How good is Thanksgiving weekend shaping up to be?
Well, after enjoying a delicious meal with my family on Thursday, I get to watch Tiger and Phil go head to head for 9 million bucks at a course I’ve played more than 50 times.
Would I rather not cough up $19.99 to watch it? Yeah, probably.
But I’ve spent a “twenty” on things a lot less captivating than what promises to be in store on Friday afternoon.
I don’t want to spend an inordinate amount of time previewing this match, as I’ve done that already. I prepped you for the Tiger vs. Phil match a few weeks back, but now the time has come.
We are around the corner from this thing kicking off, and the top sports betting sites in the market are ready for our action. Depending on which online bookmakers you associate with, you have an abundance of options for wagering this match.
Parking a seat on the couch with a plate of leftovers and watching Tiger and Phil go toe to toe for all that cash seems like a pretty good day off of work to me. And now that my eyes have been opened to all the props, my fascination with the match is at a whole new level.
Let me open your eyes to some of the props that might intrigue you. I’ll offer short blurbs that can hopefully help you as you go about attacking this match from a betting perspective.
You should really be checking out all the top sports betting sites and even looking at reliable bookies like BetDSI.eu and Sportsbook.ag to compare prices and see all that’s out there.
And remember, just because this head-to-head showdown was designed for entertainment purposes, that doesn’t mean it’s a crime to try and turn a profit!
This bet is available in numerous spots, but if you want to bet on Phil finding the first fairway, you ought to go to BetDSI.eu.
Because rather than lay -165 like you would have to at other sites, you only have to lay -130 on Phil hitting the fairway in regulation on Friday.
I’ve been fortunate to play at the venue, and I even created an in-depth guide to Shadow Creek Golf Course.
I can tell you that #1 at Shadow is a shortish par 4 that bends to the left, and I’d be shocked if either player pulls out the big stick.
Even in the event that he does rip driver, playing a gentle fade on a hole that shapes in that direction isn’t out of the question.
But the likelihood is that Phil hits some sort of long iron or hybrid club and keeps it in the short grass.
I don’t know exactly where they are going to put the pin on the fifth hole for the Tiger-Phil match, but I’m going to guess the hole is going to play around 190-200 yards.
That means both players will be launching some sort of 6- or 7-iron into the air and over the ravine of vegetation that dominates the landscape of this golf hole.
Obviously, one player may or may not have picked up some momentum by this point in the match, but that won’t be known until Friday afternoon.
Here’s what we do know.
Both players had an identical 3.07 scoring average on par 3s last season on the PGA Tour, but neither player lacks confidence with their mid-irons.
In fact, iron play has always been a staple of Mickelson’s game. And I suspect he won’t be afraid to challenge flags and attack hole locations because we know he has faith in his short game.
So rather than lay -130 on Tiger, why not take the guy who doesn’t require us to lay any juice?
That’s my plan with this one.
Same story here, folks.
I don’t want to repeat everything I just said about par 3 stats and iron play, but the same holds true at #8 at Shadow Creek.
The 8th hole measures around 200 yards from the back tee, so it’s about the same length as the 5th hole.
But the 8th is far less intimidating and even plays a touch downhill. If anything, this iron shot will be slightly easier for Tiger and Phil than the one they face at #5, and I don’t see any reason to lay -130 on either of these guys to knock it inside the other.
With that being said, getting a guy of Phil’s stature at even money?
That seems like a no-brainer to me.
This one is interesting, to say the least, as I’m not entirely sure what each of these golfing icons has up their sleeve for this one.
What I do know is that there is already 9 million bucks up for grabs here. That’s enough to command anyone’s full attention, even guys with pockets as deep as Tiger and Phil.
I have no doubt that when certain situations present themselves, they’ll be eager to offer unique side bets. And both Woods and Mickelson will want to do whatever they can within the rules and etiquette of the match to entice the other one into making a mistake.
So my guess is that we’ll see at least a handful of “prop-style” bets thrown out during the course of the rounds.
But more than 13?
Sure, it’s possible, as they could have a new bet on the tee of every hole.
But I think the $9 million check waiting for the winner will have the players concentrating on the big prize and not the “little ones.”
So even if they come up with some sort of wager at every other hole, and the match goes the distance, that still puts us at just nine side bets.
While it’s certainly within the realm of possibility for them to go crazy on the side, I’ll roll the dice here and hope my premonition about less than 13 being agreed upon is correct.
This is the world we live in today, ladies and gentlemen.
Not only are two golfers playing a match for the sum of 9 million dollars, but you can actually bet on whether or not the President of the United States will be in attendance.
So here’s the thing.
I haven’t seen Trump sending out a bunch of tweets related to this topic, and we know he isn’t shy about revealing his thoughts to the public via the internet.
But we also know that Donald is an avid golfer and a massive fan of these two men. He has dined and played golf with Tiger on multiple occasions, and I would imagine he has some sort of existing relationship with Phil as well.
I also know for a fact that “The Don” has no qualms about sneaking away from a day’s duty at the Oval Office to play a round of golf.
So the question is, will Trump abandon his presidential obligations for about four hours on the day after Thanksgiving?
When it really comes down to it, I’d say that he will not be in attendance, but not because he’s afraid of the backlash he would receive from the American public, especially those who aren’t golf fans.
It’s because the guy is so selfish that he’d probably rather take time off to go play a round himself, not watch others when he can’t participate.
The issue is that the -1000 price tag attached to betting “No” here just doesn’t offer any value. You have to risk $500 just to win $50, and I’m not sure it’s worth it.
On the flip side, if betting a measly $20 bucks on Trump showing up in Sin City to watch this go down will net me a profit of $120, I might get interested.
I’ll be monitoring the situation closely and looking for any tips on this one because his Twitter account in the coming hours could give this bet away one way or the other!
This is match play, so Tiger and Phil won’t be afraid to attempt a dramatic golf shot. Without having to face the same repercussions as they would for making a big number in a stroke-play event, I imagine we’ll see Tiger and Phil in full attack mode from the get-go.
Water comes into play enough times at Shadow Creek for me to think the chances that one of these men rinses a ball are at least pretty fair.
I wouldn’t place this wager at +200, but +300 sounded like the sweet spot for me.
So when I saw +325 on BetOnline.ag, I figured it was worth pouncing on!
I guess I am cheating, but this one already seems to be a lock. Because ESPN already reported that a $200,000 side bet has already been booked!
Phil was so confident during Tuesday’s press conference that he told Tiger he’d bet him 100 grand that he’d make a birdie on hole #1.
Tiger responded with a shot back about if Phil was positive he’d make a “3” on the first hole, and Phil confirmed in a manner that was anything but sheepish.
So Tiger calmly fired back with this retort.
And just like that, it appears we already have a bet exceeding $200k before the first shots have even been struck.
Get your popcorn ready, folks, because this is going to be entertainment at its finest.
Something tells me this won’t be the only 6-figure side bet we see.
These are just some of the props that you can find if you search in the right places.
I would only steer you toward reputable betting sites, so there is nothing to worry about on that front.
What you need to do is browse the betting sheets and find out if there are any other interesting wagers you want to be a part of.
If you are seeking out information on how to watch the Tiger vs. Phil match or need any other details, don’t be shy about snooping around.
Matches like this don’t come around often, so you don’t want to miss a single minute of the action.
Don’t be that guy or girl who arrives at work on Monday morning and has to hear others gushing about what happened and how electrifying it was.
Set your ego aside and spend the $20 to ensure you are a part of this history.
That’s what I’ll be doing!
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