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Why are so many people betting on Tiger Woods to win Hero World Challenge?
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Tiger Woods returns to competition after an eight-month layoff when the Hero World Challenge tees off Thursday in the Bahamas.

It’s safe to say Woods still moves the needle whenever he plays based on betting patterns at the SuperBook and BetMGM.

Asked if he was seeing much action on Tiger, SuperBook VP of Risk Management & Oddsmaking Jeff Sherman told Sporting News, “Yes. He’s number one in ticket count and our second largest liability behind (Scottie) Scheffler. By the time the tournament starts, he’ll be number one in liability.”

Tiger Woods biggest Hero World Challenge liability at BetMGM

A similar scenario is playing out at BetMGM, which released its updated handle and ticket counts the day before the tournament starts.

Woods has commanded the most amount of tickets to win at 16.2% and the third most handle at 8.1%.

He leads the top three liabilities for BetMGM heading into the tournament: 

  • Tiger Woods
  • Cameron Young
  • Viktor Hovland

At BetMGM, Woods opened at +4000 and is currently being dealt at , with the SuperBook offering +8000. 

It's way past time for betting on Woods to win 

These betting trends at top-rated sportsbooks speak to the power of Tiger’s career accomplishments — 82 PGA Tour wins and 15 major tournament victories — but it’s mystifying all the same.

Would you put a single cent on Tiger to win anything considering his age, ailments, and recent results even with a 20-player field in the Hero World Challenge?

His sum total of results this year included a WD at The Masters and a T-45 finish in the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club. The previous season started with a 47th-place finish in The Masters and ended with a WD at the PGA Championship before a missed cut at the Open Championship.

It’s been more than four years since Tiger’s last win at the 2019 ZoZo Championship, the same year he stunned the golfing world with his fifth career win at The Masters. 

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Put simply, stop betting on Woods to win. There are better ways to burn money or even make some cash on Tiger when major tournaments return.

  • Make or miss the cut
  • Will he WD?
  • Top-40 finish

Heading into to the 2023 Masters, Woods represented the biggest liability at both the SuperBook and Circa Sports in Las Vegas.

“Tiger will always move the needle,” Circa Sports Director of Operations Jeff Benson said at the time.

That will likely be the case again come next April, but you have to wonder how long the trend can continue.

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Author(s)
Kris Johnson Photo

Kris Johnson is lead writer with Catena Media. With more than 15 years in sports journalism, his work has been featured in Sports Business Journal, Sports Business Daily, The Sporting News, NASCAR Illustrated, and more.