Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy clear favorites to win ‘The Match’ over Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas

Capital One’s The Match is returning for a seventh edition. The event, which is set to take place at the Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida on Saturday (December 10), will feature both Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. The ace golfer duo will team up against Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth.

This will be the first time that The Match will be played by all professional golfers. Ahead of the televised exhibition event, the betters have already begun making their calls and team Woods-McIlroy seems to be the favorites.

Bets favor Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy

The upcoming edition of The Match will see Tiger Woods return to the golf course after quite some time. The golfer, who is currently in rehab due to injuries, will team up with World No.1 Rory McIlroy to take on Thomas and Spieth.

The four golfers share 24 major championships between them, making the stakes interesting. However, 19 of those majors belong to Woods and McIlroy and they are favorites to win.

As for the odds, the duo holds -135 odds at BetMGM while Thomas and Spieth have +110. The team that outclasses their rivals on paper seems to be the betters’ choice as well.

The Match, being an exhibition event often featuring NFL or NBA stars, is a forte for many professional betters. With only weeks to go, many seem to have gotten in the spirit this year as well. However, there are more chances of bets going wrong this year as all four of the competitors are professional golfers this time.

Tiger Woods’ return to The Match

The upcoming edition of The Match has Tiger Woods written all over it. The legendary golfer will return to the golf course after a break since the US Open. The golfer, who has a whopping 82 tournament wins under his belt, will be looking to make an impression at the event as it will be his unofficial comeback.

Interestingly, Tiger Woods is the only player on the proposed field that has previously competed in The Match. The event first kicked off in 2018 featuring the legendary golfer and Phil Michelson.

The duo played a solo round, which was won by the now-LIV golfer. Woods featured again in the 2020 edition of the event when he teamed up with Peyton Manning against Mickelson and Tom Brady. This will be his third edition of the event.

The editions of the 12-hole exhibition match which didn’t feature Woods had names like Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka and Aaron Rodgers competing. However, those editions weren’t as popular as the ones the golfing legend featured in.

The event was originally launched for charity. As per reports, the upcoming edition of the event will benefit Hurricane Ian relief efforts. According to Warner Bros. Discovery Sports, previous editions of 'The Match' raised over $33 million for various charitable organizations and programs, including Feeding America.

While The Match will be one of the most exciting exhibition events on the golf calendar, there is no sale of tickets planned for the general public.