Sharp bettors wagering against Tiger Woods at Masters

Tiger Woods will attempt to set a Masters record this week by making the cut for the 24th consecutive time at the year’s first major golf championship at Augusta National.

Sportsbooks have posted a prop on whether Woods, 48, will make the cut at the storied tournament, which tees off Thursday. The odds are against him, and so are sharp bettors.

Will Woods make the cut? No was a -122 favorite Monday morning at Circa Sports, and the price shot up to -148 before settling at -140 late Monday afternoon. Yes moved from +102 to +120.

No opened at -130 at the Westgate SuperBook, where yes is +110.

“We expect anti-Tiger support this week with limited competition under his belt,” SuperBook golf oddsmaker Jeff Sherman said.

Woods has withdrawn or missed the cut in four of his six starts since he suffered serious leg injuries in a February 2021 car accident. He withdrew from his last start in February at the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club during the second round because of illness.

“When we put them up for Riviera, we had a sharp player bet everything against Tiger — the cut, his first-round score, matchups — and we expect the same this week,” Sherman said.

The SuperBook took sharp action on Phil Mickelson at -125 over Woods in a Masters tournament matchup. Mickelson is now -135 over Woods (+115).

Woods’ first-round score over-under is 74½ on the par-72 course.

“It was along the same thinking. We’re just expecting anti-Tiger support, so we went a little higher at 2½ over par,” Sherman said.

The five-time Masters champion played in the event twice as an amateur, missing the cut in 1996. Woods has never missed the cut at the Masters as a professional, making 24 straight cuts since his debut in 1997.

He made the cut in each of the past two years, finishing 47th in 2022 in his return to pro golf. He made the 36-hole cut last year to tie Gary Player and Fred Couples for most consecutive cuts made at Augusta, but withdrew before the rain-delayed third round resumed after aggravating plantar fasciitis in his right foot.

“It felt like a starting point was pick (to make the cut). We felt like that in previous tournaments and majors with him playing limited,” Sherman said. “But he’s only got one competitive round under his belt this year. So he even has less preparation than we’ve seen before.”

Woods is a 200-1 long shot at Boyd Gaming to win his sixth green jacket.

Iowa-South Carolina breaks record

Caitlin Clark came up short in her quest to lead Iowa to the national championship in her final college game.

But the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer helped break the record for most-bet women’s basketball game ever for the third straight time in the NCAA Tournament in Sunday’s 87-75 loss to South Carolina.

The Gamecocks’ win and cover over the Hawkeyes as 6½-point favorites was the most-bet women’s sporting event in BetMGM history, the sportsbook posted on X.

The SuperBook, Station Casinos and South Point also reported a record betting handle, or amount of money wagered, on the game.

“We’ve been setting records all week, and this one blew away the old record,” South Point sportsbook director Chris Andrews said.

The previous two record handles were set in Iowa’s wins over Connecticut in the Elite Eight and over Louisiana State in the Sweet 16.

“Ticket count for Iowa-South Carolina about the same as either of (Saturday’s) men’s Final Four games,” Andrews posted on X. “Handle similar to a well-bet college football game. (Women’s basketball) has come a long way.”

Sportsbooks won on the game, as most of the money wagered was on Iowa.

“We were South Carolina fans,” Red Rock Resort sportsbook director Chuck Esposito said. “It was a huge handle and huge ticket count. It was just crazy, the demand for it and the amount of wagers.”

2025 NCAA title odds

Before the men’s NCAA Tournament title game tipped off Monday night, Caesars Sportsbook already had posted odds on next year’s champion.

Connecticut is the 10-1 favorite, followed by Arizona at 12-1, Duke at 14-1 and Houston at 16-1.

Kansas and North Carolina are each 20-1, followed by Kentucky and Purdue at 22-1.

UNLV is 500-1.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on X.