Golf Odds – Can Two-Time Winner Toms Catch Magic in Memphis?

Golf bettors who like to follow past performances of golfers as they prepare to handicap tournaments can only come to one conclusion about David Toms – that he has a way with the TPC Southwind course in Memphis, site of the St. Jude Classic since 1989.

He has won the event twice, and in fact is one of only two back-to-winners they have ever seen in the tournament (the other being Lee Trevino).

As Toms tees it up on Thursday to try and win for a third time, one of the questions is whether he can catch magic again in Memphis.

The other is whether he can be successful in the head-to-head betting proposition for the tourney against Retief Goosen, the two-time U.S. Open champion, who will be going after his third title in THAT event next week.

Toms is the golf betting favorite at -135, with Goosen at +105.

St. Jude Classic

TPC Southwind – Memphis, TN – June 10-13

TV Schedule

• Thursday 3-6 PM ET – Golf Channel
• Friday 8:30-11:30 PM ET – Golf Channel
• Saturday 3-6 PM ET – CBS
• Sunday 3-6 PM ET – CBS

Tournament Golf Wagering Matchup

DAVID TOMS -135

RETIEF GOOSEN +105

David Toms has scored eight top tens in major championships, including a win at the 2001 PGA (where he shot 15 under par), and he has won twelve times over the course of his career, but he has not tasted champagne lately.

In fact, he has not won a Tour event since the beginning of the 2006 season, when he captured the Sony Open in Hawaii. Two of his PGA Tour wins have come in the St. Jude Classic, and they happened back-to-back (2003 and 2004) on this very course.

There have been no top tens this season for Toms, and he has missed the cut in four of his 12 appearances, although his best tournament effort was his last one, as he finished tied for 13th at Colonial in the Crowne Plaza Invitational. Among his seven top-ten finishes last year was a tie for the runner-up spot right there in Memphis.

He was also third in 2007, tenth in 2006, second in 2005 and fourth in 2002. In other words, he’s got the place pretty much clocked. At 20/1 betting odds to win the tourney outright, he may be worth somebody’s adventure.

Goosen is 41 years old, which means he should have a lot of solid golf left. He is clearly a guy who likes to tailor his tournament schedule around playing major championships, and the effects have showed. In his career, the South African has been a top-ten finisher in majors 14 times, with the 2001 and 2004 U.S. Open titles to his credit. A tie for 38th place in the Masters this year shouldn’t deter him too much.

His win at the African Open last January was one of two tournaments he won last year, the other being the Transitions Championship here in the U.S. So far in 2010, you can’t argue to much with what he has done in the States.

In eight events, he has posted five top-ten finishes, including fifth place in defense of his Transitions title and a tie for fourth at Arnold Palmer’s tournament.

At the St. Jude Classic, Goosen has not had a great deal of success. He tied for 29th in 2009, missed the cut the year before, and tied for 30th in 2007. Goosen, who is currently 17th in the Official World Golf Rankings, is +3000 to win the tournament, and he is also at +325 in the "Rest of the World" betting proposition.

He is showing better form right now, but Toms, even at 62nd in the world, can be referred to as an acknowledged master on this course, He gets our nod in this betting prop.

JAY’S BETTING PLAY: TOMS (-135) ***
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)