2010 Masters- Betting Preview

This Thursday the 75th Masters Tournament gets underway from Augusta National Golf Course in Augusta, Georgia. Golf’s first big event of the season features the smallest but most talented field of players of any of the four Major tournaments on the schedule.

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The pairings for the first two rounds will be released on Tuesday and you can rest assured there will be some interesting matchups in both the morning and afternoon sessions of golf’s most prestigious event. The main story lines for this year’s Masters will undoubtedly revolve around Phil Mickelson’s attempt to win a fourth Green Jacket after winning his third last season along with the ongoing comeback of Tiger Woods, who has not won a Major since the 2008 US Open. There are several young guns in the field that are poised to make a run at winning their first Major as well as some accomplished veterans that are out to prove they still have what it takes to contend at Augusta.

The following is a brief look at a couple of players that should be in the thick of things on the leader board come Sunday’s back nine along with their current odds to win this week as provided by Sportsbook.com

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Golf first major tournament of the 2010 gets underway this week from Augusta, Georgia; home of the Masters. The quest for the Green Jacket will begin with first round action this Thursday, April 8^th. While the first round pairings will not be released until Tuesday, many of the players in this year’s field are already in Augusta to play a couple of practice rounds to get ready for the four round competition. One of the more interesting events of this week is the Par 3 contest which is always held on the Wednesday before actual play begins. This friendly outing which is played on a separate par 3 course at Augusta is a chance to relax and have some fun, before the tournament grind begins in full the next day. This is not necessarily an event you want to win, as no player who has won the par 3 contest as ever gone on to win the Masters.

The biggest story line coming into this week is Tiger Woods return to competitive play. Woods has not played in a tournament since his self imposed hiatus from the game to tend to his well documented problems in his personal life. While it is hard to imagine he will be in top competitive form after a five month absence from the game, the odds makers have him listed a 9-2 favorite to win his fifth Green Jacket. Phil Mickelson is a close second favorite at 5-1. Mickelson has won this tournament twice; in 2004 and 2006. Last year’s unexpected winner in a three way playoff with Kenny Perry and Chad Campbell, Angel Cabrera from Argentina is currently a 50-1 long shot to repeat as champion. No European player has won at Augusta since Spain’s Jose Maria Olazabal won in 1999. Ireland’s Padraig Harrington is a 12-1 favorite to finally break this drought.

A U.S. player has won the Masters six out of the last ten years, although there has only been three different players; Woods (three times), Mickelson (twice), and Zach Johnson (once) to actually win. The other four champions include Cabrera (2009), Tever Immelman (2008) from South Africa, Mike Weir (2003) from Canada, and Vijay Singh (200) from Fiji. The first foreign player to ever win a Green Jacket was Gary Player from South Africa back in 1961. Jack Nicklaus still holds the record for most victories at Augusta with six. Arnold Palmer joins Woods in second place with four tournament wins.

One of the more interesting players to watch this week will be Anthony Kim. After his playoff win yesterday in the Shell Houston Open, it could be his turn to break through and finally win a major. He is currently listed at 30-1 odds to win this week. Sergio Garcia, who is probably the biggest name player never to win a major, is currently listed at 28-1. Ernie Els, who has won multiple majors but never a Green Jacket, is listed at 30-1 odds to win this week. Some other players to watch this week include Jim Furyk at 25-1, Ian Poulter at 20-1 and Rory McIlroy at 15-1.

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