Tiger Woods 7-4 favourite for the Masters

William Hill have installed Tiger Woods as their 7-4 favourite for the 73rd US Masters. Woods, who has won the Masters on four separate occasions, will face a tough challenge in this year’s event from the likes of the dual Champion Phil Michelson (2004 & 2007) and Ireland’s triple major winner Padraig Harrington. Hills rate Mickelson as their 13-2 second favourite for the Masters, while Harrington can be backed at 16-1 to land his first green jacket.

The forgotten man in the field is last year’s shock winner Trevor Immelman. The South African didn’t win another event after his Masters triumph and his odds of 80-1 suggest that he is unlikely to repeat his 2008 heroics. Other recent winners Zach Johnston (2007), and Mike Weir (2003) are rated 40-1 and 66-1 respectively.

The last Masters rookie to win at Augusta was Fuzzy Zoeller back in 1979, but even though Masters debutants have a poor record in the event, William Hill have reported strong support for the two high profile first timers - Rory McIIroy and Anthony Kim.

Northern Irish teenager McIIroy is regarded as the hottest prospect in World golf and punters seem to believe that he can win the Masters at the first time of asking. The Holywood man was available at 40-1 at the start of the week, but strong support for the nineteen year old has forced Hills to slash his odds to 25-1 for the first major of the season.

William Hill’s Irish spokesman Tony Kenny commented “Betting on golf in Ireland is at an all time high thanks to the heroics of Harrington, McIIroy and McDowell. The trio are sure to be well backed in the lead up to the Masters and an Irish victory would cost us a fortune in our Irish shops” He continued “In the past Tiger has been a cash cow for golf punters and Internationally he’d be a massive loser for us”

WILLIAM HILL - US MASTERS LATEST ODDS

OUTRIGHT: 7-4 Tiger Woods, 13-2 Phil Mickelson, 16-1 Padraig Harrington, 20-1 Geoff Ogilvy, 25-1 Sergio Garcia, Retief Goosen, Rory McIlroy, Paul Casey, 33-1 Anthony Kim, Nick Watney, 40-1 Camilo Villegas, Ernie Els, Zach Johnson, Henrik Stenson, 50-1 Lee Westwood, Robert Karlsson, 66-1 Vijay Singh, Juston Rose, Mike Weir, Sean O’Hair, 70-1 Stewart Cink, 80-1 Adam Scott, KJ Choi, Kenny Perry, Luke Donald, Hunter Mahan, Steve Stricker, Trevor Immelman, Fred Couples, Ian Poulter – 100-1 EW ¼ 1-2-3-4-5

TOP TEN FINISH: 1-10 Tiger Woods, 1-2 Phil Mickelson, 11-10 Padraig Harrington, 5-4 Geoff Ogilvy, 11-8 Sergio Garcia, Retief Goosen, 6-4 Rory McIlroy, 7-4 Paul Casey, 5-2 Henrik Stenson, Nick Watney, 13-5 Anthony Kim, Camilo Villegas, 11-4 Zach Johnson – Others on Request

TOP GB/IRELAND: 2-1 Padraig Harrington, 10-3 Rory McIIroy, 4-1 Paul Casey, 6-1 Lee Westwood, 7-1 Justin Rose, 11-1 Luke Donald, 12-1 Ian Poulter, 18-1 Oliver Wilson, Ross Fisher, 20-1 Graeme McDowell, 125-1 Ian Woosnam, Sand Lyle – EW 1/5 1-2-3

TOP DEBUTANT: 9-4 Rory McIlroy, 3-1 Anthony Kim, 12-1 Ross Fisher, Ryuji Imada, Oliver Wilson, 14-1 Alvaro Quiros, 16-1 Matthew Goggin, Dustin Johnson, Louis Oosthiuizen, 20-1 Soren Kjeldsen, Danny Lee, 25-1 John Merrick, 33-1 Ryo Ishikawa, Ken Duke – 50-1 Bar EW ¼ 1-2-3

SELECTED TOURNAMENT MATCH BETS: 4-9 Tiger Woods, 7-4 Padraig Harrington, 16-1 Draw; 4-7 Phil Mickelson, 11-8 Mike Weir, 16-1 Draw; 5-6 Rory McIIroy, Evs Anthony Kim, 14-1 Draw; 10-11 Graeme McDowell, 10-11 Miguel Angel Jiminez, 14-1 Draw, 5-6 Lee Westwood, Evs Ian Poulter, 14-1 Draw;

TO MAKE THE CUT: 1-50 Tiger Woods, 1-25 Phil Mickelson, 1-7 Padraig Harrington, Geoff Ogilvy, 1-6 Retief Goosen, Paul Casey, 2-9 Rory McIlroy, 1-3 Anthony Kim, Sergio Garcia, 4-11 Ernie Els, Henrik Stenson

TO MISS THE CUT: 12-1 Tiger Woods, 9-1 Phil Mickelson, 4-1 Padraig Harrington, Geoff Ogilvy, 7-2 Retief Goosen, Paul Casey, 3-1 Rory McIlroy, 9-4 Anthony Kim, Sergio Garcia, 2-1 Ernie Els, Henrik Stenson

HOLE IN ONE: 5-4 Yes, 4-7 No

PLAYOFF TO DECIDE WINNER: 12-5 Yes, 3-10 No

HARRINGTON FINISHING POSITION: 3-1 first to fifth, 7-2 sixth to tenth, 9-2 eleventh to twentieth, Evs twenty first or worse

PADDY SLAM: 150-1 Padraig Harrington to win the next two majors – (US Masters & US Open)