World Golf Championships Odds: Mickelson the Golf Betting Favorite

Phil Mickelson will look to defend his title in World Golf Championships odds which begins on Thursday at Doral. 48 of the top 50 players in the world are in the golf betting field with only Tiger Woods and Ryo Ishikawa the only players missing. Mickelson is the third ranked player in the world and he is the betting favorite to win in WGC odds for this event at 9-1 at online sportsbooks. World #2 Steve Stricker is the second choice in gold betting at 14-1. The fourth ranked player in the world is Lee Westwood and he is followed in the world rankings by Ian Poulter and Paul Casey.

Poulter won the first World Golf Championships event of the year which was the match play event as he defeated Casey. Casey is listed at 16-1 in golf betting odds at online sportsbooks while Westwood is 22-1 and Poulter is 25-1. Last week’s winner Camilo Villegas is 18-1 in World Golf Championship odds. In last year’s event it was Mickelson defeating Nick Watney by one stroke for the win. It was the first win in 26 tries for Mickelson in a World Golf Championships event. He then went on to win another one later in the year.

"It's very cool to win these events," Mickelson said as the golf betting favorite. "I didn't know how cool it would be, because these events were fairly new. But now that they have been around for almost, I guess, 10 years now, their status continues to grow in the game, and to finally win a couple is important to my career I believe." Mickelson did not play in the Accenture Match Play Championship earlier this season. "I am looking forward to the World Golf Championships-CA Championship, and I love the World Golf Championships events," Mickelson said. "I'm sorry I missed (the Accenture Match Play Championship). I love them; I think they are some of our more exciting events.”

Mickelson has not really played that well so far this season. He was eighth at Pebble Beach and that was his best finish so far this season. "I'm excited to get back to playing, and I'm really excited to getting back to Doral," he said. "It's a golf course I've always enjoyed and loved; not played as well as I would like until last year where I finally broke through for a win, and I was very excited to do so and had a great 36-hole finish there playing with Nick Watney." Golf Channel will have the television coverage of the WGC at Doral on Thursday and Friday while NBC picks up the coverage on Saturday and Sunday.