Payday for Vijay? Golf Betting at the Transitions Championship

Frank Doyle previews the field at the Transitions Championship, played this weekend at the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook, Florida!

There has never been a more rewarding time to bet on golf if you can pick a winner. The last three winners in the big tournaments in professional golf have all paid out at better than 20/1.

The best golf betting price was on Rory Sabbatini at the Honda Classic, who was laid at 40/1 on the Thursday morning that tournament teed off. So the lesson is that the reward for picking a winner is at least in line with the skill required.

Looking ahead to this week’s Transitions Championship at Copperhead, Nick Watney is clearly the man in form. His win at Doral last Sunday saw Watney leap sixteen places to No 15 in the World rankings, as per the table below.

Watney is a joint second favorite with World Number 1 Martin Kaymer, but it’s extremely difficult to win two tournaments in a row. Kaymer himself started well at the Cadillac Championship but fell away over the weekend. He’s not worth it at the price.

It’s a big drop off then to 25/1 the field, where you can back the likes of Paul Casey and Retief Goosen (a previous winner) at 25/1, Padraig Harrington at 28/1 and reigning Champion Jim Furyk at 33/1. And there’s not just the outright either, as Sports Interaction has host of golf bets available, including group betting, big guns, winning margin and more.

Experience has counted at Copperhead in recent years – that makes veteran Vijay Singh worth a look at 28/1. Singh, 48, has been there or thereabouts lately, with two top five finishes already this year.

At the other end of the age spectrum, there’s Scotland’s Martin Laird. The Glaswegian was joint third (with Vijay Singh) at the Phoenix Open and some think he was unlucky not to do better at Doral. At 40/1, he’s worth a look.

World Golf Rankings, March 15, 2011