The betting lines have gone crazy over a renewed Tiger Woods.
Fresh off the comeback that pal Michael Jordan called the greatest of all time, Woods winning the Masters has vaulted Tiger into the favorite’s role for every tournament he will tee it up in for the rest of the year.
I’m not sold, even though it made for great theater.
Woods has made a remarkable recovery from multiple back surgeries including spinal fusion. We saw the comeback begin last year when he contended in the British Open and PGA and then won the Tour Championship on the last weekend if the season.
Tiger stayed in contention over the first two days at Augusta National, the same course on which he had already won four Green Jackets. That familiarity cannot be overstated in his taking the lead on the back nine Sunday and holding on to win over Brooks Koepka and Francesco Molinari, who both dumped balls into the water at the par 3 12th and missed makeable putts on the last few holes.
Koepka has already won three majors and smiled broadly after pulling a 10-footer for birdie on No. 18, which kept him out of a playoff with Woods, who bogeyed his 72nd hole to win by one stroke. It wasn’t the same intimidation factor of the prime Tiger years; more like, “Can you believe we blew our chances to win this Masters.”
Now comes the last three majors on different courses every year, when Woods won’t have the comfort zone that is Augusta. His return is great for golf and an unexpected bonanza for TV ratings, which were the highest ever for a morning tournament. And the viewership and massive galleries will hold up until Tiger drops out of contention in any event.
But making him an 8-1 favorite in the upcoming PGA over 10-1 Dustin Johnson, 12-1 Rory McIlroy and 14-1 Koepka are all bets I would not take, if I were a betting man.
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