Many bettors believe that golf was a game invented primarily for participants to wager. The most common bets occur on the selection of the winner of a specific tournament.

Typically, betting board odds are posted over a good portion of the field, with bettors selecting from over 40 players. For example, the top of various betting boards for the PGA golf tour from previous seasons is as follows:

To win the current tournament

Jim Furyk 1/15
Retief Goosen 15/1
Ernie Els 12/1
Vijay Singh 10/1
Phil Mickelson 8/1
tiger forest 3/1

So, based on the case shown above, a $200 bet on Mr. Vijay to win the tour and a Vijay win means a $2000 payday.

Additionally, golf bookmakers offer on-course odds, which change based on the total number of players in the tournament; the number of individually listed players, the quality of the pitch, plus various other parameters.

Other common golf bets include single pairings where two players are paired against each other at proper odds.

partial listing

Phil Mickelson +180
tiger woods-200
Vijay Singh – 130
Retief Goossen-110
Ernie Els +110
Raphael Anderson + 100

Golf punters can risk $200 to win $100 based on the proposition that Woods scores lower either in the full tournament, 18 holes, or in a single round compared to Mickelson, while most left-handers can risk losing $100 to win $180.

Several sportsbooks offer odds for both final tournament results and single-round matchups. The rules for golf betting vary from book to book. Bettors should therefore refer to the respective golf betting guidelines to determine what constitutes a valid wager, how ties are handled, and various other variables that can affect the wager’s rating.