Golf Odds

Golf remains a popular and unique sport, especially when it comes to betting. Golf betting odds are widely available from the sportsbook and are present throughout the year. The PGA Tour dominates these golf betting lines though other entities also have betting markets. The pro golf season typically runs all year round though the major tournaments are mostly in the summer.

How Do Odds Work in Golf?

To understand how to bet on golf, first learn about what the odds mean. Golf betting odds are a translation of their probability. They manifest as either decimal, fractional, or American odds – the positive and negative numbers you see on sportsbooks like “+1500” or “-115”. These indicate how much is won on a $100 wager and how much must be wagered to win $100, respectively.

Moneyline

The golf moneyline is also the golf matchup odds. Golf tournaments, namely in the PGA Tour, are played in pairs. You can bet on which of the two or three golfers (also known as “3 balls”) will finish with the best score (the lower score) for a particular round (not the whole tournament). They also don’t need to be paired together to have betting lines.

Futures

In golf, the futures market is one of the most frequent bets. This includes the “outright” market where you can bet on which golfer will win the tournament. Golf tournaments, for the most part, are played via a four-day span. The golfer with the best score after the four days wins (with a “play-off” tiebreaker if needed).

Props

Golf props are also available once in a while. These can vary depending on the tournament. Some popular props include betting on a golfer to hit a hole-in-one, the number of birdies or eagles, and what place a golfer will finish in (Top-5, Top-10 etc.). These golf betting odds are also common in celebrity golf tournaments like “The Match”.

Examples of Betting golf

Betting on golf will usually be a moneyline bet on a matchup or 3-ball or the outright market. Let’s look at two examples here, first the matchup moneyline:

Rory McIlroy -140
Brooks Koepka +115

In this example, McIlroy is favored to finish with a better score than Koepka in one round of golf. They play and McIlroy finishes the day with a 68 (-2) while Koepka finishes with a 67 (-3). The bet on Koepka at +115 wins. If $100 was wagered, the return is $115.

In an outright market, let’s use a Masters tournament as an example:

Jon Rahm +1100
Hideki Matsuyama +3000
Tiger Woods +5000
Gary Woodland +10000
Stewart Cink +30000

Only one of these bets will win as there is only one winner for The Masters. Because the odds are lengthy, it is feasible to place bets on many golfers and still come away with a profit. Bet $100 on each of these golfers for a total of $500. If any of them win, i.e. Rahm at $1,100, you will have profited.