In a literal sense, however, the 2010 season is under way and it’s a free-for-all to win all those tourneys Tiger would’ve won if he played this year. Next up is the Sony Open in Hawaii.

Here are some golfers to watch this week and, for any bettors out there, odds are posted.

STEVE STRICKER (+1015 to win)

After Stricker’s whirlwind 2009, look how far he’s come: he’s the favorite this week. It’s tough to argue since he’s a smart player with a buttery-smooth short game. At Sony’s host course, Waialae, winds are strong, so course management and ball striking matter more than driving distance. Stricker has cracked the top four in two of his last three trips to Waialae.

ZACH JOHNSON (+1615 to win)

The diminutive Johnson strikes balls like a young Kenny Perry, so it’s no surprise that he won this tournament last year. His game fits the course and we can never count the defending champ out.

RORY SABBATINI (+1850 to win)

Sure, he left a bad taste in our mouth with his anti-Tiger sentiment a couple years back, but (a) we don’t have to like a golfer to believe he’ll play well and (b) maybe Sabbatini was right? Naw. Anyway, Rory has two runner-up finishes as Waialae, so he’s due.

JUSTIN LEONARD (+2550 to win)

Returning to the wind factor, former British Open champ Justin Leonard is one of the best wind players on Tour. Sure, he hasn’t played this event in almost 15 years, but he offers pretty good odds to win compared to the other favorites.

DAVID TOMS (+3250 to win)

The sportsbooks give Toms little love, making him a +3250 underdog to win, but that doesn’t mean we can’t love him this week. We should. He won the Sony Open in 2006 and finished second last year. He was fourth on Tour in fairways hit last year – a stat that should be important this week. Toms always brings it at Waialae.

JERRY KELLY (+6550 to win)

Speaking of bringing it at Waialae, Jerry Kelly would win the Mr. Waialae pageant if it existed. With a 2002 Sony Open win, six top-25s in his last seven starts there and three top-five finishes, is there any doubt that Kelly contends this week?

SONY OPEN PICK

Johnson and Kelly should be in the mix but I’m feeling Toms on multiple levels. He has the right makeup, he’s due for a victory and he has history on his side at Waialae. He also gives any bettors out there a solid return on their investment. Go for David Toms.

Five players hold their fate in their hands and can win the $10 million prize by winning here, so let’s check out their scenarios and the standings after we bring you the particulars for this weekend’s event:

TOUR Championship Preview

• TOUR Championship Dates: Thursday, September 24th through Sunday, September 27th
• TOUR Championship Location: Atlanta, Georgia
• TOUR Championship Course: East Lake Golf Club
• TOUR Championship Purse: $7.5 million ($1.35 winning share)
• TOUR Championship Length: 7,154 Yards
• TOUR Championship Thursday-Friday TV Schedule: GOLF Channel 1 pm – 6 pm ET
• TOUR Championship Saturday TV Schedule: NBC 2 pm – 6 pm ET
• TOUR Championship Sunday TV Schedule: NBC 1:30 pm – 6 pm ET
• Official Website: TOUR Championship
• StubHub: Great deals on TOUR Championship tickets
• StubHub: Great deals on all PGA Tour tickets

Current FedEx Cup Standings:

1. Tiger Woods (16 events) – 2,500 points
2. Steve Stricker (21) – 2,250
3. Jim Furyk (21) – 2,000
4. Zach Johnson (24) – 1,800
5. Heath Slocum (26) – 1,600

Tiger Woods (TOUR Championship Odds: +100): The world’s No.1 romped to an eight-stroke win at Cog Hill two weeks ago, but with the reseeding that gives everyone in the field a chance to win, his lead fell to 250 points over Steve Stricker. That’s no matter, though. The last time he was at East Lake, Woods won.

Steve Stricker (TOUR Championship Odds: +1600): Stricker is coming off his worst result of the season, a T-52 at Cog Hill, and he was T-24 here last year. If he is going to overtake Woods, he’ll need the tournament of his life this weekend.

Jim Furyk (TOUR Championship Odds: +1400): Furyk is a steady play for online sports betting players, and he racks up top-10s like it’s going out of style. He was T-3 at East Lake last year, and he finished second to Woods at Cog Hill (albeit a distant second). With six top-10s at East Lake, look for Furyk to be there on Sunday afternoon.

Zach Johnson (TOUR Championship Odds: +2200): Johnson was fifth at Cog Hill, and he certainly likes East Lake: he has the course record there with his 60 in 2007. He has four top-20s in his last five events and he’s improved his score each week in the FedEx Cup playoffs.

Heath Slocum (TOUR Championship Odds: +10000): Slocum is used to being a darkhorse in your handicapping software, because quite frankly, he wasn’t even supposed to be here at this point. He jumped from 124^th in the 125-player FedEx field to third with his surprising win at Liberty National in the first event, but has since cooled off with a missed-cut and a T-38. In his last East Lake appearance in 2007, Slocum came in T-17.

Prediction: Padraig Harrington (+1400) should win the event as he has five top-10s in a row, including four in the top-six, but he needs to win and for Woods to finish third or worse, which isn’t the best scenario. Woods to win the FedEx Cup is one of the easiest sports picks of the weekend.

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* – Tiger Woods photo credit: TopNews.in

Golf betting

John Deere Betting Odds – Thursday, July 9

48-year-old Kenny Perry is the defending champion in this event, having beaten Jay Williamson and Brad Adomonis in a playoff last year, and he’s also the betting favorite at +900. Perry is coming off a victory at the Travelers Championship, his second of the year, and when his putter gets hot, it’ll get even easier to make him one of your sports picks.

42-year-old David Toms is right behind him with golf odds of +1400, and the 2001 PGA champion has been on fire this year with seven top-10s in 16 events, and he’s finished second in two of his last three starts. Accuracy is huge for Toms: he leads the Tour in driving accuracy, and he’s sixth in greens-in-regulation.

Steve Stricker is another 42-year-old who seems to have hit their stride later than most, and he shares +1400 golf odds with Toms. You could argue that Stricker has been the most consistent player of the year. In the 12 events where he has reached the weekend, Stricker’s low finish is a 27th-place result at the Memorial, and he finished in the top 10 in half of those events, including a win at Colonial.

Keep an eye on Lucas Glover with your handicapping software, as the 2009 US Open champion has John Deere odds of +1800 this week. Glover hasn’t slowed down since winning at Bethpage Black, as he came in 11th at the Travelers Championship the following week, and then he finished fifth at the AT&T National, which is hosted (and was eventually won) by Tiger Woods. He’s just a 29-year-old pup when you compare him to the aforementioned trio of Perry, Toms and Stricker, but he’s got some confidence thanks to his first major, and even though he missed the cut here last year, he finished 11th in 2007. Watch out for Lucas Glover’s John Deere odds this week.