Tiger Woods’ presence on the grounds of Augusta National has had a seismic effect on not only the patrons at this year’s rendition of the Masters, but on sports bettors everywhere as he checks in on Tuesday as the most bet on player at the 2022 Masters.
Woods’ Ontario sports betting odds have moved from +5500 to +5000 at DraftKings Sportsbook Ontario, putting him ahead of Canadian Corey Conners and others on the odds board. His odds improved even more at other sportsbooks, including Caesars.
Woods on Tuesday said "as of right now, I feel like I am going to play" on Thursday. He was also asked at the news conference whether he believed he could win the Masters and he said, "I do."
This year’s Masters is the first with a fully regulated and open Ontario sports betting market. Sports betting and iGaming launched in the province on Monday.
Woods played a practice round on Monday with Fred Couples and Justin Thomas, reportedly hitting five of seven fairways and five greens during his nine-hole round. Crowds were massive, even for a practice round with patrons lining the tee boxes and fairways 20 rows deep. He was also out there again Tuesday practicing.
This buzz and excitement is something that only Woods can generate and it’s no surprise that it’s carried over to the betting markets. Oddsmakers could likely put whatever odds they want to on Woods and he would be the most bet upon player for the Masters out of sheer popularity.
Bets on Woods have always been looked at differently than any other player. In his prime, you could find odds on Woods vs. the rest of the field to win with Woods sometimes being the favorite in that matchup, which would be unheard of with any of today’s players.
Even now, his recent form or health seem to be of no concern to bettors as a +3500 number is just as bet on as a +10000 number would be with fans just happy to have him back playing and excited to be betting on him again.
Updated Masters Odds
| ⭐ Jon Rahm | +1000 |
| ⭐ Scottie Scheffler | +1200 |
| ⭐ Justin Thomas | +1200 |
| ⭐ Cameron Smith | +1400 |
| ⭐ Dustin Johnson | +1600 |
| ⭐ Xander Schauffele | +2000 |
| ⭐ Brooks Koepka | +2000 |
| ⭐ Viktor Hovland | +2000 |
| ⭐ Rory McIlroy | +2000 |
| ⭐ Collin Morikawa | +2000 |
| ⭐ Tiger Woods | +5000 |
| ⭐ Corey Conners | +5500 |
Breaking Down Woods’ Odds
To get a more accurate picture of what oddsmakers think of Woods one has to look at the “Make the Cut” section of the DraftKings Sportsbook Ontario betting board. HHis odds to make the cut this week are -115, the same as they are for him to miss the cut, signifying that the books think he is just as likely to miss the cut as he is to make it to the weekend.
To put this into perspective, the top Canadian, Conners, is a longer shot to win the tournament at odds of +5500 but his odds to make the cut are -360, meaning oddsmakers like him to make the cut this week (he’s +250 to miss the cut).
To correlate his made cut odds with his to win odds, Woods would have to be +12500 or so to win this week, but with the amount of bets that come in on Woods regardless of price, any sportsbook would just have too much liability in the case that he won at such a number.
It can’t be forgotten that Woods just being at the Masters can be seen as a victory. He hasn’t played a tour event since 2020, as the injuries from a car accident from February 2021 had many thinking he would never play a round on the PGA Tour again.
Expectations Too High for Woods?
With this being his first competitive tournament back from injury, expectations should be tempered, especially considering his form before the accident was nothing great. He had a 38th-place finish in the 2020 Masters (the November edition), a 72nd-place finish in a 76-man field at the Zozo Championship and a missed cut at the U.S .Open (also played in fall that year) making up his three prior starts.
He will always hold win equity at Augusta National with the experience needed to play it, but the number of exceptional golfers on tour right now standing in his way make a win seem like a very unlikely scenario.
Not only is this Tiger Woods, it is also the most-popular tournament on the PGA Tour and one that he has had a ton of success at. His odds can be looked at separately from the rest of the field, as any movement in Woods’ odds seems to have little or no effect on the rest of the field.
When a golfer like Conners moves from +7000 to +5500, as we saw a couple of weeks ago after the match play, generally a few golfers also move from the +5500 range to the +7000 range to take his place. That isn’t happening with Woods, and his presence on the odds boards shouldn’t convince any bettors to avoid placing bets on other golfers with similar or better odds to win the 2022 Masters.
