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2009 Shell Houston Open Betting Odds

Written by Jason Lowry

The PGA Tour is coming off one of its more dramatic finishes to the season, as Tiger Woods came all the way back from 5 shots down beat Sean O’Hair at the Arnold Palmer Invitational with a lengthy birdie putt on the final hole. The Tour has to hope that they can generate that same atmosphere and excitement this week when it heads to Houston for the 2009 Shell Houston Open. One problem is there will be no Tiger Woods in the field this week, as he gets some rest before the Masters next week, but the field is still very strong, as you have guys like Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington, and Geoff Ogilvy all in action this week, and thats not even mentioning guys like Ernie Els and Vijay Singh, who will also be trying to fine tune their games before the 1st major of the season. Winning this week is nothing compared to taking home the green jacket at the Masters, but there is something to be said for golfers winning the week before the Masters, as 5 different golfers who won the week prior to the Masters went on to win the Masters, with Phil Mickelson being the last to do so back in 2006. So with the Shell Houston Open just a couple days away, here is a quick breakdown of the field by the favorites, guys in the middle of the pack, and the long shots who I think have a shot at winning this week.

Favorites: Phil Mickelson +700, Geoff Ogilvy +1200, Sergio Garcia +2000, Padraig Harrington +2000, and Steve Stricker +2000

While Mickelson is the overall favorite, he has yet to live up to the hype at the Shell Houston Open, as his best finish here is a tie for 23rd, but he comes into the tournament rolling with 2 wins in his last 3 starts. Ogilvy is a great play this week, as he has lit up this course, including a tie for 2nd last year and has 2 other top 10 finishes in just 5 career starts here. The other guy we like out of this group is Stricker, as he has really played well to start the season with 3 top 5 finishes, and has not finished outside of 15th here in his last 3 starts.

Middle of the Pack: Camilo Villegas +2500, Rory Mcllroy +2500, Anthony Kim +3000, Ernie Els +3000, KJ Choi +3000, and Stuart Appleby +3000

Appleby is likely the safest choice out of this group, as he has finished 1st or 2nd in 3 of his past 4 starts at this event, and has wins here in 2006 and 1999. Choi has also had some success here at the Shell Houston Open with a tie for 11th last year and a tie for 6th back in 2006. The guy I think you really want to keep your eye on is Kim. Kim finished tied for 5th in his last start here in Houston back in 2007, and was very impressive over the weekend shooting 66 on Saturday and 67 on Sunday.

Long Shots: Vijay Singh +4000, Charley Hoffman +4000, Hunter Mahan +4000, Robert Karlsson +4000, Chad Campbell +5000, David Toms +6000, Alvaro Quiros +8000, and Johnson Wagner +10000

If you want to talk about overall wins, then you have to talk about Singh, who has won this event 3 times since 2002, including back to back wins in 2004 and 2005. If you want to talk about hitting it long and far off the tee, something that will really help a golfer this week, you have to talk about Quiros, who comes in averaging nearly 320 yards per drive, and has done a pretty good job of getting out of trouble as well. While Wagner is your defending champion of this event, I think the best plays are on guys like Hoffman, Mahan, and Campbell.

For a complete list of all the golfers odds to win this week at the 2009 Shell Houston Open head to Sportsbook.com.

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