Despite layoff, Woods favored to win Masters

After Tiger Woods' announcement that he would resume his career at the Masters, British bookmaker William Hill established him as a 4-to-1 betting favorite. Phil Mickelson is next at 6-to-1, followed by Padraig Harrington at 16-to-1.

"Rule number one in golf betting is, 'never underestimate Tiger Woods,'" Rupert Adams of William Hill told Reuters. "When Tiger hurt his knee, we greatly underestimated his ability to come back from a long layoff and we lost a lot of money."

He was referring to Woods' victory in the U.S. Open in 2008, following a two-month hiatus to recover from knee surgery.

"We're not underestimating him this time around," Adams said.

-- John Strege