Public bettors are all over Tiger Woods in this week’s British Open. Professional bettors? Not so much.
“He’s had the most tickets written on him, and he’s got the most money bet on him, so he’s definitely been supported pretty well," Jeff Sherman, who makes golf odds at the LVH SuperBook, told The Linemakers on Sporting News on Wednesday. "....He’s ten tickets ahead of Martin Kaymer for most tickets written.”
The SuperBook took two four-figure bets on Tiger to win the Open Championship at 25- and 20-to-1, per Linemakers contributor David Purdum, action that prompted Sherman to shorten Woods’ odds to 15-to-1 on Tuesday.
Despite the size of some of these bets, the wagers have not come from what bookmakers consider respected – or sharp – gamblers.
Sharps, according to Sherman, rarely bet the odds-to-win market in golf.
“It’s about 98 percent public (money) on the odds-to-win market, and about 98 percent sharp on the matchup market,” he said.
So where is the respected money going in matchup market?
“Against Tiger,” Sherman said.
Woods is featured in two matchup props at the LVH, one against Phil Mickelson, the other against Henrik Stenson. Stenson opened as a -180 favorite vs. Woods and has been bet up to -210, making Woods the +180 underdog. Mickelson is -165 vs. Woods, with Tiger getting back odds of +145.
It’s interesting to note that despite Woods being the significant dog in both of those matchups, his odds to win are shorter than Mickelson’s and even with Stenson’s. The numbers don’t correlate because we’re talking about two different betting pools – again, one driven by the public, the other by respected money.
View a full list of British Open odds and props here, and picks from The Linemakers' Brian Blessing here.