Who’s it gonna be, Tiger or Phil? The $9 million match play between golf legends Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson will tee off on Friday at 3 p.m. ET from Shadow Creek Golf Course in Las Vegas. The top two money leaders in the history of the PGA Tour and the most popular golfers of their generation are going head to head in a celebrity match made for TV. And of course, there will be tons of action on the match.
The current Tiger vs. Phil odds show Woods as a -210 favorite, up from an open of -130. Mickelson is posted at +170, up from +130. In addition to the match play, a number of prop bets are available. Before we get into the props, I will just say that Mickelson is worth a bet as an underdog here. I would never bet on him if this was stroke play but because match play allows a player to blow up on a hole and only lose that hole, I like Phil. Something also tells me the match will come down to the final hole. It’s made for TV after all. So I like Mickelson to win at +170.
The most obvious prop bet that requires some action is: Will a side bet be over/under 50,000. I’ll start there and take the over. Mickelson is a degenerate gambler and 50K is what he bets when he’s not on TV.
“We’re going to have little challenges that can maybe get in each other’s heads,” Mickelson said during a NBA broadcast on TNT on Oct. 25. “You have a downhill putt? I’ll bet you 50Gs that you miss it.”
Money won from the side bets goes to the charity of choice for the winning golfer, so there’s a strong possibility they’ll try to secure as much as possible for their causes.
Here are the current Prop Bets that are available from DraftKings today in New Jersey. My favorite prop is the last one, that either player will hit a shot into the water as a “Yes” at +300. I can see Mickelson parking one in the water at Shadow Creek, which has a lot of water on the course. Again, the gambler mentality will come out in Phil and that could park his ball in the drink very easily.
Most Eagles
Most Greens in Regulation
Most Fairways in Regulation
Most 3-Putted Greens in the Round
Either player to hit a shot Out of Bounds
Either player to be Disqualified
Either player to Withdraw during the Round
Leader after 9 Holes
First to go 1 Up
First to go 2 Up
Either Player to hit a shot into a Water Hazard