Tiger Woods has 20-1 odds to win in golf return

Tiger Woods hasn’t played a full round of tournament golf in almost four months. That isn’t stopping Las Vegas bettors from wagering he’ll win for the eighth time at Firestone Country Club.

Woods returns to competition tomorrow at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio, after recovering from knee and Achilles tendon injuries.

Woods has 20-1 odds to win this week, tied for fifth-best in the field of 77 players, even though he hasn’t won a title since the Australian Masters 21 months ago. He’s been the most popular golfer at the Las Vegas Hilton’s Race and Sports Book, picked on more than 10 percent of tickets.

Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, who won the U.S. Open in June while Woods was rehabilitating, is the 12-1 favorite this week, according to the Las Vegas Hilton. Luke Donald, who holds the No. 1 spot in golf’s Official World Ranking, is listed at 15-1 along with fellow Englishman Lee Westwood and Steve Stricker of the U.S.

Woods, who has dropped to 28th in the world, has the same odds as fellow Americans Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson. Woods ranks third all-time to Sam Snead and Jack Nicklaus with 71 career U.S. PGA Tour wins and said yesterday he’s excited to end his layoff.

via Bloomberg.com