Bettors pound Tiger Woods to win Grand Slam, PGA Championship
Biff Tannen became the “luckiest man on earth” in “Back to the Future Part II” because he had a sports almanac with all the winners from 1950 to 2000.
With the nonstop stream of money being bet on Tiger Woods to win the 2019 Grand Slam — including an $8,000 wager to win $400,000 at William Hill on Tuesday — William Hill sportsbook director Nick Bogdanovich wondered if there’s a new almanac out there.
“It won’t stop. I’ve never seen tickets like this in my life,” he said. “They keep betting it like it’s ‘Back to the Future’ and they’ve already read the headline. It’s the damnedest thing I’ve ever seen.”
William Hill already had a liability of more than $1 million on the prop before James Adducci of La Crosse, Wisconsin, made a $100,000 bet to win $10 million on Woods to win the next three majors at 100-1 odds. And the action hasn’t stopped.
“In a perfect world, (Woods) will win the next two majors and have the lead going into the fourth round of the British Open before losing,” Bogdanovich said. “That would be the ultimate draining of our marketing dollars. But it would probably take 40 years off my life.”
Bettors at the Westgate also are all over Woods to win the Grand Slam and the PGA Championship, which begins Thursday at Bethpage Black in New York.
Woods’ odds to win the Grand Slam dipped to 40-1 at the Westgate on Tuesday after a bettor made a $2,000 wager to win $100,000 at 50-1. The Westgate previously took $2,000 to win $300,000 (150-1), $3,000 to win $240,000 (80-1) and $2,000 to win $120,000 (60-1) on Woods to win all four majors.
$10K to win $100K on Woods to win PGA
The 15-time major champion is the 8-1 favorite to win the year’s second major after a Westgate bettor on Tuesday placed a $10,000 wager to win $100,000 on Woods at 10-1 odds to win the PGA.
“It’s everything Tiger right now,” Westgate sportsbook manager Jeff Sherman said. “They were supporting him for the Masters, and they’re supporting him now for everything else.”
Woods, Koepka top money, ticket lists
Woods is the PGA Championship money leader at William Hill and the Westgate and the tickets leader at MGM Resorts International. He’s No. 2 in tickets, behind Brooks Koepka, at William Hill, the Westgate and Caesars Entertainment Corp.
Koepka is the 10-1 co-second choice with Dustin Johnson and represents the largest liability for the MGM.
Bogdanovich likes Patrick Cantlay (28-1), Tony Finau (18-1) and Adam Scott (60-1) to win the PGA. But he’s wary of Woods.
“He’s just relaxed and happy. He does great interviews now. He doesn’t snap back,” Bogdanovich said. “He’s in a pretty damn good place, and that usually translates into pretty good golf.
“But to go out and beat (Rory) McIlroy, Koepka, Johnson and all those guys is a hard task.”
Best bets
Sherman and handicapper Wes Reynolds, who co-hosts the golf betting show “Long Shots” at 5 p.m. Wednesdays on VSiN, also like Cantlay and Jon Rahm, who was at 20-1 Tuesday at William Hill.
“Jon Rahm really stood out to me this week,” said Reynolds (@WesReynolds1). “For as long as he hits it, he’s pretty damn accurate, and a lot of guys really don’t have that.
“It’s not a matter of if but when he wins his first major.”
Said Sherman: “From a value standpoint, if you can get Jon Rahm at 20-1 or higher, bet him.”
Cantlay tied for ninth at the Masters.
“He’s kind of a wiseguy play,” Reynolds said. “He has a real well-rounded game. He doesn’t have any weaknesses, per se.”
Like Bogdanovich, Reynolds is backing Finau and Scott, a UNLV product who was tied for the lead at the Masters after 36 holes.
“He had a disappointing finish at the Masters because he couldn’t make a putt on Saturday. But he ranks first in approach shots from all yardages,” Reynolds said. “He’s a guy who may get a little overlooked this week. But I would expect him to be right there.”
Reynolds also is backing Rickie Fowler (16-1) to finally win a major and Xander Schauffele at 25-1.
“One guy you have to include on your card is Xander Schauffele. He’s been in the top six of three of the last four majors,” Reynolds said. “He’s proven he can play on the big stage.”
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Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.
