Masters Betting Odds 2014: Favorites to win

Rory McILroy at Augusta National

Masters Betting Odds: Favorites to win

Rory McILroy: 7-1
Adam Scott: 9-1
Phil Mickelson: 12-1
Jason Day: 14-1
Dustin Johnson: 16-1
Henrik Stenson: 18-1
Bubba Watson: 20-1
Matt Kuchar: 20-1
Jordan Spieth: 25-1
Justin Rose: 25-1
Zack Johnson: 25-1
Keegan Bradley: 28-1
Sergio Garcia: 28-1
Charl Schwartzel: 40-1
Hunter Mahan: 40-1
Jason Dufner: 40-1
Angel Cabrera: 50-1
Graeme McDowell: 50-1
Harris English: 50-1
Patrick Reed: 50-1
Jimmy Walker: 55-1

Longshots to win

PGA Championship 2013 Betting Odds

The final major of the year begins August 8th at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York. Here are some of the betting odds for the tournament:

Tiger Woods: 5-1
Phil Mickelson: 10-1
Adam Scott: 20-1
Justin Rose: 20-1
Brandt Snedker: 20-1
Rory McILroy: 25-1
Jason Day: 33-1
Sergio Garcia: 33-1
Hunter Mahan: 33-1
Luke Donald: 33-1
Keegan Bradley: 40-1
Rickie Fowler: 50-1
Jim Furyk: 80-1
Padraig Harrington: 80-1
Vijay Singh: 250-1

Rory McILroy golf swing

Rory McILroy vs. a trash talking robot

Rory McILroy has played against Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Justin Rose, Luke Donald, and many other top ranked golfers in the world. He has climbed as high as number one in the world rankings and won both the 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional and the 2012 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island. He's also dealt with intense media scrutiny, the pressures that go along with being number one, several management changes, and an equipment change in 2013. McILroy has been through many challenges in his early career, but he's never faced off versus a trash talking robot.

In the latest addition of the European Tour's "See Every Shot Imaginable" campaign, McILroy has been pitted against a robot, otherwise known as a golf laboratory computer hitting machine. As a kid, McILroy would chip balls into his mother's washing machine as a way to practice. As an adult, he must once again hit balls at washing machines, only this time the targets are outdoors at a driving range, and much farther away.

The robot is not only GPS programmed, but enjoys needling McILroy and talking trash in order to mess him up. He causes McILroy to laugh as he's attempting to hit shots, and at one point mentions that a certain other golfer (Tiger) would have long since been at home with his feet kicked up.
 

In this short video, the European Tour is demonstrating in an amusing way how their players need every shot imaginable to win in difficult conditions and vs. difficult opponents. In this example, the world's number two golfer is hitting a variety of shots to help prove that point.

 

The next time McILroy will be seen at a real tournament will be at the Open Championship at Muirfield beginning July 18th, where he will attempt to win his 3rd career major championship.

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McILroy bends club at U.S. Open

Woods, McILroy, and Scott paired together at U.S. Open

Tiger Woods, Rory McILroy, and Adam Scott will be paired together for the first two rounds of the U.S. Open at Merion. The top three in the world rankings will go off at 1:14pm on Thursday at 7:44am on Friday.

Woods enters the tournament with four wins on the season and will be looking to earn his 15th major title and first since the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. McILroy has slumped lately with equipment changes but will look to regain the form he had in winning the 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional. Adam Scott enters looking to win back to back majors after taking the Masters in April.

It is no doubt the marquee pairing of the week and will help the tournament earn big ratings for rounds one and two.

Masters Prop Bets

 

Here are some examples of the various prop bets available for the 2012 Masters.

Who will be the top American? Australian? Irishman?

Will Rory McILroy finish in the top ten?

Will Tiger Woods get a hole in one?

How many letters will the winner's first name have?

Which will be higher?
The number of birdies made Sunday by the winner or the number of assists Kobe Bryant gets Saturday night.

Head to head matchup:
Jason Day vs. Jason Dufner

Will the Masters champion be a first time major winner?

Which will be higher?
Tiger Woods score on Sunday or the combined point total of Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh on Sunday. 

Woods and McILroy pressers

Q.  First of all, I can't really remember having seen a lot of golfers with their swing look as effortless; is that a fair assessment?
TIGER WOODS:  I just have to stick with the process, and it's coming.  Each tournament, it's getting better.  I'm hitting more good shots, more quality misses.  They are not what they used to be.  Each tournament I've progressed, I've gotten better.  And it's just a matter of time before I put it all together for an entire tournament.

Full Tiger Woods presser

Q.  You've been incredibly consistent these last six months or so.  When you're playing this well, do you feel like you're tough to beat; that no one can beat you?
RORY McILROY:  I always felt like when I played my best, I would be hard to beat; Congressional or Quail Hollow or whatever when I play my best, I usually can get quite a lead.  But I feel at the minute, you know, even if I don't play my best golf, I can still challenge, which gives me a lot of confidence, also.
So yeah, when I'm firing on all cylinders, I feel like I'm hard to beat, but even playing‑‑ I still feel like I can play better than what I did this week and still be able to win is very nice.

Full Rory McILroy presser

Rory McILroy holds off Tiger to win The Honda Classic, becomes World Number One

Despite a huge charge from Tiger Woods, Rory McILroy kept his composure and shot a final round 69 to win the The Honda Classic by two strokes. The win vaults the 22 year old Irishman into the number one position on the world rankings.

"It was tough today, especially seeing Tiger make a charge," McIlroy said. "I knew par golf would probably be good enough. To shoot 1 under in these conditions, when you go into the round with the lead, is very nice. And I was just able to get the job done." 

McILroy didn't have his best stuff with his long game, however, he got up and down all day from several precarious positions. He hit a great pitch from deep rough at 14 to get up and in, and saved par from the greenside bunker at both 15 and 17, two of the difficult par-3s that make up part of the Bear Trap. McILroy got up and down 21 out of 25 times for the week.

"My short game all week has been very good, and it's what you need on a tough golf course like this," McIlroy said. "I was able to do that, especially on 15 and 17. I needed to make pars there. My short game felt good all week, and it definitely saved me today."

The 2012 Major Champions will be...

Tiger Woods vs. Rory McILroy

The 2012 Major Champions will be ...

THE MASTERS: TIGER WOODS
Tiger has won the Masters four times and seems to be in contention at Augusta even when he doesn't have his A game. He finished in the top five the past two years despite injuries, swing changes, and the scandal. This year he appears to be healthy, his swing changes have become more ingrained, he's coming off a win at Chevron, and he'll have at least 4-5 tournaments to play prior to Augusta to prepare. Look for Woods to get his 15th major victory this April and get back on track to breaking Jack's record of 18.

U.S. OPEN: PHIL MICKELSON
Mickelson has finished runner-up five times in the U.S. Open and he wants this tournament more than any other. He's approaching his mid-forties so his window of opportunity to win is closing. No one knows if Phil will show up with one driver, two drivers, no driver, a regular putter, or a belly putter. Regardless, he will be gearing up and trying to peak this summer to try and win his first U.S. Open. He still has a good chance to win the career grand slam.

BRITISH OPEN: RORY MCILROY 
Well on his way to becoming the number one player in the world, McILroy is the most talented golfer to hit the scene since Woods. Injuries aside, he will no doubt be a top ten player in the world for the next decade. He should have won the Masters last year and won the U.S. Open in a runaway.  He grew up in Northern Ireland playing links style courses and there's no question he will eventually win the Open Championship. Other than Woods, McILroy is the only player with the potential in winning the calendar year Grand Slam. Look for him to earn his second career major in 2012.

PGA CHAMPIONSHIP: SERGIO GARCIA
Now in his 30s, it doesn't seem possible that a player with his talent could go a career without winning a major championship. After a self-imposed hiatus from golf, he came back last year looking sharp and winning back to back tournaments on the European Tour. Of course, he also made news for slinging his 4 iron into a lake after a bad shot. Garcia is definitely a wild card, but if he gets his putter rolling and keeps his head in check, he could finally win his first major championship in 2012.

The top events on the golf calendar in 2012

Luke Donald and Rory McILroy: The battle for #1 begins again in 2012. 

January
Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship: Abu Dhabi Golf Club


February
WGC Accenture Match Play: Ritz Carlton Golf Club


March
WGC Cadillac: Blue Monster at Doral
Arnold Palmer Invitational: Bay Hill

April 
THE MASTERS: AUGUSTA NATIONAL


May
Wells Fargo: Quail Hollow
The Players Championship: TPC Sawgrass
Memorial: Muirfield Village

June
U.S. OPEN: OLYMPIC CLUB
AT & T National: Congressional CC

July
BRITISH OPEN: ROYAL LYTHAM ST ANNE

August
WGC Bridgestone: Firestone CC 
PGA CHAMPIONSHIP: KIAWAH ISLAND

August - September: Fed Ex Cup Playoffs
The Barclays: Bethpage
Deutsche Bank: TPC Boston
BMW Championship: Crooked Stick
Tour Championship: East Lake

September
RYDER CUP: MEDINAH CC 

FULL PGA SCHEDULE

Rory McILroy ends year on a high note

Rory McILroy won his first major championship at the U.S. Open in 2011 and climbed as high as number two in the world rankings. He also hit balls off a helipad 700 feet high in the air at a seven star resort in Dubai.

McIlroy wins Shanghai Masters in playoff over AK, takes home 2 million

Although without his best stuff Sunday, Rory McIlroy held on to win the Shanghai Masters and the 2 million dollar prize with a playoff victory over Anthony Kim. McIlroy birdied the first playoff hole for his first win since the U.S. Open.

"It's something that I feel like I can still get better at is winning and putting yourself in the position to win when you're not playing your best," McIlroy said.

"Even if it's scrappy golf where you grind it out, you're going to win a lot more tournaments by doing that rather than playing your best golf the whole week. I was very happy I was able to pull this one out."

You Vs. McIlroy contest.

Rory McIlroy shoots even par 70 despite injury

Rory McIlroy toughed out an even par 70 Thursday at the PGA Championship while playing much of it with a wrist injury. He suffered the injury when he attempted to hit his ball as it lay just behind the large root of a tree at the 4th hole. 

It was quite obvious in looking at the ball that he would end up drilling the root with his club as the announcers were describing but McIlroy decided to risk it anyway. It didn't end well as he hit the ball, then the root, the club flew out of his hand, and he hurt himself, just as David Feherty predicted.

After icing the wrist and getting checked out by a trainer, he continued on and played extremely well, although he let go of the club on almost every follow through.

"It's a very important tournament, and I'm still even par," McIlroy said. "I'm still in the hunt. So we'll see what the results are tonight, and if I can strap it up and play again tomorrow, I will."

The U.S. Open champion is seven shots off the lead held by Steve Stricker, and as long as the wrist holds up, he should make a run beginning Friday morning.

McILroy fires back at golf channel analyst

“Shut up. You’re a commentator and a failed golfer. Your opinion means nothing!” wrote McIlroy.

After being criticized for his course management and his caddie at the Irish Open, Rory McILroy fired back on twitter at Golf channel analyst and former pro Jay Townsend. 

Just another amusing golf drama played out on twitter.

Rory McILroy swing analysis: Part 2

Somax performance institute releases part 2 of their Rory McILroy swing analysis. They compare his swing to Hogan and discuss why his putting stroke is much better than Y.E. Yang, who he played with in the final round at the U.S. Open.

Part 1

Rory McILroy U.S. Open swing analysis: Part 1

Here is the somax performance institute providing an analysis of Rory McILroy's swing. According to them, his swing is much better than it was in the past, but they do see potential problems.

How could McILroy beat Tiger's records?

1. Stay Healthy (Woods has had four knee surgeries, a broken leg, and an Achilles problem)

2. Keep the same swing (Woods has gone through four major swing changes, some of which probably cost him victories in the long run)

3. Don't get married too young

4. If married, don't have 127 affairs

SI: Golf's New Era

Tiger Woods just received the new issue of SI, cut the cast off his leg, smashed a club in his living room, and went straight to the driving range.

Tiger Woods vs. Rory McILroy

Now that Rory McILroy has turned into the next Tiger Woods overnight, let's analyze what Rory needs to do to surpass Woods.

Currently, Woods is 35 and McILroy is 22. Woods has 71 career victories with 14 majors. McILroy has three victories with one major. All McILroy has to do now is win 68 total times and 13 majors in the next 13 years in order to equal what Tiger has now. McILroy needs to win an average of 5.2 times per year and one major each year until age 35.

Is it possible? Yes. It it likely? No.

McILroy does have the best overall swing in the game today. He's also proven he is capable of winning major championships in runaway fashion as Woods used to. What hasn't been seen yet is his capability of winning the close ones in which he has to make clutch shots and make every single necessary putt as Woods used to do.

In Tiger Woods' career, he won three straight junior amateurs, three straight U.S. amateurs, and of course the 14 major championships. During his prime, he was the most dominant golfer the sport has ever seen.

Tiger Woods Major Championship Victories:

The Masters 1997: Won by 12 shots over Tom Kite
PGA Championship 1999: Won by 1 shot over Sergio Garcia
U.S. Open 2000: Won by 15 shots over Ernie Els
British Open 2000: Won by 8 shots over Ernie Els
PGA Championship 2000: Won in playoff over Bob May
The Masters 2001: Won by 2 over David Duval
The Masters 2002: Won by 3 over Retief Goosen
U.S. Open 2002: Won by 3 over Phil Mickelson
The Masters 2005: Won in playoff over Chris Dimarco
British Open 2005: Won by 5 over Colin Montgomerie
British Open 2006: Won by 2 over Chris Dimarco
PGA Championship 2006: Won by 5 over Shaun Micheel
PGA Championship 2007: Won by 2 over Woody Austin
U.S. Open 2008: Won in playoff over Rocco Mediate

Of all the supposed "next Tiger Woods", McILroy is definitely the most deserving of the label, but he must have a lot of good fortune in his career and avoid the pitfalls and problems Woods had to surpass him.

By the way, had Tiger made a few more putts at Augusta in April, he would have won the Masters. He isn't dead yet, he's just injured. If he's able to get healthy, he will be back and possibly more motivated than ever now that a potential rival has arrived.

Golf never got to see Tiger Woods vs. Jack Nicklaus. However, there is strong possibility of seeing Tiger Woods vs. Rory McILroy.