Golf Betting Odds

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Between the PGA Tour, European Tour, and exhibition events, there are hundreds of golf odds to bet on every single week of the year.

While there are broad similarities with betting on other sports, golf odds have their own quirks. Picking a winner in a golf tournament means you’re normally guaranteed odds of at least +700 or +800 for the favorite, something that’s unheard of in most sports.

There are tons of other ways to bet on golf, too, from top 10s and 20s to each-way bets to head-to-heads and more. That’s before we even get into live betting. Here’s how golf odds work at Connecticut online sportsbooks and how you can start betting on golf in CT now.

This week’s live PGA golf odds

Check out the latest golf betting odds at CT online sportsbooks for the top 30 for this week’s PGA tournament. Odds range from outright winner to making the cut to being top player from any country. You’ll also find futures odds for the Masters, US Open, PGA Championship, and Open Championship. Click on any odds to head to the book offering those numbers.

How to download a CT betting app

The best way to bet on live sports is using an app. It’s the fastest way to access your sportsbook account, and it means you effectively never have to miss a chance to bet.

Apps contain the exact same betting options as sportsbooks/golf betting sites, including the ability to register a new account and deposit money. You can download apps for Connecticut sportsbooks by following the links on the individual sportsbook site.

  • Create a username and password.
  • Add the necessary personal details like your name, email address, and date of birth. You need to be 21 or older to bet on sports in Connecticut.
  • You’ll have to give your full address and the last four digits of your Social Security number. This is so the book can verify your identity.
  • There will usually be a number of boxes you’ll need to check before you finish, to confirm your age, that your details are accurate and that you accept the sportsbook’s terms and conditions.
  • Look for a field for a bonus code or promo code. This is how you’ll claim a welcome bonus at some books, but you can also sometimes activate it just by creating an account.

Golf live betting

Once you’ve created your account, find the golf section from the list of sports to get a look at all the latest betting lines and odds. If you open your sports betting app in the middle of a tournament, chances are you’ll also see some golf live betting options in the appropriate section.

Golf is a sport constantly on a knife-edge. You could be playing golf all of your life, all weekend long on the biggest stage, but you’re never more than one bad swing away from disaster. Just ask Jordan Spieth on the 12th at Augusta in 2016, or Phil Mickelson at the 2006 US Open.

This kind of volatility, along with the tons of variables and luck involved in golf, make the sport a dream for live bettors. The balance of tournaments can swing in an instant, which means big swings in odds.

The basic live lines for golf look similar to the most popular pre-tournament line — namely the overall winner of the tournament. As the play progresses, the golf betting lines are changing all the time, sometimes shot by shot. As some players pull away at the start, their lines may plummet, while you may be able to jump on outsiders who might only be a few shots back at huge prices.

Live betting in golf is a little different from in other sports since a full tournament takes four days to complete. It opens the door to more betting strategies. To give one simple example: If you like one of the pre-tournament favorites, you can always wait until after the first round to see how the line has moved. Even if your golfer is just a couple of shots back, chances are the odds have gotten longer.

Live prop bets are growing in popularity in golf, too. You can bet on players’ performances hole by hole or even on individual shots. You can also sometimes bet on three-hole matchups, like choosing which player will win among the group going around Amen Corner at Augusta.

Best golf betting app in Connecticut

Of the sportsbooks in Connecticut, DraftKings and FanDuel have the most developed apps for golf betting online. And if we have to pick just one, we like DraftKings slightly more. Golf betting on DraftKings is very easy, whether it’s before the tournament or while you’re watching live. Golf betting has been around for many decades, but it’s really taken off more recently with more granular bets and especially live betting. DraftKings has been at the forefront of this.

In a sport that used to come down to winner picks and each-way bets, you can now bet on things like the exact margin of victory, whether there will be a playoff, and other interesting wagers.

At the moment, it feels as if the DraftKings CT mobile app is just ahead of the FanDuel CT app in terms of the variety of golf bets it offers. This includes futures. At DraftKings, you can bet not just on the winner of the four majors, Ryder Cup (well in advance) and Solheim Cup, but there are also fun specials like picking a player to finish in the top four in all of the majors.

The DraftKings app is clean and easy to use, and it gets our nod for golf betting.

Why bet on golf over other sports?

Betting on the PGA is a fun experience. Here are some of the main things it has going for it:

  • Betting on the winner of a golf tournament is one of the few times you’re going to get comparatively long odds for betting straight up on the favorite. In fact, in many tournaments, you could bet $100 on the first four or five favorites and still wind up with a healthy profit if any of them win.
  • Each tournament lasts four days. That makes it different from betting on a single NBA or NFL game, but also different from long-term futures bets. Four days of action is arguably the perfect amount of time to invest in a sporting event, and you’ll have a variety of betting options over that period.
  • Golf betting is very beginner-friendly, but it also works for bettors who love to get in the weeds on stats and look for tiny edges on prop bets. Betting on a pre-tournament winner is perfect for the former, including golf fans who have never bet before in their lives. Super fans may want to jump on the live bets and props.

How does golf betting work?

Anyone who’s ever played a round of golf knows that friendly rivalries are part of the fun and that often goes hand in hand with wager a few bucks.

Betting on golf at a sportsbook, however, is a different story. Modern sportsbooks allow you to bet on a truly incredible range of things at every PGA Tour event. There are bets on who is going to have the lowest score in a round or win a tournament, but also live hole-by-hole or even shot-by-shot bets. In this section, we’re covering all the most common PGA Tour bets you’re likely to find at sportsbooks in Connecticut:

To win

This is a straightforward bet on which player is going to win a tournament. It’s generally the most popular golf bet and is a great way to give yourself someone to root for over the course of a four-day tournament.

The odds for outright bets are generally pretty long since your player needs to beat the entire field. Before a tournament begins, even the favorite will rarely have shorter odds than +700.

Although betting before a tournament begins is the most popular golf betting system, you may also enjoy waiting and betting after the cut, or even going into the final day. Obviously, the leader’s odds will have been diminished, but you can often get a good value on big players who are a couple of shots back.

Vs. the field

In this case, you’re betting that anyone other than the selected golfer will win. This becomes a popular bet if someone is running away with a tournament, but you aren’t convinced that things will end that way.

Imagine Louis Oosthuizen is two shots clear going into the back nine at Augusta. He’s going to be a big favorite, but he also has a history of not quite getting it done in majors. This might be a time to take the field.

Each way

With each-way bets, you’re still betting on a player to win the tournament but with a little insurance. If your pick comes close to winning, you’ll still win a payout but at a fraction of your odds.

The number of places paid and the fraction you collect varies depending on the sportsbook. For example, you might get paid at 1/5 of the odds if your player finishes in the top eight. If you want to bet each way, it’s always a good idea to shop around for the best terms.

First round leader

Just like it sounds, this is a bet on who is going to be leading after round one. It’s a chance to bet on someone you feel will have a fast start, or carry over their form from the previous tournament.

Top 10, 20, etc.

Straightforward bets on how high up the leaderboard a player will finish. You can bet on someone to make the cut or all the way up to making the top five. These bets are a solid option when you want to pick an outsider but don’t think your pick will end up winning.

Head-to-head bets, aka matchups

With head-to-heads, you’re betting on how one golfer will perform against one other player only. The sportsbook picks the matchups, and the overall result of the tournament is irrelevant to your bet.

For example, if you bet on Rory McIlroy against Dustin Johnson, all you need is for Rory to beat DJ, regardless of whether they both miss the cut or finish first and second. These bets are great because they let you use your knowledge about certain golfers without needing them to actually win, or even come especially close to winning.

You can find matchups both for single rounds and the entire tournament.

Group matchups

These work in the same way as head-to-heads, except you, are betting on who will finish best among more than two players. For example, sportsbooks will often create group matchups between the favorites, or other players who share similar odds.

As with two-player matchups, the players don’t actually need to be playing together for you to bet on them. However, if there is a particularly juicy featured group, the book may well create a matchup bet on that group.

Nationality

This is a fun prop bet that has become more popular in recent years. Basically, you can bet on the highest finisher of a particular nationality. For example, betting on the top Australian might include a field of Adam Scott, Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman, and any other Aussies in the tournament.

You may also see bets like top Asian player or top European, which cast the net a little wider than a single country.

Betting without favorites

In this case, the sportsbook will effectively remove the favorite four or five players from the equation and allow you to bet on who will finish best out of the rest of the field.

For example, you might be able to bet on a tournament with Jon Rahm, Johnson, Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, and McIlroy removed. To win the bet, your player needs to beat every other player in the field. If one or more of the five removed golfers finish ahead, it doesn’t matter.

Props

There are tons of golf prop bets, although they aren’t always available for every tournament. You can expect the deepest range of props for the majors, including bets like whether there will be a hole-in-one, will the tournament go to a playoff, the number of eagles a certain player collects, and more.

There are also live props that let you bet on a specific shot, like whether a player will hit the green on a certain par 3.

Odds on golf majors

There are PGA events taking place most weeks of the year, but every golf fan knows there are four dates on the calendar that stand out. The major championships are the four peaks of the golfing year, and each one has some distinct betting quirks.

In fact, there are loads of ways to bet on the majors. While everyone loves predicting who’s going to get their hands on the trophy, you can also get creative with the ultra-strong fields. There are always fun matchups out there, and tons of parlay options. Plus, sportsbooks often come up with special promotions and odds boosts.

Masters betting odds

Many regard the Masters as the most prestigious golf tournament in the world. Of the four majors, it’s the only one that takes place on the same course every year — the iconic Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia.

It’s been the location of some of the most famous moments in golf history, from Tiger’s comeback win in 2019 to Bubba Watson’s miracle shot out of the pine straw in 2012, to back nine collapses from Greg Norman and Jordan Spieth. It’s a special place.

How should you bet on the Masters?

For one thing, the fact that it happens at the same course every year makes it theoretically easier to predict who will play well. You can check past performances at Augusta National and note players who tend to do well.

Driving distance isn’t a huge factor at Augusta. Approach play is, though, along with putting. The hilly greens are famous for being incredibly fast and tricky, so good putters and players with the experience to know what sections of the green to favor may do well.

Masters at a glance

  • Course: Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Georgia
  • Date: April 4-10 (2022)
  • First held: 1934
  • Prize pool: $11.5 million
  • Record score: -20 (Dustin Johnson, 2020)
  • Last five winners: Hideki Matsuyama, 2021; Dustin Johnson, 2020; Tiger Woods, 2019; Patrick Reed, 2018; Sergio Garcia, 2017

US Open betting odds

The US Open is the national championship of the United States. Unlike the Masters, the US Open rotates among a string of the best courses in the US. Oakmont Country Club has hosted the most US Opens, having done so nine times.

How should you bet on the US Open?

US Open setups are historically very difficult, the most of any of the four majors. Courses tend to be very long, with narrow fairways, high rough, and lightning greens. Driving distance and accuracy are both normally very important at US Opens, and many people like to basically discount the shorter hitters from the field when picking a winner. If you find yourself consistently in the thick rough, you’re in trouble.

Case in point: The US Open is the only major to elude Phil Mickelson, who is historically somewhat wild off the tee. Although to be fair to Lefty, he’s certainly had his chances.

Interestingly, as the average swing speed on tour increases and players can gouge the ball out of the thick stuff more easily, driving accuracy is arguably becoming less important. Distance, however, is still key, as you can see from the recent winners below.

US Open at a glance

  • Course: The Country Club, Brookline, Massachusetts (2022)
  • Date: June 16-19 (2022)
  • First held: 1895
  • Prize pool: $12.5 million
  • Record score: -16 (Rory McIlroy, 2011)
  • Last five winners: Jon Rahm, 2021; Bryson DeChambeau, 2020; Gary Woodland, 2019; Brooks Koepka, 2018; Brooks Koepka, 2017

British Open (Open Championship) betting odds

The Open Championship is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and the only major to take place outside of the US. The Old Course at St. Andrews, widely considered the home of golf and the oldest course in the world, has hosted the event a record 29 times. Scotland is the most frequent location for the open, followed by England and occasionally Northern Ireland.

Thanks to the predominance of links courses in Scotland and the UK in general, the style of golf is quite different from the majors in the US.

How should you bet on the Open Championship?

Playing on links courses requires a very different set of skills compared with, say, bombing drives around a US Open. The weather is typically much more unpredictable, and a low flight path for your shot is generally favorable, along with being able to manufacture shots on hard, bumpy ground.

With an Open Championship, it’s always worth looking at players who have lots of links experience, or who grew up playing links golf. Three of the last five winners are European, for example, while Irish golfers alone have won the event five times in the last 15 years. Similarly, accepted wisdom suggests avoiding hot-shot young PGA Tour players who are playing their first such event — although Collin Morikawa very much bucked that trend in 2021.

Open Championship at a glance

  • Course: The Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland (2022)
  • Date: July 10-17 (2022)
  • First held: 1860
  • Prize pool: $10.75 million
  • Record score: -20 (Henrik Stenson, 2016)
  • Last five winners: Collin Morikawa, 2021; Shane Lowry, 2019; Francisco Molinari, 2018; Jordan Spieth, 2017; Henrik Stenson, 2016

PGA Championship betting odds

The PGA Championship is the only one of the four majors that are exclusive to professional golfers, with a handful of amateurs appearing in the field at the others. Historically, the PGA Championship took place in August and represented the final major of the season. Since 2019, it has happened in May. Phil Mickelson made history in 2021, when he became the oldest major winner ever, with a win at Kiawah Island.

How should you bet on the PGA Championship?

While historically not as tough as the US Open, the PGA Championship generally presents a stern test of all aspects of the game. Since 2017, the winner has shot better than -8 just twice. Like the US Open, driving distance and power are highly prized, along with accurate iron play. Many of the courses that host the PGA have hosted either the same tournament or the US Open before, so it’s generally possible to research how players have fared with a major setup in the past.

PGA Championship at a glance

  • Course: Southern Hills Championship Course, Tulsa, Oklahoma (2022)
  • Date: May 19-22 (2022)
  • First held: 1916
  • Prize pool: $12 million
  • Record score: -20 (Jason Day, 2015)
  • Last five winners: Phil Mickelson, 2021; Collin Morikawa, 2020; Brooks Koepka, 2019; Brooks Koepka, 2018; Justin Thomas, 2017

Odds boosts and promos in golf betting

All sportsbooks have welcome bonuses for new members. These may be a deposit matching bonus or a bonus bet when you create your account, which you can then use to bet on golf.

But CT sportsbooks also routinely come up with special bonuses that are just for golf — especially around the time of major championships. Check out the odds boost section on FanDuel Connecticut for example, and chances are you’ll find some enhanced odds on one of the favorites before a major.

Both DraftKings and FanDuel also regularly have crazy promos, like offering huge odds on any player in the field to make the cut, including the favorites. However, these bets usually come with a very small max bet, like $1 or $5. You can also find fun specials on players against the field, players eagling the par 5s, or even making a hole-in-one.

Betting on other PGA events/other tours

The PGA Tour hosts a variety of events that you can bet on. There are other tours, as well, like the European Tour, Asian Tour, and LPGA. Depending on the size and prestige of the event, you may be able to place some bets on some of those tourneys. Here are some of the other golf betting highlights outside of the majors:

  • The Players Championship (PGA Tour)
  • Genesis Invitational (PGA Tour)
  • Arnold Palmer Invitational (PGA Tour)
  • WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play (PGA Tour)
  • Memorial Tournament (PGA Tour)
  • FedExCup Playoffs (PGA Tour)
  • Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship (European Tour)
  • Omega Dubai Desert Classic (European Tour)
  • Scottish Open (European Tour)
  • BMW PGA Championship (European Tour)
  • DP World Tour Championship (European Tour)
  • ANA Inspiration (LPGA)
  • S. Women’s Open (LPGA)
  • Women’s PGA Championship (LPGA)
  • The Evian Championship (LPGA)
  • Women’s British Open (LPGA)
  • Ryder Cup
  • Presidents Cup
  • Solheim Cup

PGA events in CT

The PGA Tour currently has one regular stop in Connecticut — the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands. The Travelers is a popular stop on tour and is scheduled to have a purse of $8.2 million in 2022.

TPC River Highlands is a sweeping parkland course, located at a private club in Cromwell, Connecticut. The 2016 Travelers Championship included a PGA Tour record of 58, shot by Jim Furyk.

Betting on the LPGA

The LPGA is rapidly growing in popularity and prestige, with the total prize pools on the tour almost doubling from $40 million in 2010 to more than $70 million in 2019. It’s also becoming increasingly popular to bet on, with some tournaments offering a solid range of bets, depending on the sportsbook.

Female stars like Nelly Korda, Lexi Thompson, Jin Young Ko, and Lydia Ko are transcending the sport in the US and around the world, and we fully expect LPGA betting to only become more widely available in the future.

Betting on the Ryder Cup/Presidents Cup

The Ryder Cup and the Presidents Cup are distinct tournaments in the golfing calendar, and as such provide some interesting betting options. The match-play format makes these competitions perfect for head-to-head betting, as well as all the other betting options team golf provides.

It’s also one of the rare occasions golf fans get the chance to bet on their favorite or home team, rather than individual players. As such, you can expect all the usual bets, but with some fun additions, too.