It’s not often you come across a major golf event featuring some of the world’s elite golfers, including Tiger Woods, where the favourite is at 14/1. That’s a wide open betting market so for those who enjoy a punt on the golf, there are plenty of opportunities to make a profit. This weekend it’s the unofficial fifth major of the golf tour and the world’s richest golf tournament – the Players Championship in Florida.

Interestingly, Tiger Woods is not the outright favourite going into this event – that honour goes to Phil Mickelson at 14/1. Tiger Woods is select elect at 16/1 with Luke Donald at 17/1. You can get 33/1 or better for the rest of the field. With bookmakers paying 1/4 the odds for an each way bet (first through fifth), backing some of the longer shots could return some decent dividends.

Charl Swartzel, the winner of last month’s Masters, is at 50/1 – that’s 12/1 in each way betting and there is no reason why he cannot repeat that effort. Luke Donald could become the new world number one with a win so the motivation is certainly there – at 17/1 you’ll still get better than 4/1 for an each way bet.

Betting exchanges often offer great odds on these events as punters try to take on the favourites. There are a lot of punters betting against Tiger Woods for this event, and while his form has not been great since resuming, he has slowly worked his way back. He has been able to put together three good rounds in recent tournaments. If he puts together four this weekend he could be unstoppable.

If I was to make a lay bet, it would be against Phil Mickelson. He has had a lot of chances to take the number one crown, but he always fails at that final step. I am not sure he deserves the favourite crown this weekend so I would be tempted to bet against him. If you’re looking for a longer-priced winner, then Adam Scott at 33/1 is good value, as is Martin Kaymer – you can back them both on the betting exchanges and make a huge profit if either wins.