Books waffle on Tiger, like rest of us

Imagine how dull golf would be without Tiger Woods. The game would be an afterthought now, ranking somewhere below figure skating in terms of interest from sports fans and the media.

Hate is a strong word, so I'll say I despise figure skating. But who doesn't love a sex scandal?

When Woods' dirty laundry was exposed to the public after his mysterious Thanksgiving night car crash, the story became much bigger than the game he plays. And that will prove to be great for golf, because all eyes are on Tiger, on and off the course.

Wagering on golf eventually might get a boost, too. But for now, Woods' uncertain playing status has cast a cloud of confusion over oddsmakers. Woods is the betting favorite in every tournament he plays, but he's not saying if or when he will play this year.

"So much is guarded with him," Las Vegas Hilton golf oddsmaker Jeff Sherman said, "who knows what he's doing?"

Woods is reportedly in a sex rehabilitation clinic in Mississippi, where he might be sitting in quiet therapy with white-coated sexologists, watching tapes of Dr. Ruth Westheimer and practicing being faithful to a blow-up doll. That's just a wild guess.

Some people will argue sex addiction is a terrible thing that can destroy lives and relationships. In the case of Woods, my opinion is it's a joke and a lame excuse.

If you're a filthy rich, single athlete and hot women are throwing themselves at you, it's party time. You are idolized, like Derek Jeter. If you're a filthy rich, married father of two and countless hot women (plus a not-so-hot Perkins pancake waitress) are at your fingertips, then it's a problem.

Woods carefully crafted a family-man image and carelessly wrecked it by living an opposite lifestyle. So maybe his management team put him in sex therapy, declared he had a serious issue to deal with and began working on repairing his image.

Woods issued a public apology Friday, and it blew up into the biggest story in the history of ESPN. While his scripted speech was televised, trading slowed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Speculation is rampant about when Woods will return to golf. Will he make it back for the Masters, the year's first major, on April 8 at the hallowed ground of Augusta National?

"My guess would be no," Sherman said. "It certainly doesn't sound like Augusta to me."

If there is a driving range near the sex clinic, Woods is probably sneaking out to hit a few buckets of balls. Still, the timing of the Masters makes his return there seem impractical.

Before Woods' crash, figuratively and literally, the Hilton posted him as the 9-4 favorite to win the Masters. Woods is currently a 6-1 co-favorite with Phil Mickelson. But don't make that bet on Woods, because all bets are action despite a golfer not qualifying or playing.

"If he doesn't play, then you don't get your money back on this," Sherman said, adding that Woods' bizarre situation is paralyzing bettors and causing them to "take a wait-and-see approach."

All Las Vegas sports books and most offshore books have removed Tiger-related props, such as: Will Woods win at least one major in 2010? At Betfair.com, wagering "No" is minus-210.

If Woods misses the Masters, the "No" side would be adjusted to about minus-400. I know one professional sports gambler who bet Woods to win zero majors at plus-180 in December, but Woods must tee off in the Masters for that bet to be action. The best guess is he comes back for the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach in June.

Woods did not win a major last year, even missing the cut at the British Open. The four major winners were Angel Cabrera (Masters), Lucas Glover (U.S. Open), Stewart Cink (British) and Y.E. Yang, who stunningly outdueled Woods on the final day of the PGA.

"What we noticed last year, even when he was winning tournaments, he wasn't winning in dominant fashion," Sherman said. "All it's going to take is for him to win a tournament, and then all the questions will go away and the focus will be on golf.

''Winning will start curing a lot of stuff for him. That's the only way he's going to silence some of the talk."

Woods hurt his wife and family and damaged his reputation. He's apparently facing his problems, trying to pull it back together and dedicating himself to an honest life devoid of skirt chasing. Give him credit for that, and let's hope he's playing golf again soon.

Sherman said those who normally would bet on Woods "might shy away" when he returns to golf. Eventually, though, Tiger will win back the betting public. It just might not happen this year.

Contact sports betting columnist Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907.