Red-hot Tiger runaway choice to win PGA


Tiger Woods is an astounding 9-5 to win this week's PGA Championship, which tees off Thursday at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn.

Woods has won the last two events - the Buick Open and the Bridgestone Invitational. He has five wins this season, with four of them in his last six events.

However, the two events Woods hasn't won in that stretch were majors. He tied for sixth at the U.S. Open and surprisingly missed the cut at the British Open, leaving this week as his last chance to win a major this year.

Woods has won 14 career majors and hasn't gone an entire season without winning one since 2003, which certainly has to serve as motivation for the world's best player - and a big reason his price is +180.

Woods also is just +184 to win against the entire field, which is -205.

Defending champion Padraig Harrington is the second choice at +2,200. Harrington tied for second behind Woods at the Bridgestone and won two majors last year. But he has not finished better than 35th in a major this year.

The third choice at +2,500 is Phil Mickelson, who has been beset by family issues this year but remains a popular player capable of winning majors. Another player with comparable odds is Lee Westwood, who was third at the British Open and ninth at Bridgestone.

Woods has won the PGA four times - back-to-back in 1999 and 2000 and again in 2006 and 2007.

He could not defend his title last year because he was recovering from knee surgery.

Hazeltine last hosted the PGA Championship in 2002, when relative unknown Rich Beem held off a group that included Woods for his only major title. Beem is +64,000, the longest odds of anyone in the field.

Woods, Harrington and Beem are in the same group the first two days, going off at 9:35 a.m. at the 10th tee Thursday and 2:45 p.m. ET off the first tee Friday.