2008 U.S. Open Gambling Longshots

[Shame About Ray]

The BetUS online betting odds on Tiger Woods to win the U.S. Open are currently 5 to 2. The PGA odds are too low for me to even consider a sports betting online wager on the world’s greatest golfer. Yes, I do understand that Tiger Woods has dominated Torrey Pines, where the U.S. Open is being held this weekend, since 2005, but things are different for El Tigre going into this tournament.

For one, he’s coming off of knee surgery. For another, he hasn’t played a competitive round of golf in about two months. That means that Tiger could be rusty.

A rusty Tiger opens the door for a number of other players that could upset the greatest golfer to ever live. It makes no sense to take low odds on any player at the U.S. Open. The tournament might be the toughest out of all of the majors. That means that finding a price is paramount when handicapping this tournament.

Here are my top six most likely players to upset Tiger Woods, based on odds, in this year’s U.S. Open:

Best U.S. Open Long-shot Possibilities

1. Sergio Garcia - - BetUS odds 16/1 - - Garcia is really playing well. His putter should be on fire and let’s face it; Sergio really, really, really wants to win this tournament. I seem him doing some good things out there this week. Torrey Pines is a tough place for anybody but Garcia has the added benefit of having played regularly in the past two months while Woods is coming off the bench.

2. Phil Mickelson - - BetUS odds 7/1 - - Lefty hasn’t been in great form lately, but it shouldn’t matter. Like Woods, he tends to take his time in the other tournaments and concentrate on the majors. This guy knows Torrey Pines very, very well. That might be enough for him to take Woods down. I expect Lefty to be there at the end on Sunday.

3. Padraig Harrington - - BetUS odds 20/1 - - Nothing wrong with Padraig’s putter lately. A good putter could definitely keep you in the thick of it at Torrey Pines. Every year it seems like some unknown, or lesser known, golfer makes his presence felt. This 20 to 1 shot could be the guy this year.

4. Vijay Singh - - BetUS odds 25/1 - - The problem with wagering on Vijay is that he hasn’t done very well at Torrey Pines. His best finish was 11th in 2002 and even in that year, Vijay finished in a tie. That means that he will have to do something different in this year’s U.S. Open. This guy can really golf, though, so I wouldn’t put it past him to improve on that 11th place finish. He might win it because there’s absolutely nothing wrong with his game right now.

5. Robert Allenby - - BetUS odds 60/1 - - Allenby is a huge overlay in this tournament. There’s nothing really special about his game, but he’s always in the hunt because he hits greens and has terrific driving accuracy. At 60 to 1, he’s worth a small online betting wager.

6. Justin Leonard - - BetUS odds 50/1 - - Leonard is coming into this tournament with some momentum. He played very well last week, hitting his greens, and that could mean that he is sitting on a good run in the U.S. Open. If Woods were to fail, things would open up for a lot of guys. This 50 to 1 shot could be one of them.

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