After weeks of eagerness and excitement, the 2010 Masters is set to officially tee off this Thursday at Augusta National Golf Club, in Georgia. The first of the four major championships this season, this year’s edition of the U.S. Masters is perhaps the most highly anticipated golf tournament in PGA history. Although organizers and officials have attempted to downplay the importance of this event to the sport of golf, the planned coverage of not just tournament play, but press conferences leading up to and during the event are an illustration of the attitude towards the only major championship held at the same location annually. Not that the reason for this year’s added sports betting importance is hard to figure out, what with the return of the world’s number one ranked golfer, after a tumultuous four months during which he made the headlines for his play off the course rather than dominance on it.
After an extended absence from the PGA Tour, Tiger Woods makes his official return this Thursday afternoon when he tees off just before 2 PM Eastern Time. Woods will pair with KJ Choi and Matt Kuchar for the opening rounds. The four-time Master champion last played professionally last November, when he won in Melbourne, Australia last November. Woods registered a 14 under par, for a two-strokes win over Greg Chalmers, his first win in Australia, and the 38th of his career on the European Tour. Despite being away from the sport for so long, and after everything that he has gone through over that time, Tiger is still one of the 2010 Masters odds favorites. Perhaps that is because Woods has already won 14 professional major gold championships, more than any other current active golfer. The 34-year old has said that his transgressions actually hurt his play, and since he has finished in the top-six here in each of the past four years, with his increased focus he could finally break through for a fifth green jacket.
Among the other sports book favorites to compete for the first place prize, Phil Mickelson, Padraig Harrington, and Ernie Els. Mickelson has already won here twice in his career, and despite his recent struggles, has played his best golf of the season heading in to this tournament, including in the back nine at Houston where he managed to hit six straight birdies. Harrington has never won at Augusta National, never finishing higher than fifth at the U.S. Masters. However, both of his top-seven finishes in Georgia have come over the past three years, and with three major championships already under his belt, this could be the year that the 38-year old finally breaks through. Els has played some of his best golf this season with Woods on the shelf, the PGA Tour’s only multiple winner so far in 2010. Els has come as close as second at the Masters in the past, and many consider him the favorite to wear the green jacket at this weekend’s tournament, and a good bet for those looking to lay their money on something other than NHL odds.
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