Wandering through the ‘Woods’ betting options takes time, patience and a great deal of effort but having such a heavy favorite at the top of the list creates excellent value throughout the rest of the card.

Pre-tournament press conferences were in full-swing for the 2009 Masters and as the golfers fielded questions from the media, sports bettors have shifted into full-on research mode trying to dig up the gem that will lead to a win when the final putts are made Sunday afternoon.

Office pools for the Masters are one method that has become quite popular for those looking to have a bit of fun and on the (Tar) Heels of the NCAA basketball tourney that wrapped up on Monday, everyone’s bracket-busting skills should be honed to perfection by now. But rather than simply trying to predict the Top 10 money winners, why not explore a few of the avenues being offered by online sportsbooks for the first major of the season and see if you can find some value in the rough.

Wait a minute though; say the casual fans of the sport. Isn’t it obvious that Tiger is going to blow away the field and take home his fifth Green Jacket since 1997?

Tiger Woods Odds

Well, while Tiger Woods (+205) is certainly the odds-on favorite to win the tournament, it is worth taking a few things into account before placing any bets. First of all, Augusta is a very long and extremely difficult course. All of the changes that have been made to the track have eliminated many of the birdie opportunities that once existed and it has opened the door considerably to a possible upset. The fact is that the margin for error at Augusta is small and if someone gets into serious trouble in the first or second round, their chance at a recovery can be doubtful.

Another thing to remember is that Tiger will be playing in his first major this week since undergoing reconstructive surgery to his ACL last June. He has not shown any ill-effects from the operation thus far in 2009 but it is still a concern.

Summing up, Woods has never held the lead after Thursday’s round and has only been in front of the pack once after 36. He has recorded nine Top 10 finishes in 14 Masters Tournaments and shoots an average score of 70.98 per round and he is favored here for good reason. If his putting is on this week he will likely be near the top of the leader board after the cut but the test from here is trying to find a challenger that might be the upset story of 2009.

Moving onto the rest of the betting options is where things really start to get interesting. The group of young guns entering play this week has received a lot of attention and the question from a betting perspective is whether the likes of Rory McIlroy, Anthony Kim and Camilo Villegas can overcome their lack of experience and out-shoot some of the veterans.

Kim showed a lot of poise in his interview Tuesday and in the right matchup or prop-betting opportunity could be worth a look. Kim has averaged 70.79 per round in his five starts so far this year and has a lot of confidence heading into his first Masters. Of the youth movement, Kim gets the nod for most likely to surprise at Augusta.

There is an amazing list of props being offered at SPORTSBETTING.COM on everything from finishing position Over/Unders to what the lowest single round score will be by any golfer.

The weather was not ideal for golfers trying to get in their practice rounds and it could mess up the routines for some but the forecast for the actual tournament itself calls for temperatures in the 70’s and mellow winds from 8-13 mph. The greatest chance of rain is Friday but it is only 40-percent so we shouldn’t see any “thunder” unless Phil or Padraig holds the lead late Sunday.

96 players are ready to tee it up Thursday and Tiger will set out at 1:52 pm ET in one of the last groups. The advice for playing Augusta is relatively simple: Hit it straight, hit it on the green and make some putts. Now if anything about golf was really just that easy we would all be pros!

Check out all the Masters Odds

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Abu Dhabi Golf Championship 2010 Masters Odds: PAUL LAWRIE had fierce family rivalry to thank for his scorching start at the Abu Dhabi Championship yesterday.

The Scot soared to just a shot off the lead with a flawless six-under 66 – his best opening round for more than two years.

And Lawrie put his stunning show down to having spent the last fortnight locked in battle with his two golf-mad sons on a nine-hole course in Dubai.

That preparation helped the 1999 Open champ reel off six birdies on the National course yesterday to sit among nine players in a share of fourth, while Ian Poulter tops the board on seven under with fellow Englishman Richard Bland and South Africa’s Keith Horne.

Lawrie said: “We were over in Dubai with the kids for nearly two weeks and they have a nine-hole course at Jebel Ali so I played a lot of golf over the festive break.

“I didn’t practise and just warmed up playing nine holes each day with Craig and Michael – they are both extremely keen.

“Craig is 14 and plays off eight and Michael, who’s 11, is down to 14-handicap so they are both very handy. It’s tough to beat them but I did!

“So I’m not surprised to have made a great start because I have played a lot of golf with my two boys and hit the ball really well. It’s just nice to be back.”

Lawrie’s score was his lowest first-round tally since he began the 2007 Dunhill Links Championship with a 66.

And the highlight came with a great escape at the par-five eighth, which he was playing as the 17th.

Lawrie found a fairway bunker with his tee shot then slipped while playing his three wood out of the sand. The ball veered far right into a waste area from where he managed to get up and down for birdie.

Joint leader Poulter saved the best for last with a brilliant 70-foot downhill putt on 18.

He said: “I hit it probably 10 feet too hard but it was on line and lucky enough it hit the back of the hole then popped up and dropped.

“I wasn’t expecting to come out quite as fast as that after a five-week break but I will certainly take it.”

Alongside Lawrie on six under are Alvaro Quiros and Sergio Garcia plus world No. 10 Rory McIlroy.

Check out the leader board and full rankings list at Golf Masters Betting

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PGA Tour SBS Championship 2010 Golf Betting Winner: The SBS Championship of PGA Tour 2010 has successfully completed. Geoff Ogilvy successfully defended his title at Kapalua as he won the season-opening SBS Championship by a stroke in Hawaii.  Geoff Ogilvy believes he has learnt from last year, when he started the season in a blaze of glory before going missing during the business part of the golf season.

After successfully defending his title at the $US5.6 million ($A6.03 million) SBS Championship on Sunday, Australia’s best player vowed he would hit far fewer balls this year.

The Australian shot a final-round 67 at the par-73 Kapalua Resort Plantation Course to win by a shot at 22 under par from South Africa’s Rory Sabbatini and land the tournament of the previous year’s PGA Tour event winners for a second year in a row.

American Matt Kuchar was third of the 28-man field at 19 under with his compatriot Sean O’Hair in a tie for fourth at 18 under with Scotland’s Martin Laird.

Ogilvy started the day one shot back on third-round leader and US Open champion Lucas Glover but as the front runner dropped off the leaderboard, Ogilvy’s new target became Sabbatini.

Sabbatini had given the leaders plenty to think about with a bogey-free, 10-birdie 63 that gave him the clubhouse lead until Ogilvy brought up the rear and took the title, the Australian reaching the 18th tee with a one-stroke lead and needing to avoid bogey or worse to force a play-off.

Laird had been in contention all week and at 19 under after 15 holes was just three shots back only to bogey 16 and 17 to ruin his hopes of victory.

There was eagle opportunity at the par-five 18th but the Scot’s long putt just missed right and Laird’s birdie nevertheless bumped him up into a top-five finish at 18 under.

Ogilvy, 32, collected $1.12 million for his seventh victory on the US Tour.

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