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Tiger Woods and 15 other golfers will be competing for a $5.7 million prize fund this week when they take to the course at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, California, for the 2006 Target World Challenge. The event is hosted by Woods himself.

Woods has won this tournament twice in its six-year history, most recently in 2004. Luke Donald is the defending champion, while Padraig Harrington (2002) and Davis Love III (2003 and 2000) have also picked up victories at the Target World Challenge. And all four of those golfers will be in the field at Sherwood Country Club for this week’s event.

Defending champ Donald and host Woods got automatic invites to the tournament, while Harrington, Adam Scott, Geoff Ogilvy, Henrik Stenson, David Howell, Colin Montgomerie, Chris DiMarco, David Toms, Paul Casey and Jose Maria Olazabal were all selected for the field based on their current world ranking. Love, Fred Couples, John Daly, and Michael Campbell are this year’s four selected exemptions for the Challenge.

Who’s the favorite? It’s Woods of course. He’s pegged at EVEN odds to win the 2006 edition of the Challenge. Right behind him on the odds list are Harrington and Scott, who are both at +800 odds, while Donald sits fourth on the list at +1000 odds. Here are the complete odds to win this year’s edition of the Target World Challenge at Sherwood.

Odds to Win the Target World Challenge

Tiger Woods EVEN
Padraig Harrington +800
Adam Scott +800    
Luke Donald +1000
Geoff Ogilvy +1100
Paul Casey +1600
Davis Love III +1600
Henrik Stenson +1600
David Toms +2000
Colin Montgomerie +2500
Chris DiMarco +3000
David Howell +3000
Jose Maria Olazabal +3000
Fred Couples +4500
John Daly +6500

You can also wager on three five-man groupings for the tournament – and attempt to pick which of the five golfers will end up with the best score. Scott is the favorite in the first group, at +275. Casey leads off the second group at +280, while Howell sits atop the third group at +250. Woods is excluded from the lists. Here are the complete groups.

Adam Scott +275
Padraig Harrington +300
Luke Donald +330
Geoff Ogilvy +350
Henrik Stenson +450

Paul Casey +280
Davis Love III +300
David Toms +300
Chris DiMarco +350  
Colin Montgomerie +400

David Howell +250
Colin Montgomerie +280
Jose-Maria Olazabal +300
Fred Couples +350
John Daly +450

Meanwhile, top golfers like Ernie Els and Retief Goosen will be competing this week in the South African Airways Open at Humewood Golf Club in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Goosen is the defending champion in this event, while Trevor Immelman won back-to-back titles in 2003 and 2004. Els has won three times, the most recent coming in 1998.

But Els is still the favorite this time around, at +450 odds. Goosen is next at +600, while Immelman sits third at +850. Here are the oddsmakers’ top contenders for the tourney.

Odds to Win the South African Airways Open

Ernie Els +450
Retief Goosen +600
Trevor Immelman +850
Lee Westwood +1200
Angel Cabrera +1400
Charl Schwartzel +1400
Wade Ormsby +3000
Phillip Archer +3500
Darren Fichardt +3500
Richard Sterne +5000
Hennie Otto +5500
Mark Pilkington +5500
Alvaro Quiros +5500
Ross Fisher +6000
Gregory Bourdy +6500
Mattias Eliasson +6500
Mathias Gronberg +6500
James Kingston +6500
Andrew McLardy +6500
Titch Moore +6500

Humewood Golf Club hasn’t hosted this tournament since 1957. The purse is ˆ1 million.

Shawn Sillinger is a freelance journalist and a regular contributor to the BetUS Locker Room.