Mickelson Favored in Shell Houston Open. Sportsbook golf odds favor Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson this week in the Shell Houston Open. This is the last golf tournament before the Masters as players look to get their games ready for Augusta. This is really a great field of golfers as a number of big names are on the sportsbook online odds board.
Sportsbook odds favor Ernie Els to make it three in a row. Els has won the last two weeks on the PGA Tour and he is the 9-1 favorite. Mickelson is right there as well at 12-1. Paul Casey is also getting some sportsbook online support as he is listed at 10-1. This will be the 63rd edition of the Shell Houston Open, which used to be called the Houston Open. It is the fifth year the tournament will be at The Tournament Course at Redstone.
Many people who bet golf at the sportsbook are anticipating the Masters and the return of Tiger Woods but right now the news is all about Ernie Els. He has won two straight and could be the man to beat at the Masters. In the last 30 years there have been four players who have won twice in the Florida swing early in the PGA Tour season. Tiger won twice in 2001 and then won the Masters. Steve Elkington, Tom Kite and Ray Floyd also had two Florida wins but they failed to win the Masters in those years.
Phil Mickelson is one of the favorites at the sportsbook this week at the Shell Houston Open but he is not playing that well. Mickelson has to be distracted with his wife and mother fighting breast cancer. His game does not look good enough to win the Masters or this week’s Shell Houston Open. The Masters field is just about set with 98 players getting invitations. The winner this week also gets into the field. It is not easy to win the week before the Masters though if you are not already in the field. Only nine players have been able to do it.
Last year at this tournament, eight of the top 10 players in the world were in the field and this year 7 of the top 11 players in the world are in the field. Big names in sportsbook odds include Mickelson, Lee Westwood, Vijay Singh, Geoff Ogilvy and Padraig Harrington. Other contenders in sportsbook online golf odds are Hunter Mahan, Anthony Kim, Rory McIlroy and Luke Donald.