posted June 12, 2008 at 15:44 EST in Golf Articles

BetUS Sportsbook bettors who love to place golf betting wagers among their menu of sports betting opportunities surely know that on any given week, there are dozens of players who could conceivably win a pro tournament - even a major. How else would we have seen the likes of Ben Curtis, Shawn Micheel and Rich Beem walking into the winner's circle in one of the four biggies?

The field is always deep, and usually I tailor my analysis, when I do one, on beating the established favorite and coming up with a value at the current price. But there are probably haven't been many times when I've seen a case where someone would have to make a compelling case to get me OFF the Tiger Woods bandwagon. We'll explore it below.

First, here are some of the online wagering odds on top players to win the tournament as they listed in the order they appear at the BetUS.com website (go to BetUS Sportsbook to get the full list).

BetUS Golf Betting Odds

To Win U.S. Open

June 12-15 -- Torrey Pines (San Diego area)

Tiger Woods +250

Phil Mickelson +700

Ernie Els +3300

Jim Furyk +2500

Vijay Singh +2500

Padraig Harrington +2000

Adam Scott +2800

Justin Rose +2800

K.J. Choi +5000

Lee Westwood +6500

Sergio Garcia +1600

Angel Cabrera +6000

Luke Donald +2500

Retief Goosen +3000

Rory Sabbatini +6000

Aaron Baddeley +6500

Steve Stricker +6500

Henrik Stenson +6000

Stewart Cink +2800

This year the tournament is on a public course, Torrey Pines, which is right outside San Diego. And it will be the longest ever for a major tournament, topping out at 7643 yards. As you might guess, that invites a long hitter. And so it is no surprise that it favors one of the longest hitters of them all - Tiger Woods (+250 to win in BetUS odds).

Woods has taken full advantage of it - in fact, he's had more success on this course than anyone on the PGA Tour, and he's had almost as much success as he's had on any course.

Tiger has played Torrey Pines eleven times, and has won six of those times (he also won a junior world championship there as an amateur). There is only one other course where he's won six times, and that is Firestone, where he's six for ten.

Those six wins at Torrey Pines came in the Buick Invitational, which I guess was fortuitous for both him and the title sponsor, since Tiger is a pitchman for the company. And the last four Buicks have been in his win column, including this year's event in January, when he shot a 19-under par 269 and won by eight strokes. In this U.S. Open Woods will try to join Jack Nicklaus as the only players to win the Open at a site they won earlier in the year.

Besides the length of the course, which is 400 yards longer than at Oakmont for last year's U.S. Open, what makes things look even better for Tiger are that the fairways will be no less than 29 yards wide, and even wider in some places, and there won't be much of a change in the first level of rough. In other words, this course doesn't shape up so markedly different than Woods has encountered there in his extremely successful past. In fact, the only noticeable change, and one which should advantage him, is that the tees are going to be pushed back on many of the holes.

Nonetheless, if there is something that democratizes this tournament to an extent, it is that the Par 5's are going to be more reachable for most players than what would normally be expected, so perhaps Woods does not get the kind of edge he might get at another course in that regard. But make no mistake - Torrey Pines (they;re playing the South course) is clearly designed for the guy who can drive the ball, and Tiger Woods has been dominant at that site.

And what a difference a selection committee makes, huh?

Ironically, Torrey Pines got the U.S, Open assignment over the bid of Los Angeles' Riviera Country Club, where Woods has played nine times without a tour victory - the only site he has played more than four times and come up empty.

None of this is to say Tiger has swept through the U.S. Open in the past - in fact, in eleven Opens, he has "only" two victories, but he has also had two second-place finishes and a third place. As a pro, he's been out of the top 20 only once, and that was in 2006, when he missed the cut.

If you're interested in the chance other players have, it might be instructive to look at past performances in the Buick. Phil Mickelson (+700 in BetUS odds) has obviously played this course many times, as he is a San Diego native. Mickelson has won the Buick Invitational three times (1993, 2000, 2001), but he hasn't finished higher than fourth since Rees Jones re-designed the course. In four U.S. Opens, Mickelson has finished second (or tied for second), but he has not won the championship.

As for other standouts and their Buick results, Ernie Els (+3300 in BetUS odds) has record a tie for sixth as his best finish; Jim Furyk (+2500 in BetUS odds) has finished no better than 37th. Vijay Singh (+2500 in BetUS odds) once tied for eleventh. And Sergio Garcia (+1600 in BetUS odds), who won the Players', has done no better than a tie for eighth. Jose Maria Olazabal, Davis Love III (+12500 at BetUS) and Mark O'Meara, the former Masters and British Open champ who had to go through sectional qualifying last week, have won the Buick on this course.

What makes this semi-interesting is that Woods has laid off for the last two months after knee surgery, but he's gotten the situation resolved and has pointed his efforts toward one of his favorite courses. At 5/2 (+250 in the BetUS golf betting odds), I see value.

Take a swing at online sports betting in the BetUS.com online sportsbook. Not just par for the course, in theBetUS.com sportsbook we have all the golf odds, PGA lines and props you’ll ever need for Tiger Woods betting, U.S Open betting and more importantly golf betting. Join BetUS today to make betting on golf a moneymaker for you.

(Charles Jay of http://www.ebookies.com shoots a double eagle every day as a contributor to the BetUS Locker Room)

Take a swing at online sports betting in the BetUS.com online sportsbook. Not just par for the course, in theBetUS.com sportsbook we have all the golf odds, lines and props you’ll ever need to bet on golf. Join BetUS today to make betting on golf earn you cash.