Tiger Woods Worthy Favorite for Players Championship at Sawgrass?

Frank Doyle assesses Tiger Woods’ chances of claiming his first PGA Tour title in eighteen months at the Players Championship at Sawgrass this weekend.

Any time Tiger Woods shoots a good round, the news media goes into overdrive. Tiger’s Back! Tiger’s Still Got It! Tiger’s been such a positive force for the game that the golf media make the most of any sign of hope.

But for people interested in golf betting, the evidence of a slow fading away is something you have to consider. Tiger Woods hasn’t won a PGA Tour event in eighteen months – his last win was the BMW Championship in September, 2009.

Tiger is slipping slowly down the world rankings too – he rose from seventh to fifth after the Masters, but he’s eighth in the world now on the eve of the Players’ Championship at Sawgrass, the  so-called fifth major and the biggest world ranking points event other than a major on the tour.

Part of the reason for the slide is that he’s not playing, of course, but Tiger doesn’t terrify the competition any more and even worse, the putts don’t drop. We saw it on Sunday at Augusta, where the putts that used to drop didn’t. And if the putts don’t drop, you’re not going to win.

Tiger’s talent is such that it’s impossible to imagine he’ll never win again, but Sawgrass this week seems a very big ask for people who bet on golf, even though he’s one of the biggest prices he’s ever been.

Tiger’s only won at Sawgrass once, and that was ten years ago. Surprisingly, even though it’s such a famous course and attracts famously strong fields, the roll of honour at Sawgrass isn’t as stellar as you might expect – Tim Clark, Stephen Ames, Craig Perks and Jodie Mudd are all past Champions. So, with the knowledge that PGA Tour winners have been big prices so far this year, here are Sports Interaction’s

Fore! to Follow

Adam Scott (+3500). The man who finished second at the Masters won at Sawgrass in 2004 and the TPC course suits his game.

KJ Choi (+4000). A doughty competitor who can tough out a back nine on Sunday if he’s still in contention.

Rory Sabbatini (+7000). If he can carry his strong finishing form at Quail Hollow on to Sawgrass he’s in with a chance.

Alvaro Quiros (+10000). This an emotional week for Spanish golf and the Spanish nation following the passing of their great hero, Seve Ballesteros. Quiros is an up and coming star of the game and he may be inspired at Ponte Vedra.

Bet now on the Players’ Championship!