Golf’s first major tournament of the year, the Masters, tees off for the 86th time Thursday morning from Augusta National Golf Club.
This year, the Masters will bring in a whole host of new wagers from New York sports betting providers as this will be the first major golf tournament you can bet on legally in the Empire State since the launch of mobile Jan 8.
An added bonus: If all goes according to plan, 15-time major and 5-time Masters champion Tiger Woods will be making a subtle appearance on the 25th anniversary of his first record-breaking Masters victory.
Woods shot a record 270 and won by 12 strokes in 1997 at age 21. He shot a 272 in 2001 and 276 in 2002 and 2005. He shocked the world of sports at age 43 when he shot a 275 to win in 2019.
“As of right now, I feel like I’m going to play,” Woods, now 46, said Tuesday, during an eagerly awaited press conference.
With this being the first competitive tournament for Woods after suffering major and extensive injuries in a single-car accident 408 days ago on Feb. 23, 2001, expectations should be tempered, especially considering his form before the accident was nothing spectacular.
In his three starts before the horrific accident, Woods had a 38th-place finish in the 2020 Masters (the November edition), a 72nd place finish in a 76-man field at the Zozo Championship and a missed cut at the U.S Open (also played in fall that year).
How Are Sportsbooks Reacting to Tiger?
For one thing, the sportsbooks, and CBS, know having Tiger in the field means interest in the Masters will soar.
DraftKings New York has Woods at +5000 to be the outright winner of The Masters, +800 to finish in the top five, +500 to finish in the top 10, +150 to finish in the top 20 and -115 to make the cut.
DraftKings lists Jon Rahm as the favorite at +900, followed by Scottie Scheffler and Justin Thomas both at +1200.
Over at BetMGM New York, Woods is +5000 to win, +3300 to be the top American finisher, +450 to finish in the top 10, including ties, and -115 to make the cut. BetMGM has Rahm as favorite at +1100, followed by Thomas (+1200) and Cameron Smith (+1400).
At Caesars Sportsbook New York, Woods is +4000 to win.
You can get all the updates for New York sports betting promo codes here at EmpireStakes.com.
Tiger returns to his second home, where he has won the Masters in 1997, 2001, 2002, 2005 and 2019. He finished second in 2007, losing by two shots to Zach Johnson and the following year to Trevor Immelman.
Ninety-one players will vie for arguably golf’s most coveted title starting at 8 a.m. ET Thursday, with former Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal and last week’s Valero Open winner, JJ Spaun, starting things off.
All eyes will be on the 10:34 a.m. ET tee time pairing: Tiger Woods, Louis Oosthuizen and Joaquin Niemann.
