Tiger Woods is back, but the 2023 Genesis Invitational odds don’t indicate he’s likely to make much of an impact at the top of the leaderboard.
By the time he tees off at 3:04 p.m. ET on Thursday, we will not have seen Woods play for more than seven months. That was when he missed the cut at the Open Championship at St. Andrews.
Woods' longest ever closing listed odds came last year at the PGA Championship at 80-1 (via Action Network's Evan Abrams), but he is likely to close at even longer odds this week
Here are Woods’ odds for the Genesis, as of 9:00 a.m. ET on Thursday morning.
| Sportsbook | Odds |
|---|---|
| bet365 | +11000 |
| BetMGM | +12500 |
| DraftKings | +13000 |
| FanDuel | +12000 |
Pick: Tiger Woods +12000 |
What is QuickSlip?
QuickSlip is an Action Network feature that allows users to automatically pre-load their bet slip at FanDuel Sportsbook.
For perspective, Woods is tied for 39th on the odds board at FanDuel. He's tied with Kurt Kitayama, Brian Harman, Tom Hoge, Billy Horschel and Cameron Davis at 120-1 at FanDuel. He’s ahead of some familiar names, with J.T. Poston, Denny McCarthy, Gary Woodland and the surging Beau Hossler at +14000.
This has not been a regular stop on Woods' PGA TOUR schedule throughout his career. When playing a normal schedule in the early 2000s, Woods' main stop on the West Coast was the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.
Woods does have experience at Riviera Country Club, though. Here's how he's fared there since the turn of the century:
| Year | Result |
|---|---|
| 2001 | T13 |
| 2003 | T5 |
| 2004 | T7 |
| 2005 | T13 |
| 2006 | WD |
| 2018 | MC |
| 2019 | T15 |
| 2020 | 68 |
The car accident that set Woods back significantly occurred just weeks after the 2021 Genesis Invitational. He did not play in the tournament but was on hand as its host, helping present Max Homa with the trophy after his win in a playoff over Tony Finau.
Woods’ accident came just days after the event and kept him out of action for 13 1/2 months until the 2022 Masters, where he made the cut.
In Woods' three starts at the Masters, PGA Championship and Open Championship, his odds were not this high. At the Masters, he was closer to 50-1 at most sportsbooks.
When Woods plays, he tends to become a big liability for sportsbooks. Initially, it appears he's not thought of as much of a threat this week in Los Angeles.
It makes sense why sportsbooks aren't high on his chances of winning. Not only has Woods not played in seven months, but this field is reminiscent of a major championship. The 2023 Genesis Invitational is one of the PGA TOUR's elevated events, which means it comes with a $20 million purse. Nine of the world's top-10 players, according to the Official World Golf Ranking, are in this field. The only one who isn't is Cameron Smith, and that's because he's not on the PGA TOUR anymore.
