Sportsbet Blog

Leading online bookmaker Sportsbet will refund all bets placed on the outright winner of the 2010 US Masters if Tiger Woods wins.
“It’s fair to say Tiger’s preparation hasn’t been ideal and we’re happy to take him on this week, so much so that we’re prepared to refund bets on everyone else in the field if Tiger wins,” said Sportsbet’s Haydn Lane.

“Taking a stance against Tiger is normally folly for a bookmaker, but we see this as our chance to finally get one back on him.”
Sportsbet is also offering the best price available on Tiger to win the Masters, currently at $6, with some other bookmakers posting as little as $4 on a Tiger victory.
In novelty markets, Sportsbet is offering $3 on Tiger to score 16 or more birdies at Augusta, $15 on him leading from start to finish, and $41 on him re-entering the clinic during the tournament.

In November last year, Sportsbet paid out early on Tiger Woods to win the Australian Masters after two rounds when he was three strokes ahead. Woods faltered in the third round to share the lead with two others, before he shot clear on the final day to win the tournament.

If you haven’t already got a Sportsbet account now is the best time to signup. You get the Tiger refund promo and up to $200 in free bets. See the Sportsbet site for more info on this great offer and to place your 2010 US Masters bets.

All markets and odds courtesy of Sportsbet
2010 US Masters Outright Winner
$6           Tiger Woods
$14         Phil Mickleson
$15         Ernie Els
$17         Padraig Harrington
$23         Retief Goosen
$23         Lee Westwood
$26         Steve Stricker
$31         Paul Casey
$34         Jim Furyk
$34         Camilo Villegas
$34         Ian Poulter
$34         Anthony Kim
—————————
Australians
$41         Geoff Ogilvy
$71         Robert Allenby
$81         Adam Scott
$201       John Senden
$251       Mark Leishman
$351       Nathan Green

TIGER SPECIALS
Will Tiger Woods make the cut at Augusta?
$1.15     Yes, he will make the cut
$5.25     No, he will not make the cut

Where will Tiger finish at Augusta?
$1.80     First to fifth
$4.50     Sixth to 10th
$7           11th to 20th
$3.75     21st of worse
$41         Back at the clinic during the tournament

Front-running Tiger
$15         Tiger to lead after each round and win the tournament

Tiger’s Round 1 score at Augusta
$19         64 or less
$15         65-66
$4.80     67-68
$3.50     69-70
$3.75     71-72
$4.25     73-74
$4.50     75 or more

Tiger Woods vs The Field
$6           Tiger Woods
$1.11     The Field

How many Birdies will Tiger hole at Augusta?
$17         0-6
$6.50     7-9
$3.50     10-12
$2.85     13-15
$3           16 or more

To see the full US Masters betting options and latest odds checkout the Sportsbet website.

As I mentioned in my last post, Tiger Woods’ win over the weekend at the Arnold Palmer invitational at Bay Hill has confirmed his position as hot favourite to claim his fifth title at Augusta next weekend, which would put him into outright second for titles won behind Jack Nicklaus.

But Tiger won’t be the only show in town, with a couple of other golfers looking to create their own piece of history.

Can Harrington Claim Another Major?

Padraig Harrington stormed home in the second half of 2008 to defend his British Open title before claiming the U.S PGA just three weeks later. He is now in a position where it is possible for him to hold all four golf majors at the one time, a feat that has been achieved once before by Tiger Woods, and which the press have already christened ‘The Paddy Slam’.

Harrington seems to have grown more comfortable at Augusta over the last two years with a 5th and a 7th place finish to his name. He has had a sluggish start to this season and by his own admission has probably not played as many tournaments as would be ideal before The Masters.

He is trying not to burn himself out too early in the season, preferring to focus more on defending his titles later in the year. His 20th place finish at Doral two weekends ago was a good sign that his game may be coming together at the right time, but he may find it very tough to continue his impressive streak at the majors.

The Great White Shark Back For One More Shot

The other interest story of the tournament will be the return of Greg Norman to Augusta for the first time since 2002. I’m sure Norman has mixed feelings about his relationship with the place – kind of like a girlfriend that keeps screwing you over but you still manage to find an excuse to go back for one more shot at the title.

The Shark is sure to be much more relaxed this time around and hopefully this will allow him to play like he did last year at The British Open. I think the least his fans will be hoping for is for him to make the cut…any more than that will just be icing on the cake.

So Who Are The Contenders?

Phil Mickelson

He has managed to hit some form at the right time with his win a couple of weeks ago at Doral. One of Lefty’s strengths is his short game, which allows him to claw his way out of some tricky situations and is a real asset around Augusta. He has been installed as second favourite, and is the only other player under $10 in the betting

Geoff Ogilvy

The form golfer so far this year, the unassuming Aussie has proved himself to be the world’s pre-eminent match play golfer and will be looking to further strengthen his reputation as a player who produces his best performances on the big stage.

Sergio Garcia

One of the best ball strikers in the game, the Spaniard is always going to struggle at the majors because the kid can’t putt as indicated by him being ranked outside the top 150 putters on the tour.

He can get away with it in smaller tournaments, but once the heat is on at a major, his flaws are exposed and his technique breaks down all the more. Would need to be close to perfect from tee to green to give himself a chance. He has the length off the tee, and the crisp iron play to do it but it still may not be enough.

The Young Guns

After fantastic seasons in 2008, Camillio Villegas and Anthony Kim are yet to hit their straps in ’09 but both players have the game to match it with the best come Sunday

Who”s Got The Edge In The Stats

If you’re the sort of punter that loves to use stats to help you make you’re decision, then for The Masters you can’t go wrong by looking at who the hot putters are. If you can’t roll the rock you’re going to find it very hard to win on these extremely tricky greens.

Both Mickelson & Ogilvy are ranked in the top 15 for their putting…but then again so is David ‘yep, I’m still playing golf’ Duval. So who knows

I’m going to go with Ogilvy. No Aussie has ever won the green jacket, and Ogilvy represents our best chance by far. Scott and Allenby are both poor putters and no other Aussie has really shown any signs of being in the sort of form needed.

If you are keen for a bet on Ogilvy I just noticed that Canbet have him at $23 at the moment while the other two major bookies have him at $17 – and you can also get yourself up to a $100 free bet when you sign up.

The practice rounds begin on 6th April, with the main event kicking off on the 9th.

Good Luck

Crooksy

How good is it to have Tiger Woods back? Unless you’re one of his competitors obviously – what he did to Sean O’Hair at Bay Hill yesterday has got to leave a very big impression on a relatively young golfer. Although O’Hair is the owner of two tour titles he was unable to hold his nerve yesterday, squandering a five shot lead over the rampaging man in red.

Finding Form With The Flatstick

It wasn’t completely his fault…Tiger’s Scotty Cameron putter had a lot to say as well, draining putts down the stretch that would drive a heart through the toughest of men. He sank a 26ft birdie putt at 15 to draw level with the 26 year old, before sinking a 16ft birdie putt in failing light on the 18th to claim his 66th career title.

Up until yesterday Woods had looked steady in his return from a potentially career threatening knee injury without looking close to his dominating best. But as is his style, a little drama was all it took to bring out the competitive animal in the world’s greatest golfer.

Tiger Hits His Straps At Best Possible Time

And what a time to find that sort of form, a week out from The Masters. Bay Hill is one of Tiger’s favourite playgrounds having won there on five previous occasions. He could not have asked for a better event to play at leading in to the first of the years majors.

It’s funny, I was just looking at the odds for The Masters yesterday after players had finished their third rounds and it looked like Tiger might struggle to be in contention on the final day. I noticed Woods was at about $3.50 to win at Augusta the following week, with Mickelson his closest rival just under the $10 mark. My immediate thought was that those were ridiculous odds even for Tiger. He’d not really shown enough to warrant such a price.

Hold on a second while I remove my foot…there that’s better. The bookies (as is often the case) had it about right.

Although I do think that when it comes to Tiger they are so scared of being burned they immediately offer the lowest possible price they can get away with. With his victory over the weekend they have all the justification they need to offer such a low price.

So can you even consider betting against Tiger to win this week at Augusta?

Of course you can, but as always when you bet against him, you are taking a risk. On the other hand you aren’t really getting value for your money if you do place a wager on him.

What to do, what to do…

Well one thing you can do is look for bookies that offer a market on who will win with Tiger taken out of the field. I had a quick look tonight and couldn’t see anyone offering it just yet, but once the bookies have their markets framed a little later in the week it may be worth checking out.

It’s amazing to think that in the sport of golf, traditionally considered one of the toughest to dominate week in week out, a man who has just come back from surgery is priced so low in the markets that it makes it almost impossible to bet on him. And yet he is so good that punters who have been burned in the past are scared to back against him.

This then forces bookies to offer manufactured markets based on him not being considered to encourage punters to bet, something that is usually only seen in team sports such as the English Premier League where the big 4 are often taken out to create a separate market.

What About The Aussies

Geoff Ogilvy can’t be in much better form, if I’m going to risk some money against Tiger, I might as well do it on an Aussie. Adam Scott is struggling, Allenby hasn’t won in the U.S since 2001 and no other Aussies really impress.

Apart from the betting, all eyes will be on The Shark, as he takes another stroll around one of the world’s great courses. It will be good to see him in action and all the fans will be hoping he can show at least some of the form we saw at Royal Birkdale last year.

Crooksy