Tiger Woods 30-1 to win Memorial Tournament in PGA Tour return
Tiger Woods will return to the PGA Tour on Thursday for the first time since February at the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village in Ohio, where the five-time event winner is a 30-1 long shot in a loaded field.
“He’s 30-1 on a course he owns. That ought to tell you how hard it is to win a tournament,” William Hill sportsbook director Nick Bogdanovich said. “Nowadays, to win a tournament, you’ve got to beat King Kong and Godzilla. These guys are just monsters: (Bryson) DeChambeau, (Justin) Thomas, (Rory) McIlroy, (Patrick) Cantlay, (Dustin Johnson), (Collin) Morikawa.
“It’s so hard to win a tournament.”
Woods is the 12th choice at William Hill behind DeChambeau (10-1), Thomas (10-1), Cantlay (12-1), McIlroy (13-1), Johnson (15-1), Jon Rahm (18-1), Morikawa (22-1), Webb Simpson (25-1), Viktor Hovland (25-1), Hideki Matsuyama (28-1) and Brooks Koepka (28-1).
The 15-time major champion last played on the tour at the Genesis Invitational, where he finished with a 77 in the final round and placed last among those who made the cut at 11 over par.
But Woods looked much better in late May, when he and Peyton Manning teamed to beat Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady 1 up in an exhibition match that raised $20 million for COVID-19 relief efforts.
“His form is a complete unknown. Who knows what he’s got,” Bogdanovich said. “The last time we saw him in the exhibition he looked pretty darn good.”
For perhaps the first time, the PGA Tour is hosting a tournament at the same course on back-to-back weekends. Morikawa, a Las Vegas resident, beat Thomas in a playoff Sunday to win the Workday Charity Open, which also took place at Muirfield Village.
“This is the most unique thing of all time,” Bogdanovich said. “The guys who just played it have to have some type of advantage.”
But not on the betting board, as Westgate vice president of risk Jeff Sherman pointed out.
“I think it’s a disadvantage because the odds are accounted for what they did last week,” Sherman said. “I would look elsewhere than what guys did last week to find value.
“Last week, Morikawa was 35-1. Now I see him at 20-1 to 25-1, and it’s a stronger field. If you want to bet Morikawa, you missed your chance.”
Betting on golf has increased each week at Las Vegas sportsbooks since the PGA Tour returned June 14, and Sherman and Bogdanovich expect another record-setting handle for a nonmajor tournament this week.
“The handle for golf right now is through the roof because it’s one of the only sports around,” B0gdanovich said. “It’s on fire right now.”
William Hill took six figures in wagers on the Workday Charity Open, according to Bogdanovich.
“Golf, I’ve said for the longest time, is the worst underperforming sport of all time,” he said. “Now, through this COVID(-19 pandemic), people have gotten to it.”
Sherman said Woods will only help increase the handle.
“We have him in props, plus you basically have the strength of the field in a major,” he said. “DeChambeau and McIlroy are returning, and everyone is playing this week. I expect more money to be on DeChambeau than Tiger this week. We’ll see.
“This will exceed anything we’ve done prior.”
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.
