Bettors have wasted no time in declaring their love for 82-time PGA TOUR winner Tiger Woods with the returning superstar pulling in the most tickets ahead of the Hero World Challenge next week.
Woods – who will play in the Bahamas for the first time since having to withdraw at The Masters in April due to his ongoing leg injuries – is a +4000 underdog in the 20-man field. But that hasn’t stopped the bettors jumping on board with the 15-time major winner pulling 14.1% of all tickets to become BetMGM sportsbooks biggest liability.
Albany will once again play host for the tournament that helps benefits Woods’ TGR Foundation from Nov. 30 – Dec 3. The tournament host is a five-time winner of the unofficial event but hasn’t won since 2011. It’s the first time he’s played in the tournament since placing fourth in 2020.
While Woods has the most tickets, he has just the third most money placed on his back at 12.4% of the handle. Cameron Young is a clear leader in this regard with 37% of the handle on the youngster yet to claim his first PGA TOUR win.
Young is +2500, at much higher odds than favorite and two-time defending champion Viktor Hovland at +400. The current FedExCup champion has 6.3% of the tickets and 6.1% of the handle.
Rickie Fowler is the second most popular selection for bettors at +2000 he holds 12.5% of tickets and 6.4% of the handle while veteran Lucas Glover (+5000) is the third most popular selection at 7.8% of tickets.
Justin Thomas, heading into his sixth appearance at the event, sits second on the handle list at 15.4% of the money heading his way. This is despite never finishing better than fifth in the tournament. He has 6.3% of all tickets.
Max Homa (+750) joins Hovland and Thomas with 6.3% of tickets with second favorite Scottie Scheffler (+450) next at 4.7%.
Major champions Justin Rose (+2500), Wyndham Clark (+1800) and Brian Harman (=2800) are the least backed players in the field with just 1.6% of tickets each.
Source: pgatour.com
