The 2021 PGA Tour season is underway following a 2020 campaign which saw phenomenal golf betting interest.

The PGA Tour was the first of the major North American sporting organizations to return to play last year. The added attention from sports fans and bettors led to the rapid addition of betting markets at most major sportsbooks.

This page will look at the various ways to bet on golf, which can be done for roughly 50 of 52 weeks in a given calendar year. We’ll highlight weekly golf betting odds and the top sites, and break down the many available betting markets. Finally, we discuss various strategies and areas of research when betting on a golf tournament, and spotlight 2021’s four scheduled majors.

The Open Championship may have been canceled this year but 2021 British Open odds are already on the board at select sportsbooks. Rory McIlroy is the favorite to be named Champion golfer of the. Many golf tournaments will include a betting selection called the Field. This bet consists of all golfers not listed in the 'Odds to Win.' Most races have a set number of golfers but it’s rare to see oddsmakers put a price on every golfer that will tee off.

Due to the nature of golf – including the impact of Mother Nature, extensive traveling, and course history – it’s a sport in which research can be used heavily to find the right player on the right week.

Golf betting odds this week

Best golf betting sites

How to bet on golf

Outrights and futures bets

Outright betting in golf is simply wagering on a specific player to win the tournament. Because of the difficulty of a player winning a tournament in fields that are often around 150, outright odds are much higher than someone betting on team sports is used to.

Strategy: Because the return on investment can be so high, you can bet on numerous players and still make a nice profit if one of your players wins. Betting on a couple players in each “tier” can be effective. For example, favorites (+2500 or lower), contenders (+2500 – +5000), longshots (+5000 or higher). Betting $10 on six players in that scenario would be just $60 invested. Even if you bet on a heavy favorite at +1000, he would win back $100 for a strong profit.

Top 5, 10, 20

A less risky version of outright betting is wagering on a player to finish in the top 5, 10 or 20 in a tournament, depending on what your sportsbook offers. While it doesn’t offer the high odds that outright betting does, it is much less volatile and rewards steady performances from your golfers.

Strategy: If you prefer betting on placement instead of outright, you’ll likely need a slightly larger bankroll to see decent profit. The market for placement betting is completely different than outright. You’re looking for more consistent golfers who may not have the firepower to win most weeks but provide steady results with a high percentage of made cuts.

Matchups

There are many forms of matchup betting on golf depending on your sportsbook.

Head-to-head: These can be week-long or single-round bets that put two players against each other with odds on who will post the better score. This provides a unique market where you can bet against a player you may be down on for the week compared to his pricing.

Nationality: Many sportsbooks will provide lines on which countryman will perform the best for the tournament. If you’re high on a certain player but don’t want to jump into an outright or top 5 bet, you can get decent value on a nationality bet depending on who is in the field.

3-Ball: An increasingly popular way to bet on golf because it provides a way to gamble on each round. 3-Ball betting typically uses the pairings in the tournament and gives odds on which player in the group will perform the best in the round. This can provide for entertaining viewing if you bet on a player in a featured group on TV.

First-round leader

Betting on the first-round leader is a niche market but seems to be growing. It is still not available on every sportsbook.

Strategy: It’s much easier to lead a single round than win an entire golf tournament, but odds for first-round leader mostly remains the same as outright odds. Keeping an eye on weather conditions is key to pick a player who tees off in calm conditions.

Live golf betting

Betting Odds For The Open Golf Championship Results

Golf has live betting like most sports, except it allows you to put in much more research with ample time between rounds.

Strategy: Most live betting odds on the outright winner stay true to the leaderboard, but the market often still favors the well-known and highly ranked players. Taking a look at statistics and jumping on a player that is in contention but underperforming in a category he or she usually excels in can be a good strategy in live betting on golf.

Golf betting strategies

Betting Odds For The Open Golf Championship Leaderboard

Bankroll management

Bankroll management can be tricky in golf due to the alarming potential of profit when outright betting. It’s important to stay reasonable and stick to a weekly limit on how much you bet on a tournament. Picking an outright winner is hard and you will often go weeks without getting a winner. But the profit of just one winner will typically make up for multiple weeks and more, especially if it wasn’t a heavy favorite. Pairing your outright bets with top 10 or top 20 bets is a good way to get some return on investment instead of going all-in on outright winners.

Injury reports

Injuries aren’t as common in golf as most sports, so there’s typically not much news on injuries most weeks. But there can be some withdrawals on Wednesday evenings or Thursday mornings, so it’s good to stay up-to-date on any lingering injuries that could come into play and ruin your bet.

Course form and recent form

Form will be talked about endlessly when taking in any content from golf betting experts. Not only is recent form important like it is in most sports, but the unique-to-golf course form is also a key factor. Finding players who perform well at a course in the past is an element that should always be considered when betting. Augusta National is a course that strongly favors course history due to its tricky nature, but an easier, simpler course like TPC Deere Run shouldn’t weigh course history as strongly.

Schedules

Golf requires a lot of traveling at times and has a very exhausting schedule at some points in the year. Keeping an eye on players traveling on short rest from overseas or someone who has played multiple weeks in a row can be a simple way to fade players who might be getting too much love from the casual eye.

Line movement

Most normal golf tournaments don’t have much line movement throughout the week leading up to the tournament, but some sportsbooks will have more favorable odds than others. If you see someone early in the week that might get a push to lower odds because of talk from the media or a storyline, it’s smart to jump on it quickly. Otherwise, it’s usually fine to take your time.

Situational betting

Golf has a lot of external factors to keep in mind each week. Weather is something you should always look at before betting. There are players who excel in easy conditions and there are those who do better when the wind is blowing and good scores are harder to come by. Getting ahead of the curve by checking the forecast and taking players who fit it is important. Motivating factors from week-to-week can also play a role – FedExCup points needed, a win to get a Masters invitation, local support etc.

Golf betting stats: Which ones matter?

Thanks to websites and podcasts specializing in golf betting content, knowing the golf stats that matter each week has gotten increasingly easier for bettors. But there’s still plenty of individual research to be done that can help you get ahead of the market on a player that might be peaking at the right time. Generally, the strokes gained statistics are the golden measure in golf. But certain courses will favor “strokes gained: off-the-tee,” certain courses will favor “strokes gained: approach” and certain courses will favor “strokes gained: putting.” Most courses will favor that statistic year-to-year, but it can change depending on weather and how the course is set up.

It is generally smarter to favor players who excel in ball striking statistics – driving and approach shots – due to their ability to run away with a tournament if they have a good putting week.

Golf majors: odds and trends

Masters Tournament

The 2021 Masters takes place April 8-11, returning to its regular position on the PGA Tour schedule. It is always held at Augusta National in Augusta, Georgia, and is one of the most famous courses in the world.

Recent winners’ odds: Dustin Johnson (2020): +800, Tiger Woods (2019): +1400, Patrick Reed (2018): +5000, Sergio Garcia (2017): +3000

The Masters favors course history more than any other event on the PGA Tour based on Data Golf’s course history tool. Creative ball-strikers excel, as evidenced by recent winners like Tiger Woods, Sergio Garcia, Bubba Watson and Phil Mickelson.

PGA Championship

The PGA Championship will run May 20-23 at Kiawah Golf Resort (South Course) on Kiawah Island, S.C.

Recent winners’ odds: Collin Morikawa 2020: +3000, Brooks Koepka (2019, 2018): +1100, +2000, Justin Thomas (2017): +3000.

The PGA Championship is typically the easiest setup of the four majors and the most similar to a regular PGA Tour setup. That means if conditions allow, the tournament favors long and high hitters. Rory McIlroy won the 2012 PGA Championship here at 13-under par.

US Open

The US Open is scheduled to return to its standard spot on the golf schedule from June 17-20. Torrey Pines (South) hosts the major for the first time since 2008, when Woods at minus-1 in a playoff.

Recent winners’ odds: Bryson DeChambeau (2020): +2500, Gary Woodland (2019): +7000, Brooks Koepka (2018, 2017): +2000, +4000.

The US Open is typically the toughest test of golf in the world each year. The USGA sets it up to ideally be a challenge to break par, which is often the case when looking at the winning score. Length and accuracy off the tee have been a key statistic in recent years as the courses have gotten longer.

The Open Championship

The Open Championship was canceled for 2020 but returns to the schedule for July 15-18. Royal St. George’s Golf Club in England will remain the host the 2021 Open Championship after losing the 2020 Open.

Recent winners’ odds: Shane Lowry (2019): +6600, Francesco Molinari (2018): +2500, Jordan Spieth (2017): +1400.

The Open Championship is always held at a classic links-style golf course that often has windy and tough conditions. If the weather is calm, players can go low and any style of player can win. Windy conditions favor solid ball strikers who can keep the ball low. It’s one of the few golf tournaments where long hitters don’t have much of an advantage.

When it comes to sports betting lines, you probably are wondering what the lingo of lines, odds, and spreads really mean. Understanding what these terms mean is essential to making proper picks on your favorite teams. For the most part these rules apply to all the main sports such as football, basketball, soccer, and hockey. But there are some key differences when betting against the big leagues like the NFL, NBA, and MLB.

Super Bowl and Stanley Cup Betting Odds

A betting line is another terminology for point spread, which is tied to the outcome of the event. It is a forecasted prediction of how many points an anticipated stronger team will win by against a weaker team. In the betting world the stronger team is referred to as the favorite, and the weaker team is referred to as the underdog. These collectively are referred to as spreads.

NHL, Baseball, WNBA Playoffs Betting Picks

In a point spread, you have to bet against the forecasted outcome one way or the other, you cannot just pick a team to win lose or it without laying down a lot of money or it would be too easy to beat a highly likely winner. Instead if a team is predicted to win by 7 points, the spread would be -7 towards that team. You then must place on a bet on whether you think the favorite would beat the underdog by at least 7 points, or if you think the underdog could cover and lose by less than 7 or win. Sometimes a game is considered highly contested and balanced that you might have what is called a pick-em where you simple pick which team will win. Point spreads are common in the NFL.

NBA Point Spreads and NCAA Lines Reviewed

After point spreads are established, you can then look at the moneyline bet. This is generally correlated to the point spread except it shows how money you can win based on your wager. Some sports do not use a point spread but rather just stick to a moneyline bet. For example, a team that was a -7 favorite would likely have a moneyline negative as well, say -200. That means, you would have to bet $100 to win $200. Alternatively there is a plus bet that goes with the underdog, say at 250. That means if you bet 100 and the underdog wins, you can win $250. Moneyline bets generally involve a higher wager to make money as opposed to point spreads. Moneyline picks are the most common wager instrument in the major sports of NBA, MLB, hockey, and soccer.

Betting Odds For The Open Golf Championship Field

Nascar, PGA Golf and MMA UFC Betting Lines

Betting Odds For The Open Golf Championship

In unique situations, where a game has a lot of prestige such as the NFL super bowl , NBA playoffs, or the Stanley Cup, you can bet on prop bets which are bets on specific things that could happen during a game. This is a play strictly based on odds of something happen against it not happening. An example might be whether a field goal would be the first type of score in the football game. At any time as people are betting one way or the other, the odds will adjust as people make picks one way or the other.

Premier League, British Open Championship and College Football Odds Every Week

Betting Odds For The Open Golf Championship Leaderboard

Opening lines generally come out a week before an event but for major events like the Superbowl, it might be out for two weeks once the matchup is established. Football events opening lines generally come out on a Tuesday after all the previous weeks games have been played and is usually the sport most heavily used to gamble on. Basketball and MLB have games more frequently and usually the opening line might only exist for the day of an event.