Today on www.BetUSradio.com - Tiger Woods guns for his fifth green jacketMasters: Tiger's drive for five by Mark Rothstein Woods loves the jacket The theme for this week's Masters Tournament at Augusta National couldn't be clearer: There is Tiger Woods, and there is everybody else. Woods is gunning for his fifth green jacket, which would put him one ahead of Arnold Palmer and just one behind record-holder Jack Nicklaus. That's some exclusive company, so it should be no surprise that Woods, winner of three of the last five Masters tourneys, is considered the man to beat this week. Everyone paired with Woods on the head-to-head matchups odds list is a decided underdog. Even 2000 Masters champion Vijay Singh is priced at +160 in his matchup with Tiger, who gets a bunker full of chalk at -220. European Tour stalwart Ernie Els is also +160 versus Tiger. He's a two-time U.S. Open champion, and finished no worse than sixth at Augusta between 2000 and 2004 inclusive. For the quickest and easiest depositing methods available, sign-up today at BetUS.com, "for over 14 years they have been the Pioneers and World-wide Leaders in Online Sports, Poker, Casino and Racebook Gaming!" Always receive great odds, huge bonuses and fast payouts only at BetUS.com! BET ON FOOTBALL! Deposit $300 and get $100 in Bonuses! The divide isn't nearly as large between Woods and his top rival on the PGA Tour. Phil Mickelson, who took the 2004 Masters to finally record his first major tournament victory, is +115 to outperform Tiger (-145) this week. Only against Woods could a man who plays such excellent golf - especially in Georgia - be the underdog. "Lefty" obliterated the competition at last week's BellSouth Classic, winning the Masters tuneup by 13 strokes over a respectable field that included Retief Goosen and Jose-Maria Olazabal. With four Top-3 Masters finishes in the past five years, Mickelson is likely to produce another big payday at Augusta. Singh's chances don't look quite as promising. The former world's No. 1 golfer is competing this year for the European Tour Order of Merit. As a result, he may have spread himself a bit thin in the early part of the season. Singh admitted publicly that his January trip to the Middle East (for the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship and the Commercialbank Qatar Masters) has left him a bit drained. But Singh remains one of the biggest hitters in golf, and his ability to pad his scores on the par-5 holes has propelled the big Fijian to four consecutive Top-10 finishes at Augusta heading into this year's event. Looking at their past results, there is a huge gulf between Woods, Mickelson and Singh on one hand, and the rest of the Masters hopefuls on the other. Goosen is being looked at as one of the best candidates to break that ceiling and claim his first green jacket. Like Els, Goosen is a two-time U.S. Open winner with some success at Augusta, cracking the Top 3 in 2002 and 2005. But Els is still trying to regain his form after last year's knee surgery. Goosen, meanwhile, is licking his chops. He excels at putting on fast greens, and he anticipates harder surfaces than he encountered at the BellSouth Classic. Favorable green conditions could make Goosen the first South African to win the Masters since Gary Player in 1978. He's listed at -125 against Els (-105). The throng of up-and-coming golfers hoping to make a huge impression at the Masters can do no worse than look at Mike Weir for inspiration. The Canadian southpaw won the 2003 event for his first and only major, and is listed at -115 in his pairing with noted driving machine Davis Love III (also at -115). Olazabal, the 1999 Masters champion, can be had at -195 against Stephen Ames (+165), who qualified by winning last week's Players Championship at Sawgrass. The first grouping (Rod Pampling, Lucas Glover and Olin Browne) tees off at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Thursday. USA Network covers the first two days, with CBS on board Saturday and Sunday. Comments or Questions? Email FaceOff@BetUS.com. --- by BetUSradio at 1800-sports.com on April 06, 2006
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