Phil Mickelson has spent most of his career being the second choice of odds makers in major golf tournaments. The tables have now turned with Mickelson being installed as the betting favorite for the 2011 edition of the Masters.

Woods had been the favorite up until last weekend when Mickelson won the Shell Houston Open. The win made the difference in the betting odds for the Masters, with Woods still not even close to playing at the top of his game. Despite the troubles Woods has had, he is still the second choice this week.

Mickelson and Woods are the only two golfers in the field with odds of less than 10/1. Tiger has not played well since coming back from the trials and tribulations of his affairs and subsequent divorce. Odds makers know, however, that the betting public will never stray far from Woods when he playing in a major.

Public perception is that Woods could win on any given weekend and end the longest slump of his career. The last thinks sports books want is to place the odds too high on Woods, and then have to pay gamblers when the former number one golfer in the world finally wins again. Given Woods’ track record at Augusta, odds makers were cautious i making him +850.

Mickelson has long been considered to be the second best golfer in the world. Lefty has odds of 5/1 for the Master event that begins on Thursday, odds that dropped shortly after he sealed his latest win last week.

Other golfers of interest to gamblers will be Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer, Dustin Rose, and Rory McIlroy. All of these competitors have odds between fifteen and seventeen to one. Nick Watney is a 12/1 choice. Sergio Garcia has seen his odds slip in recent years, and he will head to Augusta with 5.5/1 odds to win the championship.

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