Betfair Official Blog

The Tour Championship betting and odds preview

Tiger Woods is expected to start a warm favourite in the betting to be crowned the first FedExCup winner, when the PGA Tour's newest tournament reaches its climax at the Tour Championship.

Woods never plays three weeks in a row but, with a $10 million first prize on offer to the winner, even the world number one has broken his unwritten rule to play and he is likely to start at short odds to add yet another title to his groaning mantelpiece

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Woods has been forced to settle for the runners-up spot the last two occasions he has played the tournament, with first Retief Goosen upsetting the odds in 2004 and then Bart Bryant the following year.

But he has an outstanding record on the 7,154-yard course at East Lake Golf Club, Atlanta, having won there in 1999 and finished second three times. With an elite field of 30 playing competing for one of the richest prizes in sport, conditions look in his favour.

In similar events like the World Golf Championships, Woods has an outstanding record of 14 wins in 25 outings against the best in the game and he is expected to start at short odds.

Australian Adam Scott will start the week as the defending champion after his three-shot victory in 2006 and maybe a good bet to win again at attractive odds, while Woods' closest rivals Vijay Singh, Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk have all performed well at the course before.

Singh won in 2002, Els was joint runner-up the year before while Furyk has twice found just one player too good for him - including last year when he finished behind Scott - and the trio are all expected to be prominent in the betting.

Mickelson produced one of the finest performances in recent years when he held off competition from Woods, Singh and Els to win in 2000, but he has struggled with a wrist injury in the last two months and it could be best to watch his odds in the market.

Luke Donald finished in the top five here last year and maybe a good bet at attractive odds after another good season, while Justin Rose and Padraig Harrington will also be at the forefront of the European challenge.

And it would be a mistake to rule out the chances of Goosen and American Charles Howell III when making your final bet.

As well as winning the tournament three years ago, Goosen finished fourth in 2006 while Howell has twice finished runner-up and could be worth backing at decent odds, if he can rediscover the sort of form he showed at the start of the year.