By Ed Schmidt Jr.
Historically, most wagering in golf was accomplished on the course, between the competitors. Now, everyone can simply grab your phone, or laptop and you can lay down a bet without having to make that miraculous 20-footer for par to beat a fellow hacker. Betting online, or at a sportsbook site is here to stay. You can opt to get on the bus, or get run over by it.
The PGA TOUR has embraced sports betting and has gone to great lengths to protect the integrity of their competitions.
Here is a short primer for beginners and those who may be wondering if betting on golf is right for them.
PGA TOUR Is Bullish on Betting
The PGA TOUR is in love with fan engagement on social media and making money. Nothing says fan engagement better than putting a few bucks on the line. They have designated DraftKings as “The Official Betting Tour Operator of the PGA TOUR”. In addition, DraftKings is the first “Official Daily Fantasy Game of the PGA TOUR”.
After the Supreme Court’s repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act three years ago, the tour developed an integrity program in collaboration with Genius Sports to guard against competition corruption. The TOUR also has a global partnership with IMG ARENA to license its official, live scoring data to betting operators all over the world.
There will be on-site betting, too. The PGA Tour and DraftKings have partnered to open a sportsbook on-site at TPC Scottsdale—site of the annual Waste Management Phoenix Open.
Hey buddy, I’ll have two Bud Lights, plus put a C-Note on Jordan Spieth to birdie No. 16. This is going to make this wild tournament even wilder.
Most Common Ways To Bet on Golf
To Win: Who do you think will win the entire event? Typically, this bet is made as a futures wager before the start of the tournament.
First Round Leader: If you want to up the anticipation factor for the beginning of an event, a bet on the first-round leader will get your juices flowing and make the first day of the tournament more exciting.
Versus the Field: You’re wagering on a particular golfer and how they will perform against another group of players. Most of the time, the bet centers around one of the tourney favorites.
Head-to-Head: Select who will post a lower score between golfers. Many sportsbooks offer multiple head-to-head matchups for the tour’s best and most well-known players.
Group Matchups: This is similar to head-to-head bets, but with group matchups you can bet on groups of three or four golfers of similar career performance.
Each Way: Much like betting on someone to win an event, in each-way betting you can wager on a golfer to place in the top three, five, or 10.
Prop Bets: Golf is tailor made for various prop bets. (A wager on an individual player or specific event.) One very popular prop bet is tp select the best golfer (the one who will finish the highest) from each nationality in a specific tournament.
Prop bets can take many different forms: Will the winner of the tournament be over or under 35? How many majors will a player win? The Masters always has some great prop bets such as: Who will be the top lefty finisher? Will there be a double eagle? What will be the winning margin? Will there be a bogey free round in the tournament?
Betting Sites: You might know golf, but before you blindly start throwing your Ben Franklins around, you need to find a reliable, highly rated site with good odds on a wide variety of tournaments and events. Sports Betting Dime has compiled an exceptional list of the best golf betting sites and provided some extremely valuable insider tips on betting. If you’re a beginner, definitely hit up this post. Sports Betting Dime-Golf Betting Sites for 2021.
States Where You Can Bet: Betting on golf online is easy if you live in one of the states that offers legal sports betting. Presently, about two dozen offer some form of legal sports betting and a couple of others will launch soon. Some of the bigger states include New Jersey, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Check out the Action Network, which has a comprehensive list of states that allow sports betting as well as projected legalization for other states.
Good luck, Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!
