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Tiger Tours Over to Shanghai

The PGA’s final money event of the season (The Tour Championship) might be done, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t golf to be played around the world this weekend. Overseas, the second annual HSBC Champions Tournament tees off in Shanghai on Thursday, while the Merrill Lynch Shootout will run over the weekend down in Naples.

Which one is the bigger event? Well, Shanghai’s got Tiger Woods, so that means the Sheshan International Golf Club has the marquee tournament. Also scoring invites to the big-money event were Jim Furyk, Retief Goosen, Padraig Harrington, Colin Montgomerie, and Luke Donald, along with defending tournament champ David Howell.

Each of the Asian Tour, the European Tour, the PGA Tour of Australasia, and the South African (Sunshine) Tour sanction the international event, and the field is, for the most part, made up of tournament winners from the past year and players ranked in the Top 50 in the world. The field will be competing for a share of the $5 million (US) prize fund.

Howell will be looking to grab the lion’s share of that purse by defending his HSBC Champions title. The Englishman finished three strokes ahead of the American, Woods, in the inaugural tournament, with Nick Dougherty and Nick O’Hern both six strokes back.

However, Woods is the big favorite to win in Shanghai this time around as he’s pegged by oddsmakers at +125. Howell, on the other hand, is farther down the list at +2000 odds. Furyk (+800), Goosen (+1200), Donald (+1400), Paul Casey (+1600), and Harrington (+1800) sit between those two. Here’s a look at the top odds for the tourney:

Odds to Win HSBC Champions Tournament

Tiger Woods +125

Jim Furyk +800

Retief Goosen +1200

Luke Donald +1400

Paul Casey +1600

Padraig Harrington +1800

David Howell +2000

Ian Poulter +2500

Henrik Stenson +2500

K. J. Choi +3000

Niclas Fasth +3500

Michael Campbell +4000

Chris DiMarco +4000

Johan Edfors +4000

But, if you’d rather throw some cash down on a longshot to pick up the win at Sheshan Golf Club, Montgomerie (+4500) might just fit the bill. Here are the longer odds to win:

Robert Karlsson +4500

Colin Montgomerie +4500

Jeev Milkha Singh +4500

Thomas Bjorn +5000

Bradley Dredge +5000

Nick O' Hern +5000

Simon Dyson +7500

Jyoti Randhawa +7500

Charl Schwartzel +7500

Camilo Villegas +7500

Yong-eun Yang +7500

Kevin Stadler +8000

Anthony Wall +8000

Paul Broadhurst +10000

Thaworn Wiratchant +10000

Meanwhile, back in the United States, the Merrill Lynch Shootout will run at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort in Naples, Florida through Sunday. The tournament is hosted by Greg Norman, and used to be known as the Shark Shootout (and later the Franklin Templeton Shootout). The purse is $2.75 million, and it’s the 18th edition of the tourney.

After two days of pro-am play on Wednesday and Thursday, the three-round event gets underway for real on Friday with 18 holes of modified alternate shot. Saturday’s round is better ball, while Sunday features a scramble format. Golfers compete in two-player teams, and there are a total of 24 players (12 teams) competing in this year’s tourney.

Last year’s event was won by the team of Kenny Perry and John Huston, and they’re back again this week to try and defend that title. The oddsmakers, though, have them down the list at +800. Favored to get the win in Naples on Sunday are Trevor Immelman and Rory Sabbatini (at +300 odds), while the teams of Rod Pampling/Jerry Kelly, Justin Leonard/Scott Verplank, and Brad Faxon/J.J. Henry are all currently listed at +650 odds.

Odds to Win Merrill Lynch Shootout

T. Immelman/R. Sabbatini +300

R. Pampling/J. Kelly +650

J. Leonard/S. Verplank +650

B. Faxon/J.J. Henry +650

J. Huston/K. Perry +800

C. Campbell/N. Price +1000

J. Daly/J.B. Holmes +1200

M. Calcavecchia/S. Elkington +1200

F. Funk/S. Hoch +1200

M. O'Meara/J. Sluman +1600

F. Couples/A. Sorenstam +2000

G. Norman/N. Faldo +2800

Host Norman isn’t getting much love from the oddsmakers right now – he and partner Nick Faldo are last on the above list at +2800 odds. Fred Couples and LPGA participant Annika Sorenstam are just above Norman and Faldo on the list, pegged at +2000 odds.

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