Gamblers that gave up on Tiger Woods were kicking themselves after watching him win the Masters last week. Had they just stuck with him for another week, they could have cashed in on him winning his first major in years.
According to media reports, one person put $85,000 on Tiger to win at 14-1 with William Hill. That comes out to a nice $1.19 million payday—and it was the first bet the person had ever placed there!
The win will likely get many bettors back on the Tiger Woods bandwagon. Many probably backed him throughout his comeback last season only to be left wanting since he didn’t win until the final tournament of the year. While he had been playing well overall, he still hadn’t come really close to winning this year. His best finish was t5 at WGC-Dell Technologies.
There really wasn’t much of a reason to believe he could get the job done at Augusta, but to those who believed—congratulations. Now make room on the bandwagon.
Sportsbooks appear to be trying to drum up some new business in the wake of Tiger’s win. Several have offered odds on how many majors he is going to win this season. The odds at BetOnline.ag are as follows:
- Tiger Woods—2019 Major Wins
o Exactly 4 +10000
o Exactly 3 +2000
o Exactly 2 +275
o Exactly 1 -300
It is worth mentioning that last week’s Masters win was his first at Augusta since 2005 and his first at a major since 2008. Now, many of those he missed because he was having health issues, but that is still a long time, and he isn’t exactly young anymore (43).
It is also worth mentioning that he is now the favorite to win at the remaining three majors:
- 2019 PGA Championship: +800
- 2019 U.S. Open: +900
- 2019 Open (British Open): +800
In probability terms, those odds equate to an 11.11 percent chance to win the PGA and British Open and a ten percent chance to win the U.S. Open. Those numbers alone are evidence to the extreme unlikelihood of even winning two let alone three or four.
But historically speaking, it is pretty rare for a golfer to win two in a single season. Someone has won multiple majors in a single season just 32 times; 29 of them were times someone won two. The grand slam, winning all four, has only been completed once. Bobby Jones did it in 1930 when the four majors were the British Amateur, British Open, U.S. Open, U.S. Amateur.
Perhaps back in the day when he was in his prime and healthy—maybe. He did, after all, win all four consecutively but over two seasons. But now, he is older, there is a lot of golf left to be played this season, and there is no telling if his body is going to be able to hold up.
So, can a 43-year old Tiger Woods and his long history of back issues do something that no golfer has ever done and win the Masters, the PGA Championship, the U.S. Open, and the British Open?
Back before all of his health and personal issues, it would be a tempting bet to go with all four or even three. But now? No way. As for two— the payout isn’t worth the risk.
