Tiger Woods’ Masters Odds Now +1800 After Shooting 1st Round 4-Under 68

• Tiger Woods opened up his Masters title defense with a 4-under 68
• Woods matched his lowest first-round score ever at Augusta National
• See the updated live odds after day one at the Masters

Heading into this year’s Masters, five-time champion Tiger Woods wasn’t playing much golf and, when he was, it wasn’t pretty. Despite being the defending champion, oddsmakers weren’t expecting El Tigre to play so well at the 2020 Masters but after day one he is squarely in the picture, just three back of leader Paul Casey.

His bogey-free four-under par round of 68 matched the lowest first-round score he’s ever shot at Augusta National. His previous 68 came ten years ago en route to a tie for fourth. Woods played in the morning wave of players who were delayed because of heavy rains, and the round was subsequently called due to darkness with the afternoon wave of players yet to complete all 18 holes.

Woods saw his odds to win the tournament improve to +1800. Should you pounce on Tiger to capture his record-tying sixth green jacket at his current price or is it wise to hold off on him until he tees it up in the afternoon Friday? Read on to see the updated odds and the best bet to make.

Live 2020 Masters Odds

*Player hasn’t finished first round. Odds as of November 12th at DraftKings

Tiger Woods In Complete Control

Not many saw Tiger Woods’ strong start to the first round of the Masters coming. He looked in complete control of his game through, hitting 10 of 14 fairways, 15 of 18 greens for an incredibly stress free round. He also didn’t card a bogey on the first day of a major championship for the first time since way back in the 2009 PGA Championship.

It was also his first bogey-free round at any point in a major in his last 106 times teeing it up.

Tiger Woods finished the day 4-under par. It's his 3rd-best opening round as a defending champion in his major career. The only opening rounds that were better: 2000 PGA Championship (-6) and 2006 The Open (-5). Woods went on to win both of those tournaments pic.twitter.com/4MBIWLWKEh

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) November 12, 2020

He also matched the lowest first round he’s ever shot at the Masters from a decade ago, and finds himself right in the hunt heading into Friday.

His odds to win outright have been slashed in half from +3600 pre-event to +1800 now, and those are still pretty good if you want to lay some cash on the 15-time major champion.

Using the slopes. Tiger Woods birdies No. 16 to reach -3 at #themasters pic.twitter.com/TZlWyHTWg8

— The Masters (@TheMasters) November 12, 2020

The only pause in going all-in with Tiger is the fact that in his previous seven tournaments on the PGA Tour, he could only muster up a T-37 finish as his best performance. However, there’s still something magical about what brings out the best in Tiger so expecting him to come tumbling down the leaderboard is highly unlikely.

Big Names Loom Large After First Round

Two of the top-three players in the world in Justin Thomas and Dustin Johnson still have to complete eight and nine holes respectively in the first round. They’ll then be teeing it up for the morning afternoon wave in softer conditions on Friday, so you’d have to expect the scores to continue to go lower and lower by them and other big names on the board.

-4 through five holes. Quite the start for Justin Thomas. #themasters pic.twitter.com/gNYQx3OiKt

— The Masters (@TheMasters) November 12, 2020

Here is where you likely can be patient and wait for Tiger to tee off in the afternoon and likely pick up more value on him. The odds likely will fluctuate higher for Woods, depending on how JT, DJ and other top players do. They won’t be playing in difficult conditions so it’s conceivable they’ll be well clear of Woods by the time he tees off.

Betting on Woods to capture his record-tying sixth green jacket is definitely a worthwhile proposition, but the key will be in waiting to grab him at better odds.