A few months back, we broke down Tiger Woods’ expected return to golf and perhaps how long it would take the biggest icon in sports to shock the world again after making his return from being out of golf for 8 months due to reconstructive knee surgery. Well those questions were answered this Sunday, when Tiger pulled off yet another jaw dropping spectacle at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. If you were not aware of Tiger’s accomplishments through his career, you might find the 5 stroke comeback on Sunday’s final round a bit impressive. However, like most that have followed the lucrative career from Tiger we have come to expect these type of things that amaze us time and time again. Woods shot a final round 3 under 67 and drained a 15 foot birdie on the 18th hole to capture the Arnold Palmer Invitational late Sunday. The victory tied for the biggest final round comeback in Woods’ career in the tournament that was the final tune-up for the first major of the season that will be The Masters in two weeks from Augusta, Georgia.

There were a few people just starting to question if Tiger may be really ready to compete at the first major on the schedule for 2009. After some sluggish putting and questionable few Tournaments back from knee surgery, Woods still appeared a bit rusty from the time off. However, Sunday’s win will have most people back on the Woods ban wagon just in time for The Masters. If you thought about jumping out quick to throw a bet on Tiger winning his 15th career major tournament, then don’t expect to find jackpot type profiting odds. Before Tiger even made the miraculous comeback on Sunday, the superstar was already a 2/1 favorite to win at Augusta in mid April. The closest other competitor in terms of betting odds is Phil Mickelson who stands at a 6/1 favorite to win The Masters.

Taking a look at this year’s field we will take a brief preview of the odds to win the Masters and who to take in consideration. Tiger will of course be the favorite at 2/1 odds, but it is almost a losing type bet. The odds to only double your money by predicting a winner in a golf tournament are extremely low, but Woods has won 4 green jackets and he is the guy to beat every year. However if you might want to take a more profitable approach to your bet there are a few others to strongly consider. Phil Mickelson has played well through the beginning of 2009 and has won twice at Augusta as well. Mickelson receiving reasonable odds at 6/1 and will definitely be worth the consideration. Zach Johnson has one win on tour this season and finished 3rd at the Arnold Palmer Invitation. Johnson is also a winner of the 2007 Masters and stands at an eye opening 33/1 odds for the win in April. Johnson style of play is definitely one to consider when the tour rolls into Augusta. Retief Goosen has also played well early in 2009. Goosen is a two time major champion who always plays solid at Augusta and is currently a 25/1 favorite to win. Despite the many players that look like they could be promising picks to take down the first championship of the season, likely Tiger will be the guy to beat. Outside of the 4 green jackets, Tiger has finished runner-up the last two years as well. Unfortunately for Woods, anything but a win would be disappointing considering how often he has shocked the sports world through his most recent performances.

Here are the current 2009 Masters odds from BetUS Sportsbook (Get a 100% signup bonus up to $500 by clicking here):

The golfing world will finally witness the return of the living legend Tiger Woods after a long nearly nine month wait. Woods the sports biggest name and possibly best player to ever step on a course missed the majority of the second half of the season following his miraculous win at the U.S Open to have surgery on his left knee. Tiger had just pulled off one of the most clutch performances of his career in where he drained birdies two days in a row on the 18th hole once at the end of regulation and once on the final hole of an 18 hole playoff to force the match into a double overtime type scenario. Woods finally edged out Rocco Mediate on the 19th hole to win his 14th Major of his career in one of the most exciting golfing showdowns in Major history. Soon as people could realize the significance of the win and the heroism from playing on nearly one leg, Woods announced his year was over with season ending surgery. Well winter has come and nearly gone and the Tiger has yet to be seen. Until now that is, Woods has made it official that he will return next Wednesday at the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship. Not only will the PGA be revamped with the return of its biggest star, but all eyes will be on Woods to see how he performs on the knee that has plagued him for years. Major sportsbooks will be wide open on betting scenarios and prop bets in attempt to predict how one of the most popular athletes in the world will perform in his returning debut.

Tiger will make his return to in an event he has player very well in the past. Woods has won the WGC Accenture Match Play Tournament 3 different times in his career. This event is different than most as it breaks down the top 64 golfers in the world into a March Madness type tournament over 4 days. Lose one match and you are eliminated and players may be involved in two 18 hole matches in one day meaning that Tiger’s leg will have to be very healthy to hold up over the weekend. The Tournament will move to untamed ground as it moves to the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Marana, Arizona for the very first time. However, Tiger is usually the favorite no matter what course the PGA Tour attends. Woods return comes at a great time for the sport of Golf considering they have been hit hard by economic times and ratings plummeted during Woods’ absence from the sport. Tiger will return will be one of the most anticipated and widely viewed events of the season and it will be interesting to see how everything shakes out.

Woods numbers in the match play event speak volumes for his dominance over the sport. Tiger has played in 37 events in the WGC Match Play event throughout his career with a sporty 31-6 all-time record. Out of the 64 competitors to take the course next Thursday Davis Love III is has the 2nd most matches trailing Woods by 11 matches. Not to mention Tiger holds the most dominating Match Play Championship defeat in the event’s history when he beat Stewart Cink last season 8 and 7. Tiger also has won 15 of the 26 WGC events in his professional career. That means that Woods has won 57% of the WGC events he has entered, simply incredible. However, leading into next week’s event many have distorted views on how the superstar will perform. Many experts believe that it will take Woods some time to regain dominance after nearly missing the entire winter without swinging a club. Then again there are many like myself who believe if the man could win the U.S Open on one leg, then shouldn’t he be fine on two?

The betting props and odds have yet to be released at most sportsbooks for next week’s event, but rest assure there will be plenty of opportunities to place wagers in the midst of Tiger’s return. Bodog Sportsbook will have odds available for predicting how far Tiger will go and odds for each round he could get knocked out. Bodog already list Woods as already the leading favorite to win the Masters which is the first major of the year every April at an amazing 2/1 odds. In Golf, normally your favorites range in the 10/1 range, but 2/1 is simply amazing for peoples expectation of the best golfer on the planet. Tiger is also listed as a huge favorite to win the British Open that takes place in July standing at 9/4 odds. However, next week’s betting figures will offer a lot more opportunities for people looking to gamble on Tiger’s return. There will be odds at most sportsbooks for each match play and tons of prop bets. Tiger has almost been expected to come back in this Tournament and win hands down. That is a lot of expectation for a man who has not swung a club very much through the off-season fresh off serious surgery. However, many believe that Tiger will once again electrify the sports world in a way in which only he can. Then again are we building him up to a level above reality?

It may be a bit early to start up the PGA talk, but the season has officially begun with the Mercedes-Benz Classic in Hawaii over two weeks ago. This time of year the golfing world is usually rather slows with the biggest names in the sport not picking up action until normally around February. Missing in action at the start of this season is the sport’s biggest name in Tiger Woods. Woods went through season ending surgery after having a torn ACL last June following the U.S Open. Tiger amazingly defeated Rocco Mediate in sudden death in the U.S Open after playing on a knee with a torn ACL and two stress fractures that displayed one of the most heroic accomplishments in sports history. However, since that time little has been said about the greatest golfer on the planet since he has kept quite through his rehabilitation process. After Tiger’s absolutely absurd showing at last year’s U.S Open, America’s number 1 ranked golfer nearly immediately received surgery to repair his severely damaged knee one week after winning his 14th major. Tiger had played many months on what doctors had called a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Doctors also told Tiger two weeks prior to the U.S Open that he had obtained two stress fractures in his left knee and forbid him to play. However, Woods responded with “I am going to play, and I am going to win.” Strong words for a man on one leg, but that is exactly how it happened. Tiger did not go out and dominate the field, but he made two birdies on the 18th hole to force a sudden death and again to tie Rocco Mediate on the 18th hole in sudden death. Woods then won the event on the next hole in a double overtime like performance sealing one of the most memorable wins in the history of golf.

Augusta, GA in early April. The nearest competitor with the closest odds is Phil Mickelson at 10 to 1. If you were like me you might have been hoping for some really good odds with Tiger considering he is coming off a huge knee surgery, but that is not to be.Tiger’s return has the media around the world in a frenzy trying to predict the exact tournament that he will finally step back onto a golf course. Tiger reportedly has said that he is still uncertain what the date of his return will be, but of course there is no way he will miss the Masters in April as he seeks his 15th major and his 5th green jacket. Despite only playing 6 events last year, Tiger had 4 wins and it will be very interesting to see how fast he returns to Tiger status. The Associated Press has marked Tiger’s return to come for the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship at the end of February. However, that is still a guess to say the least. There are also many other places Tiger could make his return depending on how the recovery process goes. The WGC-CA Championship at Doral in mid-march is another likely scenario considering the tournament is in Tiger’s home state at a course he really likes. The Arnold Palmer Invitational is an event Woods never misses, but may be a bit to close to the Master’s to be his first return.

Despite the date and time Tiger will make his return to golf, one thing that is certain is that the world will be watching. The sport of Golf seemed empty last year without Tiger on the course not to mention a drop in television ratings. When Woods does decide to come back it will be one of the most anticipated moments of the year. Golf will benefit from having Tiger back on course no matter how he plays, because everyone will be watching to see how the knee will hold up and if the time off has affected his game. However, I think we all know that Woods still has a lot left in the tank and I seriously doubt that we have seen the last of the legend that is Tiger.