posted May 28, 2008 at 13:48 EST in Golf Articles

Phil Mickelson didn’t have a memorable run at the Memorial Tournament last year, but those doing any golf betting on him this time around hope he can turn in a better result.

Mickelson lasted just 11 holes at the Muirfield Village tournament in 2007; he withdrew because of a wrist injury. Lefty has never won this prestigious event (rival Tiger Woods – who won’t be in the field this week – has earned the victory there three times), but he has some momentum on his side as he strives to hoist the trophy after Sunday’s final golf betting round.

At the Crowne Plaza Invitational last week, sports betting enthusiasts saw Mickelson shoot a 2-under 68 in the final round to win by a single stroke over Tim Clark and Rod Pampling. The world’s No. 2 ranked player had two rounds of 68 and two rounds of 65 at Colonial en route to the victory. Mickelson also sits in second in the FedExCup standings and on the money list.

So despite having never won the Memorial, Mickelson has been installed as the +650 sportsbook favorite to get the win this week by the BetUS sportsbook oddsmakers. That puts him well ahead of the next two golfers on that odds list – Sergio Garcia is at +1600, and Stewart Cink is at +1800. Garcia finished in a tie for 23rd place with five other golfers in the Memorial last year, while Cink sat in a tie with three other golfers for fifth place at the end of the event.

Jim Furyk (+2000), Geoff Ogilvy (+2200), and Ernie Els (+2500) are next on the odds list, and they all had respectable results at the Memorial last year as well. Furyk was in the tie with Garcia for 23rd place, while Ogilvy ended up in ninth place, and Els matched Woods with a 15th-place result. Anthony Kim, in 35th last year, is next with +2800 odds.

Also at +2800 odds is K.J. Choi, who is the defending Memorial champion. Choi shot a 7-under 65 in the final round last year to beat Ryan Moore by one stroke and both Pampling and Kenny Perry by two strokes. Moore is well back at a longshot +8000 odds to win this year, while Perry (+3300) and Pampling (+5000) are higher up on the chart.

Other notable golfers and their sports betting odds to win the Memorial this year include Luke Donald (+3000), Boo Weekley (+3500), Fred Couples (+3500), Aaron Baddeley (+4000), Sean O’Hair (+4500), and Stuart Appleby (+4500). Bart Bryant, the 2005 champion, is at +5500, while 2006 champ Carl Pettersson is at +6500. Other past winners in the field this week include Perry (in both 2003 and 1991), Els (2004), Furyk (2002), and Couples (1998).

Overseas this week the golfers of the European Tour will be participating in the Celtic Manor Wales Open at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, Wales. Richard Sterne won this event last year by a single stroke over four other golfers, but the oddsmakers at BetUS have him listed farther back at +3500 odds to repeat as the tourney champion.

Padraig Harrington is pegged as the +900 online betting favorite to win in Wales, with Miguel Angel Jimenez just behind him on the list at +1600 sportsbook odds. Jimenez got the win in the BMW PGA Championship in Surrey, England last week, beating Oliver Wilson in a playoff. Martin Kaymer and Robert Karlsson are both at +1800 to win this week, with Bradley Dredge at +2200, Wilson at +2500, and Niclas Fasth and Nick Dougherty both at +3000.

Karlsson and Jimenez are both past champions at this tournament – Karlsson won in 2005, and Jimenez took the trophy in 2005. Paul McGinley, the 2001 champion, is listed at +3300 odds to win this week. Simon Khan, the event champion in 2004, is farther back on the list at +6500 odds, and 2002 champ Paul Lawrie has bigger odds of +7500.

The European Tour heads across the channel next week for the Bank Austria GolfOpen at Fontana Golf Club in Vienna. The PGA Tour, meanwhile, will next convene at the Stanford St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind in Memphis. The 2008 U.S. Open Championship is then set to get underway on June 12 at Torrey Pines out in San Diego.

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