Tiger's back: Genesis Invitational tees off later today in L.A.

Article By Mark Keast

Last Updated: 2024 Mar 14

Share On Your Network

Url copied!

Tiger Woods is back playing on the PGA Tour, nearly three years after the horrific car accident that almost claimed his leg, as he gets set to tee it up at 12:25 p.m. EST at the Genesis Invitational at the Riviera Golf Course in Los Angeles.

He’ll join Justin Thomas and Gary Woodland in today’s first round. Woods has a new golf clothing line with TaylorMade and a new caddie. And at 48, maybe some renewed vigour. Judging by the media buzz, golf fans and broadcasters are ecstatic he is back.

Not a surprise, considering the power of the brand, but bettors are coming his way too.

For sports betting enthusiasts, the biggest line movements so far at BetMGM are Justin Thomas (opened at 19.00, now at 17.00), Sahith Theegala (31.00 to 29.00, with one bettor putting down $8,000 to win $224,000), Adam Scott (41.00 to 31.00), and the 15-time major winner, Woods (101.00 to 126.00).

CONSISTENCY WILL BE A CHALLENGE FOR WOODS

Today will be the first time Woods has played golf competitively since finishing 18^th in a 20-man field at the Hero World Challenge in December. He played at the Genesis Invitational last year – with rounds of 69-74-67-73, then played the Masters, where he withdrew after two rounds because of injury. Then there was the Hero World Challenge.

⭐ Bet on Genesis Invitational at DraftKings ⭐

So, consistency is going to be his challenge, not a surprise there. Woods has been generating the highest tickets percentage at BetMGM, at 8.0 per cent, ahead of Thomas (5.75 per cent) and Scottie Scheffler (5.66 per cent). Thomas (15.5 per cent), Theegala (21.1 per cent) and Max Homa (7.9 per cent) have been generating the highest handle.

TAYLOR TEES OFF AT NOON

But don’t forget Canadian Nick Taylor – fresh off a win last weekend at the WM Phoenix Open (a $1.58 million payday). He tees off today at 12:01 p.m. EST, along with Viktor Hovland and Sam Burns. Current betting odds for the Canadian Open defending champion are at 67.00, and he’s generating 1.4 per cent of tickets at BetMGM, and 0.6 per cent of the handle.

Fellow Canadian Corey Conners is also at 67.00, while Adam Svensson is at 151.00.

Sportsbooks are offering a ton of Woods Specials. For example, at FanDuel, Woods to Make 3+ Birdies in Round 1 is 1.36. A spokesperson for BetMGM says Woods is the biggest liability to win the tournament, and is 1.80 to make the cut, 1.95 to miss the cut (62 per cent of bets are on Woods to miss the cut).

SCHEFFLER SEEING MOST OF THE BETTING ACTION

At FanDuel, Scheffler remains the betting favourite to win the tournament, at 7.00, followed by Rory McIlroy (11.00), Collin Morikawa (17.00), Thomas (17.00), Patrick Cantlay (17.00), Hovland (17.00), Xander Schauffele (17.00), Ludvig Aberg (23.00) and Homa (23.00).

According to Anthony Salleroli, the Golf Lead at Caesars Sportsbook: “Tiger is our current ticket count leader, with Scheffler and Justin Thomas following. It’s especially nice to see Tiger paired with JT in the First Round as I think that ups his game. We also have Make Cut and Round 1 score markets available for betting, along with his Round 1 matchups.”

At DraftKings, most bet golfers to win are Scheffler (7.50), Thomas (17.00), Aberg (21.00), Homa (21.00), and Hovland (15.00).

And at BetRivers, the top two handle players to win the tournament are Scheffler and Jordan Spieth, each with about nine per cent of all outright win handle. The top count for bets are outright win tickets: Scheffler (4.6 per cent) Thomas (2.5 per cent) and Woods (2.3 per cent) of all tickets on the tournament. Ninety-three per cent of money on Woods to make the cut has been bet on ‘Yes’.
The most popular Round 1 bet is on Tony Finau over Jason Day, with Finau receiving 92 per cent of handle in that matchup. The second most popular Round 1 bet is Thomas over Woods, with Thomas receiving 85 per cent of handle.