Tiger Woods still in Masters field, but long shot at sportsbooks

A week before the Masters tees off at Augusta National, Tiger Woods is still listed in the field and on the betting board.

The 15-time major champion is 125-1 at Circa Sports to win the tournament and 100-1 at Caesars Sportsbook and the Westgate SuperBook, where a bettor wagered $1,046 to win $104,600 on Woods to win his sixth green jacket.

That bet and all others on Woods to win the Masters will be refunded if he doesn’t play. The 46-year-old underwent extensive leg surgery in February 2021 after suffering significant injuries in a car crash.

In December, Woods rode in a cart while playing with his 12-year-old son, Charlie, in the PNC Championship. But the last time he played in an official PGA Tour event was the rescheduled Masters in November 2020.

“I don’t expect him to play,” SuperBook oddsmaker Jeff Sherman said. “His name has not yet been removed from the Masters website as an active player. But I’d still be surprised if he plays.”

Woods, who won the 2019 Masters for his first major victory in 11 years, is 70-1 at the South Point, 60-1 at Station Casinos and 50-1 at BetMGM and Boyd Gaming.

“We started him out at 60-1 when we first opened it, and it has crept as high as 100-1,” Sherman said. “If he’s in there, the odds will drop down to 50 or 60-1 because people will still bet on him. But I think his true odds of winning the event are probably 500-1.

“The biggest issue with him is going to be just walking the course. Getting through four days is going to take its toll. I don’t see how he’ll sustain it. Augusta is not exactly the flattest course.”

Favorites

Jon Rahm is the clear 10-1 favorite at Circa and the SuperBook to win his first green jacket.

“He’s still the starting point from our power ratings,” Sherman said. “I can see him creeping up even more because people haven’t been betting him at short odds.”

Las Vegas resident Collin Morikawa and Justin Thomas are tied for the 14-1 second choice at the SuperBook.

Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka and Scottie Scheffler are each 16-1. Cameron Smith and Viktor Hovland are each 18-1.

Popular picks

Morikawa is the ticket leader and second in money wagered at the Westgate.

“He’s extremely popular with the betting public,” Sherman said. “He had a stretch where his statistics were in the top 10 in every category. He hasn’t performed as of late, but he had a stretch where he was a hot ticket week in and week out.

“As they were betting on him weekly, they were betting him to win the Masters, too.”

Spieth, who has a green jacket and five top-three finishes at the Masters, is the money leader at the Westgate and fourth in tickets.

“He always gets attention at Augusta,” Sherman said. “That’s the one tournament people focus on him because of his history there. Regardless of his form coming in, he’s an extremely popular attraction in the Masters pool.”

Koepka is second in tickets, Cantlay third and Smith fifth.

Thomas is third in money, Bryson DeChambeau fourth and Viktor Hovland fifth.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.