Tiger Woods will tee it up in a PGA Tour event Thursday for the first time since withdrawing from the 2023 Masters.
Woods, who had ankle surgery in April, itted he’s not sure how he’ll perform this week at the 20-player, no-cut Hero World Challenge.
“I’m just as curious as all of you,” Woods said at his Tuesday press conference. “What’s gonna happen? I haven’t done this in a while.”
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Due to lingering questions about Woods’ health — he’s struggled to walk 72 holes over four days since his 2021 car accident — Woods sits at +8000 to win the event at FanDuel, have Woods with even longer odds (+9000) to prevail, and most list him with the longest odds of any tourney participant to finish first.
Viktor Hovland (+400) and Scottie Scheffler (+450) are the tournament favorites at BetMGM, betting sites.
In addition to health concerns, there are questions about the state of Woods’ game. He hasn’t played a competitive tournament round in seven months. Will his game look the part of a potential winner in 2024 or will the all-time great look rusty?
“What drives me is I love to compete,” Woods told the media. “There will come a point in time, I haven’t come around to it fully yet, that I won’t be able to win again. When that day comes, I’ll walk.”
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Woods said that he’d like to play a tournament a month in 2024. Presumably, that schedule would include competing in each of the year’s four majors, including the Masters in April.
Woods is currently +10000 to win the Masters at SuperBook Sports. Jeff Sherman, the SuperBook’s vice president of risk and a golf oddsmaker, said Woods’ odds for the first major of the year could swing dramatically if he looks good in the first round of Thursday’s Hero World Challenge.
“We’re currently at 100 to 1,” Sherman said. “It wouldn’t surprise me to see him go down to like 50 to 1. There’s nothing more reactive than what Tiger does almost shot by shot and round by round.”
If Woods flashes competitive excellence, Sherman expects bettors to place their futures on the five-time Masters champion. If he struggles with his play or walking, Sherman anticipates his 100/1 price staying in the same ballpark.
“Everyone’s gonna be watching him on Thursday,” Sherman said. “You’re gonna have the betting world reacting accordingly. The books will be watching. The players will be watching.”
Woods is scheduled to tee off Thursday at 11:52 a.m. ET. He’s paired with his close friend, Justin Thomas.
