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Despite Long Layoff, Tiger Woods Remains U.S. Open Favorite

The largest sports betting site on the Internet, PinnacleSports.com has calculated individual odds on 107 golfers of the 156-man field expected to participate in this year's U.S. Open. Although he his performance may suffer from the long break, Tiger remains the favorite mainly due to overwhelming public support. Coming off his win at this year's Masters, Phil Mickelson has been installed with the second best odds at 13/2 to capture his first U.S. Open. The oddsmakers have listed Vijay Singh at 14/1 to win at Winged Foot, while 2001 and 2004 U.S. Open champion Refief Goosen is 16/1 to capture the tournament for a third time. 2003 champion Jim Furyk and two-time winner Ernie Els are solid contenders at 20/1 and 22/1, respectively. Other players that may outlast the field and win the second major of the year include: Luke Donald (28/1); Adam Scott (28/1); David Toms (32/1); Sergio Garcia (45/1); David Howell (45/1) and Padraig Harrington (50/1). Last year's champion Michael Campbell is a 90/1 long shot to become the first repeat winner at the U.S. Open since Curtis Strange in 1989.

With the rivalry between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson the talk of the golf world, PinnacleSports.com has created betting options on the number of major championships won by each player this year. Although he'll be one of the favorites in the remaining majors, Phil Mickelson is favored to finish the year with only the Masters title at 4/9 odds. The odds that the world's top-ranked player will win two majors are at 11/5, while Mickelson is 16/1 to finish with three majors in '06, and a huge 175/1 long shot to capture the elusive Grand Slam. Meanwhile, PinnacleSports.com currently favors Woods finishing 2006 major-less at 2/3 odds. Tiger is 2/1 to capture one major championship, 8/1 to win two, and 35/1 to win the remaining three majors this year.

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