It's often said in golf, "Tiger Woods doesn't move the need. He is the needle."
Woods is teeing it up for his third competitive event of the 2022 season at the 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews.
He is, as always, the talk of the town. And the talk of the sportsbooks.
Woods has become the biggest liability at BetMGM this week. Books have been hammered with bets on the 15-time major winner, but his odds have moved from +4000 to +6600 at BetMGM.
Woods accounts for 5.7% of the tickets (second-most) and 6.7% of the handle (third-most) at BetMGM to win The Open.
Woods has some of the most experience of anyone in the field at St. Andrews. He's won the tournament twice at the Old Course and has three Open Championship victories.
Experience has proven to be a key factor on links golf courses, where angles will play a key role.
But it's Tiger's health that makes sportsbooks feel most comfortable about the liability.
“Tiger Woods is already a significant liability for BetMGM at The Open Championship," BetMGM's VP of Trading Jason Scott said. "Judging from his last few tournaments, playing four days in a row seems to put incredible stress on Tiger’s body, so we're comfortable with the huge liability.”
It's rare to see a player's odds move the opposite direction after becoming a liability. Sportsbooks aren't afraid to take more action on Woods even with the chance of getting burned.
Can Woods conquer the Old Course and sportsbooks in the same week? We have learned time and time again to never count Tiger out.
