Open in Scottsdale, Arizona this week, and instead competing overseas in the Dubai Desert Classic. That means someone else will enter this week’s PGA Tour stop as the favorite.
And that someone else is Phil Mickelson, who was questionable to play in the Buick Invitational last week with a respiratory illness but still managed to end up in sixth place. Lefty has won the FBR Open/Phoenix Open twice in his career, in both 2005 and 1996. The oddsmakers at BetUS.com have him pegged as the +600 favorite to win this week.
Steve Stricker and Rory Sabbatini are second on the FBR Open odds list at +1200, although neither golfer has won this event before. Stricker skipped the Buick Invitational, but he’s finished second and fourth in his two outings so far this season. Sabbatini ended up 10 strokes behind Woods last week, but he had two rounds of 67.
Next up on the list for the FBR Open are Aaron Baddeley and Vijay Singh, who are both pegged at +1800. Singh won the Phoenix Open in both 2003 and 1995, while Baddeley is the defending champion at this event. K.J. Choi is listed at +2000, with Stewart Cink and Justin Leonard both at +2500. Cink and Leonard ended up third and fifth last week.
J.B. Holmes, the 2006 champion, is well back at +7500 odds to win this week, while 2001 and 1992 champion Mark Calcavecchia is even farther behind at +10000 odds. Here are the rest of the top odds to get the win down in the desert on the weekend.
Odds To Win FBR Open
Phil Mickelson +600
Steve Stricker +1200
Rory Sabbatini +1200
Aaron Baddeley +1800
Vijay Singh +1800
K.J. Choi +2000
Justin Leonard +2500
Stewart Cink +2500
Mike Weir +3000
Hunter Mahan +3000
Charles Howell +3500
David Toms +4500
Geoff Ogilvy +4500
Robert Allenby +4500
Stuart Appleby +4500
Boo Weekley +5000
Trevor Immelman +5000
Kenny Perry +5000
Chad Campbell +5000
Camilo Villegas +5000
Meanwhile, Woods is the heavy -120 favorite to get the win overseas in the Dubai Desert Classic this weekend. Woods won that European Tour event in 2006. The defending tournament champion is Henrik Stenson, who is second to Woods on the odds chart at +800. Three-time winner Ernie Els (2005, 2002, 1994) is at +800 as well.
Past champions David Howell and Colin Montgomerie are competing in Dubai again this year, but they are both farther back on the odds list. Howell, who won in 1999, is listed at +8000, while Montgomerie, who won in 1996, is a bit better at +4000. Here are the rest of the top contenders on the golf lines at BetUS for the Dubai Desert Classic.
Odds To Win Dubai Desert Classic
Tiger Woods -120
Henrik Stenson +800
Ernie Els +800
Lee Westwood +1200
Sergio Garcia +2500
Nick Dougherty +3500
Colin Montgomerie +4000
Niclas Fasth +4500
Ian Poulter +5000
Robert Karlsson +5000
Richard Sterne +5500
Miguel Angel Jimenez +5500
Martin Kaymer +5500
The PGA Tour will next head to Pebble Beach, California for the annual Pro-Am event. Phil Mickelson won that tournament last season. The European Tour will head to India.
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