He shares that price with Rickie Fowler, Matt Kuchar and Phil Mickelson, and that group trails co-favorites Bubba Watson and Jordan Spieth at 15-to-1.
Woods has never won the Phoenix Open and hasn’t played in the event – known for its rowdy galleries and raucous atmosphere – since 2001, when a fan threw an orange on the green while he was putting. He did score a hole-in-one on the par-3 16th hole in 1997.
Tiger played in just seven official Tour events last season because of a back injury that required surgery. He’s been working with a new swing coach, Chris Como, and said he’s pleased with his progress.
“My driving has come around a lot faster,” he said, per the Arizona Republic. “I’m a lot longer than I thought I could ever be again. My (swing) speed is way back up and that’s fun. I’m touching numbers that I did 15 years ago, so that’s cool.”
Robert Allenby, whose claims of being kidnapped and beaten during a tournament in Honolulu earlier this month are under scrutiny, is set to tee it up in Phoenix this week and is listed as part of the betting field at 13-to-4 odds.
Meanwhile, world No. 1 Rory McIlroy is also in action this weekend, and has been installed as the 3-to-1 favorite to win the Omega Dubai Desert Classic. The next shortest price belongs to Henrik Stenson at 12-to-1.
The Linemakers’ lean: “Young gun Justin Thomas could be a big factor (at the Phoenix Open) again this week at 40-to-1, but I’m looking for Hideki Matsuyama (25-1) to be there at the end in his first mainland tournament of the year,” says The Linemakers on Sporting News’ Brian Blessing.
ODDS TO WIN WASTE MANAGEMENT PHOENIX OPEN BUBBA WATSON 15-1 JORDAN SPIETH 15-1 RICKIE FOWLER 20-1 MATT KUCHAR 20-1 TIGER WOODS 20-1 PHIL MICKELSON 20-1 HIDEKI MATSUYAMA 25-1 PATRICK REED 25-1 BILL HAAS 25-1 RYAN PALMER 30-1 GARY WOODLAND 30-1 BRENDAN STEELE 30-1 HUNTER MAHAN 30-1 HARRIS ENGLISH 40-1 GRAHAM DeLAET 40-1 JUSTIN THOMAS 40-1 BROOKS KOEPKA 40-1 CHARLEY HOFFMAN 40-1 SCOTT PIERCY 40-1 BILLY HORSCHEL 40-1 KEEGAN BRADLEY 40-1 ZACH JOHNSON 50-1 RYAN MOORE 50-1 JASON DUFNER 50-1 RUSSELL HENLEY 50-1 NICK WATNEY 60-1 JAMIE DONALDSON 60-1 FRANCESCO MOLINARI 60-1 BRANDT SNEDEKER 60-1 ROBERT STREB 60-1 SHAWN STEFANI 60-1 MARTIN LAIRD 60-1 CHARLES HOWELL III 80-1 KEVIN NA 80-1 SANG-MOON BAE 80-1 BRIAN HARMAN 80-1 JASON KOKRAK 80-1 KEVIN CHAPPELL 80-1 BEN MARTIN 80-1 J.B. HOLMES 80-1 BRENDON DE JONGE 80-1 BOO WEEKLEY 80-1 RORY SABBATINI 100-1 CAMERON TRINGALE 100-1 KEVIN STREELMAN 100-1 RUSSELL KNOX 100-1 SEUNG-YUL NOH 100-1 TONY FINAU 100-1 K.J. CHOI 100-1 FIELD (all others) 13-4
TOURNAMENT MATCHUPS: RICKIE FOWLER +105 vs. JORDAN SPIETH -125 MATT KUCHAR +105 vs. BUBBA WATSON -125 PATRICK REED -115 vs. HIDEKI MATSUYAMA -105 BILL HAAS -120 vs. RYAN PALMER EVEN HARRIS ENGLISH EVEN vs. GARY WOODLAND -120 SCOTT PIERCY EVEN vs. BRENDAN STEELE -120 BROOKS KOEPKA EVEN vs. JUSTIN THOMAS -120 JASON DUFNER -120 vs. BRANDT SNEDEKER EVEN SHAWN STEFANI EVEN vs. ROBERT STREB -120 BRIAN HARMAN -110 vs. JASON KOKRAK -110
ODDS TO WIN OMEGA DUBAI DESERT CLASSIC RORY McILROY 3-1 HENRIK STENSON 12-1 MARTIN KAYMER 15-1 SERGIO GARCIA 20-1 LEE WESTWOOD 20-1 BRANDEN GRACE 25-1 STEPHEN GALLACHER 25-1 BERND WIESBERGER 25-1 LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN 25-1 GRAEME McDOWELL 30-1 DANNY WILLETT 40-1 GEORGE COETZEE 40-1 EMILIANO GRILLO 40-1 RAFAEL CABRERA BELLO 50-1 ALEXANDER LEVY 50-1 ALEX NOREN 50-1 ERNIE ELS 50-1 JOOST LUITEN 50-1 THORBJORN OLESEN 50-1 NICOLAS COLSAERTS 50-1 ROSS FISHER 50-1 MARCEL SIEM 60-1 ANDY SULLIVAN 60-1 MARC WARREN 60-1 EDDIE PEPPERELL 60-1 TOMMY FLEETWOOD 60-1 BYEONG-HUN AN 60-1 THOMAS BJORN 80-1 TYRRELL HATTON 80-1 ALEJANDRO CANIZARES 80-1 THONGCHAI JAIDEE 80-1 MIKKO ILONEN 80-1 THOMAS PIETERS 80-1 GARY STAL 80-1 GREGORY BOURDY 80-1 PETER UIHLEIN 80-1 ROBERT KARLSSON 80-1 ROMAIN WATTEL 80-1 ALVARO QUIROS 100-1 EDOARDO MOLINARI 100-1 OLIVER FISHER 100-1 THOMAS AIKEN 100-1 STEVE WEBSTER 100-1 PABLO LARRAZABAL 125-1 BENJAMIN HEBERT 125-1 ANDERS HANSEN 125-1 FELIPE AGUILAR 125-1 MATTHEW FITZPATRICK 150-1 MATTEO MANASSERO 300-1 FIELD (all others) 11-2
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