Woods draws plenty of action for British betting
houses
By Bob Verdi / Chicago Tribune
TROON, Scotland - They bet on everything that walks or talks
over here, so they'll surely bet on someone who does both and
also hits a golf ball farther than most people go on vacation.
Tiger Woods, you're the man with bookies.
The 126th British Open will begin at Royal Troon Thursday morning,
rain or shine, probably the former. Because of Woods, the wagering
forecast is for a 100 percent chance of increased participation.
"Could be the all-time biggest Open pool," said Graham
Sharpe, a spokesman for the William Hill Agency. "Your young
phenomenon has been great for our business. Of course, if Tiger
goes out and shoots 60 in the opening round, he'll kill it. We'll
be taking more calls on his chances for the White House than his
chances of winning the tournament."
As we write this with shivering hands, Woods is a 5-1 favorite.
"Absurd, but true," Sharpe said. "That is certainly
the shortest price at our Open since World War II. Not Jack Nicklaus,
not Tom Watson in their prime. Not Nick Faldo or Seve Ballesteros.
They couldn't have been better than 7-1 or 8-1, if that.
"There's so much activity on Woods in particular, and
the Open in general, that we're taking bets on his shooting a
hole-in-one at Troon by nightfall Sunday. Yesterday it was 250-1.
Now it's 100-1."
How about Thursday about 1:05 p.m.?
"Isn't that when he tees off?" Sharpe asked.
It is indeed, and the No. 1 hole at Royal Troon is a par 4,
only 364 yards, that often plays downwind to start a user-friendly
front nine.
"Well," Sharpe said, "if you want to start something
right now, I suppose we could. It would be a slightly improved
proposition over the reappearance of Elvis Presley, which we have
at 5,000-1, but probably longer than a Loch Ness Monster sighting,
which is 500-1."
Woods played the last two British Opens as an amateur, and
has expressed fondness for the links style of golf. He enjoys
launching those high and soft wedges during target practice back
in the United States. But bump-and-run can be fun, too.
"My second round at Royal Lytham & St. Anne's,"
Woods said. "I shot 66 and that convinced me, as much as
anything, that I belonged out here."
That was one July and about $80 million ago. Since then, for
those who haven't been paying attention, Woods has rearranged
golf. And since coming to Scotland from a brief spy mission of
September's Ryder Cup venue in Spain, Tiger has answered Princess
Di's prayers.
Now he feeds British tabloids their daily gruel. They scream
when he admits receiving occasional death threats. They chuckle
when he mentions that he still likes his job because he can work
on his tan. And they beam when he praises galleries on this side
of the pond, where an autograph, like cold beer, is an unexpected
privilege.
"He's captured everybody's imagination," Sharpe said.
"But if Tiger continues to dominate, he'll do what Pete Sampras
has done to Wimbledon betting: Utterly destroy it. After Woods
won the Masters, we had him 14-1 to win the Grand Slam. Outlandish.
"Now he's 1,000-1 to be in the White House by 2020. You've
had some presidents, including a moderately talented actor, who
happened to be golfers. Maybe there will be a day when you elect
a real golfer who will regard being president as a hobby. Not
many Masters' champions who can say they rule the free world."
(Bob Verdi is a sports columnist for the Chicago Tribune. Write
to him at: Chicago Tribune, 435 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago,
Ill. 60611.)
(c) 1997, Chicago Tribune.
Visit the Chicago Tribune on America Online (keyword: Tribune)
or the Internet Tribune at http://www.chicago.tribune.com/
Distributed by Knight-Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
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