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How To Bet Major Golf Tournaments at a Sportsbook

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With the PGA Tour at the peak of its season, the start of the new LIV Golf Series and the legalization of sports betting, the game of golf has given sports bettors worldwide ways to get in on the action.

Now that another Golf Major (The Open) is approaching, it is an excellent time to walk through how to bet on Major Golf Tournaments. Below we underline the top-three ways to bet a Major:

Head-To-Head Bets

First off, what is a head-to-head bet in golf? 

Placing a head-to-head bet is betting one player versus another straight up, similar to a moneyline. Oddsmakers will set odds on which player will post the higher finishing position, and you can pick which player you think will have the better tournament or round.

There are two ways you can make a head-to-head bet in golf. 

First, there is making a head-to-head bet for the entire weekend/tournament, or you can place a head-to-head bet for a single round.

An example of a head-to-head tournament bet would look like this.

Tournament Matchup: J. Rham vs. R. McIlroy

  • John Rahm -115
  • Rory McIlroy +105

In the above example, John Rahm is the favorite and is expected to finish the tournament higher on the leaderboard than Rory McIlroy. If you wanted to bet on Rahm, you would have to bet $115 to win $100, or if you wanted to bet McIlroy, your $100 bet would win you $105.

An example of a first-round head-to-head bet would look like this:

Round Matchups (R1): J. Rahm (R1) vs. C. Morikawa (R1)

  • John Rahm (R1) -120
  • Collin Morikawa (R1) +110

In this example, Rahm is favored to finish ahead of Collin Morikawa after the first round. Using a $100, you would have to bet $120 to win $100 if you place a wager on Rahm winning this first-round matchup. If you think Morikawa pulls off the upset, then you would bet $100 to win $110 if He finishes higher than Rahm after the first round.

As long as the player you bet on finishes with a better score than the opposing player after that round or tournament you will win your bet. If those two players end with the same score or tie, your bet is voided and you will get your money back.

Betting Tip:  Remember to pay attention to whether you are placing a head-to-head bet for the entire tournament or just for a single round. 

Futures Bet

A futures bet is any wager placed on a sporting event or event that will take place in the future. Futures bets are offered in all major sports like NFL, MLB, NBA, Golf and even political events like the Presidential Election. This allows you to lock in those odds despite the odds changing as the season plays out. Which could play in your favor or against you depending on how well that team is playing.

When looking to place a futures golf bet, you must learn how to read the lines or odds. Future odds are read in list form, starting with the best odds (or the favorite) down to the worst.

For example, some of the future odds for the 2023 Masters are below:

(Odds courtesy of FanDuel)

As a $100 bettor, if you were confident that Justin Thomas would win the 2023 Masters, you would place a futures bet locking in those +1200 odds. If Thoms did end up winning The Masters, you win $1200. 

If you wanted to take an underdog and place $100 on Patrick Cantlay at +2400, your potential payout would jump to $2,400.

3-Ball Matchups

3-Ball Matchups feature three players, and you place a wager on one of those three player to beat the other two in that group for a single round. Usually the odds on all three players are plus-money or close to it as it is harder to beat two golfers than one.

An example of a 3-Ball Matchup would look like this:

Group A (Round 1)

  • Brooks Koepka +110
  • Collin Morikawa +130
  • Viktor Hovland +190

If you were to place a wager on Brooks Koepka to win this 3-Ball Matchup he would have to post a better score than both of the other players. If two players tie, dead heat rules will apply, meaning your winnings will be cut by the number of players who tied.

Example:  Koepka and Viktor Hovland tied. If you bet $10 on Koepka, you’d lose $10 of that because of the dead heat or tie. The remaining $10 is a winner at +110, which returns a total of $21 on your original $20 bet, good for $1 profit.

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