For Rory McIlroy, 2011 was the year he realised his prodigious potential and won his first major title.

The 22-year-old turned professional in 2007 after a prolific, yet short, amateur career. McIlroy soon established himself on the European Tour and was touted as the most exciting young prospect in golf.

The Northern Ireland star had his first win on the European Tour in 2009 and secured his maiden victory on the PGA Tour the following year, before representing Europe in the 2010 Ryder Cup. People looking at the Open betting online should remember this.

That set McIlroy up nicely for a successful 2011. However, after a storming start to the Masters Tournament in Augusta, things turned sour for the talented Irishman.

McIllroy romped into a four-shot lead heading into the final day, but went on to shoot a nightmare round which allowed Charl Schwartzel to slip in and claim the Green Jacket.

A lesser man might have allowed the psychological damage from such an implosion to derail his season, but not McIlroy.

He dusted himself down and came back stronger in the next major championship of the year at Congressional. McIlroy took an early lead and didn’t let up on his way to a record-breaking victory. He finished 16 under par and eight shots clear of the rest.

McIlroy struggled at The Open Championship and The PGA Championship after his success in Maryland, but looked strong during a second-place finish in the season-opener in Abu Dhabi and will be confident of building on last year’s success this season.

McIlroy experienced the agony and ecstasy of championship golf in 2011. He will be able to draw on those experiences as he looks to build on his one major title and become the number one golfer in the world.

Tiger Woods has looked a pale shadow of his former self at times in recent years but is confident his woes with the putter will not end up haunting him as he bids to win the US Masters.

The former world number one has won 14 major titles throughout his career and in recent months has looked close to getting back to his mercurial best. Fans of betting should remember this.

However, he has never seemed to be as smooth as previous and his swing is now more down to routine than a natural extension of his arm. This means that consistency is waning at times and Woods’ scores are being affected as a result.

While Woods has looked strong off the tee and with approach shots, it is his usual steely nerve when it comes to holing out that has affected him most in recent tournaments.

This was evident at the WGC-Accenture Match Play as Woods tumbled out in the second round to Nick Watney after missing a five-foot putt on the 18th hole, with that miss running the good work he showed coming back from the brink against his compatriot. Those looking at the US Master Golf Betting Odds need to bear this in mind.

Despite all this Woods feels his putting has been solid and does not predict any problems going into the first major of 2012 at the US Masters – with Augusta National Club of course the scene of some of his best triumphs as a professional.

“Basically I only putted really poorly in probably two of my rounds this year, so it’s not too bad,” Woods said.

Hunter Mahan eventually won the WGC-Accenture Match Play by beating US Open champion Rory McIlroy in the final, meaning the American benefits from a massive confidence boost looking ahead to the US Masters.

US Open champion Rory McIlroy missed the opportunity to become world number one after losing to Hunter Mahan in the final of the WGC Match Play in Arizona.
The 22-year-old lost 2&1 to narrowly miss out on a championship win. McIlroy had earlier come back from three down after four holes to beat Lee Westwood in the semi-final.

The Northern Irishman said: “I played a great back nine but left too much work to do. There was a little stretch around five, six, seven and eight where I lost the match.”

The pair could not be separated after five holes but that soon changed. Mahan birdied the sixth and then benefitted from sloppy play by McIlroy on the seventh and eighth to go three up. He stretched that lead to four on the tenth with another birdie. Anyone looking at the best the open golf betting will be keeping an eye on him.

McIlroy hit back but it was too late and the American lifted the title. The young star quickly turned his attentions to the Masters which starts on April 5.

He said: “I can’t wait. That’s what I’m building up to. I’ve got two events before the Masters and it would be nice to get a couple of good results before that.”

McIlroy reached the final with a 3&1 victory over Westwood. The pair went into the contest knowing a tournament victory would see them leapfrog Luke Donald at the top of the world rankings and it was world number three Westwood who started stronger.

Westwood looked well in control of the match, only to see McIlroy storm back and go three up after 13. Westwood hit back with an eagle on the 15th but McIlroy held on to end Westwood’s tournament aspirations.

Donald retained top spot after McIlroy’s final defeat, but he is on borrowed time at the summit of world golf.

Bill Haas held off the challenge of Keegan Bradley and Phil Mickelson to win the Northern Trust Open at Riviera and move up ten places in the latest men’s world golf rankings.

The 29-year-old appeared to have won the tournament in regulation with a final round 69 to finish seven under, but Mickelson and Bradley birdied the last to force a sudden-death play-off. Those following the latest US Open golf betting odds online will have been impressed.

All three parred the first play-off hole, before Haas landed an outrageous 40-foot putt to win the title. Haas was modest in his appraisal of what he described as a “hard putt”.

“There was a little bit of luck involved, but felt like I put a good roll on it, and it was meant to be,” Haas said.

The putt earned the American a fourth US PGA tour title and saw him move up to number 12 in the world rankings. It was an impressive victory over a talented and experienced field, including the men he fought off in a dramatic finish.

Mickelson was coming off the back of a win at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, while Bradley is still buoyant after lifting his first major at the US PGA last summer.

Mickelson and Bradley looked confident at Riviera and went into the last day ahead of the rest. However, a poor final round saw Haas steal in and he prevailed after a scare at the last.

Haas had a slow start to life as a professional but has come to prominence over the past couple of years. He finished all the major championships for the first time in his career in 2011 and will be keen to better those finishes this year. Haas will be looking to break into the top ten in 2012.

The reigning British Open champion Darren Clarke is hoping a new fitness regime can ignite some form on the course heading into the first Major of 2012 at the Us Masters.

The 43-year-old Northern Ireland star burst back onto the international scene at Royal St George last summer, when he tamed the winds that plagued the tournament to lift the trophy in emotional circumstances. People betting on golf would have been very impressed.

However, that success was one of only two tournament wins in 2011 – with his victory at the Iberdrola Open weeks earlier his first Tour title in three years – and after the glory of the Open Clarke slumped and has not managed a top ten finish since.

The popular star is known for loving a drink and can be often seen sporting a cigarette or celebratory cigar on the golf course, but he has pledged to ditch the junk food and alcohol in order to get back to the top of the game. Those following the US Masters betting odds will be wondering if he can turn things around.

He admits his form is not great but is confident of a turnaround in fortunes over the coming months, but it would require a major turnaround to be in contention for the US Masters.

“I’ve been doing everything right and I’ve been in the gym working hard,” said Clarke. “I’m not eating all the rubbish I was or partaking in alcoholic beverages.

“I had gotten too big and, if I want to be properly competitive, I had to get myself back into shape.”

Clarke has also got a new caddy in the shape of Phil Morbey, and his new bagman has experience of victory at the US Masters having worked with Ian Woosnam during his win at Augusta many years ago.

Rafael Cabrera-Bello will get his chance to continue climbing up the rankings next week when he tees off at his maiden Accenture Match Play in Arizona. A place at the match-play tournament was one of the prizes that came the way of the Spaniard following his stunning one-shot victory at last week’s Dubai Desert Classic, with Cabrera-Bello shooting up the rankings from 119th to 60th, giving him an invitation to this week’s event in Arizona.

The 27-year old admitted competing in his first world championship would be a much tougher test than what he was used to, although, the Spaniard made it clear this is the step up that he needed to make at this stage in his career. People following the best in-play betting odds online will be keeping an eye on his progress.

“This was the quality jump I was looking for in my game and it’s offered me the opportunity to play with the world’s best players,” he said.

Before his title in Dubai, the Spaniard had only triumphed once on the European Tour – when a sensational final round 60 saw Cabrera-Bello claim the 2009 Austrian Masters. Now, the question will be whether or not the 27-year old can build on the biggest win of his career and push on up the rankings through the rest of the year.

Cabrera-Bello will also be looking at the upcoming Masters as his chance to play in his second major tournament, following his 47th place finish at the 2010 US Open. If he can keep producing the sort of form he showed in Dubai, then this could well be a very big year for Cabrera-Bello.

Tiger Woods is one of the legends at Augusta National Golf Club and will be dreaming of proving his comeback well-and-truly come the US Masters in April, but if the sport’s former poster boy wants that to happen he will need to ensure his putting is up to scratch.

The 36-year-old first burst onto the world golf scene at the US Masters in 1997, becoming the tournament’s youngest-ever winner, and since then he has also tasted glory at Augusta in 2001, 2002 and 2005. Fans of golf betting should bear this in mind.

While his glories on the course are fondly remembered, of course many will look at his high-profile personal problems as when the gloss really came off the Woods brand and he has struggled to get that shine back ever since.

A few months ago he had slumped to 58th in the world rankings but has regained the winning feeling finally – at the Chevron World Challenge at the back end of 2011 – and has shown he still has the ability to compete for Major titles over the coming years.

Woods’ history with Augusta means many will fancy him to be among the frontrunners in the 2012 US Masters but he showed at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am that his game is still haunted by issues and he is just as likely to blow hot-and-cold come the Major. Anyone looking at the US Masters Golf Betting should remember this.

The 14-time Major winner now sits 18th in the rankings and bemoaned his putter during the final round at Pebble Beach, something that must be rectified come Augusta.

Woods said after his round: “I missed a ton of short putts today. I didn’t hit it as bad as the score indicated, that’s for sure but I missed everything.

“I could not get comfortable where I could see my lines. I couldn’t get the putter to swing. I just could not get comfortable. It was frustrating.”

Phil Mickelson won the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am to rise to 11th in the world rankings. Despite their places in the rankings, Mickelson and Woods are likely to draw the biggest crowds come the US Masters on April 4th.

Padraig Harrington has backed Tiger Woods to go on and finally break Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 major titles. The Irishman, who has spent time on the course with Woods this year, believes the former world number one is returning to something like his top form and once again capable of winning the big tournaments.

When Woods claimed the US Open title in 2008, the 14th major of his career, it looked as though there would be no doubting that Nicklaus’ record of 18 would soon be surpassed. Well publicised issues since that win has now cast some serious doubt that the 36-year old will ever be able to challenge the top players again. People looking at the online betting in-play will be keeping a close eye on things.

That certainly isn’t something three-time major winner Harrington is buying into; the Irishman making it clear he sees it only being a matter of time before Woods goes on and returns to the major trail, breaking the record in the process.

“I’ve played with him and the way he hits the golf ball, there wouldn’t be very many players who wouldn’t want to hit the golf ball like him,” he said.

“I’d be still backing him to beat Jack’s record, absolutely. If he turns up and plays well, he’s going to win. He’s in the position that he knows his best game is a winning game.”

The first chance Tiger will get to challenge for a major will be when he heads to Augusta for this year’s Masters, where the American will be going all out to add a fifth title to his collection.

It has been a great weekend of golf on both sides of the Atlantic with the European and PGA Tour seeing some excellent play, and there wasn’t anyone better than Phil Mickelson, who would have been a great bwin free bet, as he shot a brilliant final round of 64 to secure victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in California.

Victor Chandler didn’t have Mickelson as favourite going into the final day. ‘Lefty’ who is a four-time major winner was six shots off the lead heading into the final round but six birdies and an eagle saw him finish the tournament on 17-under par, two shots clear of Charlie Wi.

Wi was in the lead as play got underway on the final day but he started to feel the pressure early on after he four-putted the opening hole for a double-bogey and never fully recovered, although three straight birdies at the end of his round showed what might have been.

Mickelson’s victory puts him in a exclusive list of 9 players to reach 40 career wins on the PGA Tour.

Tiger Woods had seemed poised to make his move as he entered the day just four shots off the lead but a dismal final round of 75 dropped him way out of contention.

Mickelson and Woods were paired together for the last round and the difference in their performances could not have been greater as Mickelson completed the 18 holes in 11 fewer shots.

A delighted Mickelson said afterwards: “I felt like my game was so close heading into the season, and yet my scores didn’t reflect how I felt I was playing.”

“I put it together this week and especially the final round and it just feels terrific. It gives me a lot of confidence but also inspires me because I believe now that what I’m doing is correct and that I’m able to play some of my best golf.”

Tiger Woods burst onto the scene at the Masters in 1997 when he became the tournament’s youngest-ever winner and, after a few years of high-profile dramas and poor form, he could be ready to get back to that level and add to his green jacket collection.

The 36-year-old has won on three other occasions at Augusta since that day – in 2001, 2002 and 2005 – but since November 2009 he has struggled both on and off the golf course. Fans of Betfair Golf will know all about his problems.

After taking a break from golf due to his high-profile personal problems Woods came back at the 2010 US Masters and ended up finishing tied for fourth place. Unfortunately after that he was hampered by injuries, but again managed a fourth-place tie at the 2011 Masters, before a leg injury he sustained there kept him out for further months.

By the end of 2011 Woods had slumped to a low of 58th in the world but he finally got back on the winning rostrum at the Chevron World Challenge and has started 2012 looking like a man who can climb the rankings and yet again compete for Major titles.  The golf betting odds reflect this.

Given Woods’ career performances at Augusta National Golf Club he will be highly-fancied come the 2012 US Masters and he could easily roll back the years and win another green jacket – especially considering he has come out of the blue to finish fourth in the last two years.

“I’m pleased at the progress I’ve made,” said Woods recently. “I just need to keep building, keep getting more consistent.

“A couple of the balls were going further than I thought they normally would, so I’ve got to kind of reassess that and try to figure that out.”

The 2012 US Masters is scheduled for April 4th-8th at Augusta National Golf Club and Woods will face a huge battle against the cream of world’s golf in what is regarded by many as the number one tournament in the calendar.