Tiger Woods climbs Major markets after Tour Championship glory

The Ryder Cup starts in Paris on Friday and an American wildcard selection is hogging the headlines – Tiger Woods is the name on the lips of every golf fan as Europe and the United States prepare to do battle.

Woods won the Tour Championship in glorious fashion on Sunday – his first victory for more than five years greeted with elation by noisy Georgian galleries – and punters are busy studying prices about the future exploits of the resurgent 14-time Major champion.

The 42-year-old Tiger, who was clearly deliriously happy to end his drought with a two-shot triumph at East Lake, has the Ryder Cup in his immediate plans. He is 8-1 with Coral and Ladbrokes to finish the week as top American points scorer and 16-1 to top the overall charts.

The 2019 Majors are the betting heats which are catching the eye of many Woods supporters. BoyleSports have already made the four-times Masters champion their 8-1 favourite for the next Major at Augusta in April, while many other bookmakers make Woods 9-1 joint-favourite alongside Jordan Spieth.

Betfred and Betway are offering a top-price 10-1 about Woods for the Masters, while Dustin Johnson is the only name above the resurgent Tiger for the US Open. Rory McIlroy and Woods are 12-1 joint-favourites for the Open, while Johnson and Woods are scrapping for USPGA Championship favouritism.

The old king of golf appears close to reclaiming the crown, moving back into what was his customary position at the head of Major markets, and with world-number-one status in his sights. The Tour Championship success hauled Woods up to 13th in the rankings.

Bet365's Steve Freeth said: “Woods has been threatening to get back into the winner's enclosure for a while and it’s fair to say it was a dreadful result for us both pre-tournament and in-play. Tiger is back and that could be bad news for Europe this week and for bookmakers in the future.”

Coral spokesman John Hill said: “We thought we had seen the back of Woods, but he has haunted the bookmakers again at East Lake, where he proved to be a very expensive result.”

Bet365 go 200-1 about Tiger winning all four 2019 Majors, while he is 66-1 for three and 12-1 for two. Coral and Ladbrokes offer 3-1 that he wins one or more of next year's main four events, while bet365 go 4-11 that he draws a blank.

Betway have chalked up 2-1 about Woods ever winning another Major, while they also offer 25-1 about the California-born genius breaking the Major-wins record of Jack Nicklaus. Woods needs another five Major victories to reach 19 and overtake Nicklaus.

Coral and Ladbrokes offer 6-1 about Woods ending next year as world number one, while Betway go 6-4 that he regains the top ranking at any stage of his career. Betway are 2-5 about him winning another US Tour title and 2-1 that he breaks the US Tour victories record of Sam Snead (82). Another three wins are required to move past Snead.

Ladbrokes have reported that 80 percent of all bets placed on the winner of the Ryder Cup have been on the United States, forcing a trim from 4-5 to 8-11. Perfect weather is forecast for the event, with bright sunshine all three days.

Betway – Total T Woods Major wins before retirement: 2-5 14, 7-2 15, 8-1 16, 12-1 17, 16-1 18, 25-1 19 or more

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