If you’ve listened to sports radio this week, or ever since Tiger announced he was going to play in the Masters, this has been the question everyone has asked. Can Tiger Woods win? Tiger himself on Tuesday said he wouldn’t be playing in this tournament if he didn’t think he could win. Fair enough!
But let me ask you this. When has a great athlete, besides Lebron James, ever come out and said “I can’t win, or we can’t win. That’s not what great athletes do. They always believe they can win. That’s what makes them great.
So, can Tiger Woods win, at 50 to 1 odds? The short answer is, of course he can win.
However, the question everyone should be asking, from a gambling perspective is not, can he win, the question is, will he win and the answer to that question is a simple and resounding NO!
Hey look, if you want to throw 100 on Tiger at 50 to 1 and hope he pulls off a miracle, be my guest. He’ll be a fan favorite for sure at Augusta and maybe the crowd will get him through the first round or so.
But asking a man to win this tournament, who suffered an accident that was so horrific just 16 months ago that people felt he could lose his leg, is certainly not wise. Asking a man to win, who will be walking a competitive golf course for the first time in nearly a year and a half, to win is not wise.
Tiger playing is more nostalgic than anything. It will be great to see him on the course and it would be even better if he somehow fought through and made the cut. I don’t even believe that is going to happen. Everyone is going back to 2019 when Tiger won this tournament and using that as an example that this man will indeed do it again. That is wishful thinking.
There are 16 other golfers in this tournament with better odds than Tiger and to be honest, I don’t believe you are getting enough value at 50-1. Simply being competitive this weekend will be a score for Woods, but I certainly wouldn’t’ be surprised if he failed to make the cut.
Look, doubting greatness is never a wise move and if there is anyone on the PGA Tour who could pull off a miracle, it is certainly Tiger Woods but that doesn’t mean it is going to happen.
If you’re looking for guys with solid odds who will have the possibility of winning, I’d look at Jordan Spieth at 17 to 1 and Will Zalatoris at 25 to 1. And if you want someone in the 50 to 1 range, look at Sungjae Im
