Can you believe the Tiger Woods saga has been going for 12 months? A little short of 12 months actually. Woods will today set out to finally end his run of loses by trying to retain the Australian Masters title he won last season. Woods has had a lean year both on and off the greens since winning that title – perhaps he can win again and reverse the fortunes of the past 12 months. Bookmakers are pretty sure he can posting him as the early tournament favourite.

In Woods’ favour is the fact that, outside the top five or six players, the field is pretty weak. Second favourite is the course pro for the Victoria Golf Club, Geoff Ogilvy, but his form has not been terrific. It’s also interesting to note he has never won a major event on his home track.

The atmosphere surrounding this year’s Australian Masters is completely different to last year. Woods was hot coming into the event and all tickets had been sold days before the first tee off. This year, organisers are struggling to give away tickets and the hype around Woods has totally faded. If he’s in front going into the final day then the situation will most likely change – in the meantime, there’s just no electricity in the air.

While Woods is used to playing to full galleries, most of the Australians playing against him last year weren’t. It will be interesting to see how this pans out this year. Online bookmakers are offering anywhere between 2/1 and 9/4 for a Woods victory. Ogilivy prices range between 7/1 and 8/1 while the smokey of the filed, Robert Allenby, is similarly priced.

Allenby has played reasonably well all year although only winning one title, and that was the first of the year. Other players worth considering include Camilo Villegas at 18/1; Sergio Garcia at 20/1; and Stuart Appleby at 25/1.

I think Woods can win again. His last tournament showed some promising signs, especially the first and last day’s play. If he can play like that for four days, he’ll win easily. Of the rest, Allenby and Appleby look to be suited to this course and wins at good prices wouldn’t surprise. They are certainly worth backing at each way odds. Online bookmakers may just have Woods at the right odds this time around. If he does win, look out for a strong 2011 from him.