MENU
The 2019 PGA Tour is underway and the tournaments just keep on coming. With these tournaments come golf bets sprouting from every bet maker. Yes, betting exists not only in the four major professional sports but also in golf. But while most of us know how to bet in say baseball, football, basketball, hockey or even boxing, golf betting is different.
Let us help you get to know golf betting and give you some tips on how to bring bang to your buck while betting on PGA Tournaments in 2019:
Picking The Outright Winner
The most common type of golf betting is to wager on which golfer is going to win a certain tournament. Let’s say for example, Rory McIlroy was a +800 odds on favorite to win the 2019 Arnold Palmer Invitational. That meant that a $100 bet on Rory would have a return of $800 ( plus the original bet of $100).
If a golfer has a minus (-) odds, it means that you will have to pay a premium to win $100. For example if the odds on McIlroy was instead -800, then you would have to bet $800 to win $100 on Rory. In many cases, the favorite comes at a premium (minus) and so you need to bet more money on them. However, as in the case above, the odds on favorite was still at a plus 800. But if you looked at the oddsboard for that tournament, the favorite had the least plus money on him, meaning that if all the golfers in the oddsboard have plus money on them, the favorite will have the least plus money on him.
Prop Bets
Aside from betting on the outright winner, many bet makers offer proposition bets or what are more popularly known as prop bets. A proposition bet is one that is made regarding a circumstance or competition that is not necessarily linked to the tournament’s final outcome.
An sample prop bet would be the Head to Head matchup . So instead of picking who would win the tournament, there are bets where you can bet between two players and who finishes with the better score. For example, Rory McIlroy vs Tiger Woods. In this bet, we would only be concerned with the scores of Rory and Tiger, regardless of who wins the tournament. Another form of head to head betting is group match betting. In this scenario, instead of just a pair, a group is composed of more than two names.
Then there are also the Nationality Bets. These bets refer to betting by country affiliation. For example, there are bets for Top American, Top European and Top Rest of the World. So regardless of who wins again, you are to pick the American (or European, etc) who would finish with the best score in the tournament.
And then there is the Top 5, Top 10 or Top 20 bets. Under these bets, you don’t have to pick a golfer to win the tournament. You pick him/her to finish under the category you are betting in. For example if you picked Dustin Johnson in the Top 5, then DJ must finish in the Top 5 of the said tournament for you to win the bet.
There are also some prop bets which ask if a particular player will hit a hole in one, or if there will be a hole in one in the tournament. The list could go on. These proposition bets make golf betting more exciting, really without you worrying about some golfer winning the tournament.
Golf Betting Strategies
Now that we know what kind of bets are there, it’s time to place our bets. Now there is no fool proof strategy to win golf bets but for starters, recent play and historical data are a very good foundation, especially for beginners.
For instance, know what the recent tournaments are and how the player performed in the previous tournaments he played in. As for historical data, go back in time and check how the said golfer performed in the same tournament the previous year, two or even five years back. There are golfers who love certain golf courses and tend to perform better there. So these could be your guides.
When looking at recent play, don’t just look at the winners and use them as your barometer in choosing golfers. Take a close look at Top 5’s and Top 10 finishes. These are indicative of good play. It would also help if you get to know golf stats like strokes gained which are also indicative of good (or bad) play.
Then, of course, there are countless voices in the internet, including this site, that offer previews and predictions. Check us out, we have every important tournament covered. Compare our picks from yours before you decide. Don’t forget that doing research isn’t a guarantee of winning but it’s always better than a blind pick.
Also, check the weather conditions. You don’t want to put your bet on a golfer whose tee time happens during unfavorable weather conditions. And yes, don’t put your eggs in one basket. Instead of placing a huge bet on one player, you can diversify to four or six instead.
Lastly, and this is perhaps the most important of all, you should know your limit. Temptation in gambling is very real and it could lead to serious issued. Set aside whatever amount that you are fine with losing and don’t go beyond that figure. Once you hit the limit, don’t double-down hoping to get everything back. Always know when to pick up your ball and go home.
Check out the PGA Tour schedule with golf predictions for the first half of 2019:
- Mar. 7-10— Arnold Palmer Invitational, Bay Hill Club & Lodge, Orlando, FL
- Mar 14-17 – THE PLAYERS Championship, TPC Sawgrass, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
- Mar. 21-24 — PGA Tour Valspar Championship, Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club, Palm Harbor, FL
- Mar. 27-31 — PGA Tour: World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play, Austin Country Club, Austin, TX
- Mar. 28-31 – PGA Tour: Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship, Dominican Republic
- Apr. 4-7 — PGA Tour: Valero Texas Open, TPC San Antonio, San Antonio, TX
- Apr. 11-14 — 2019 US Masters Tournament; Augusta National GC, Augusta, GA
- Apr. 18-21 — PGA Tour: RBC Heritage, Harbour Town Golf Links, Hilton Head Island, SC
- Apr. 25-28 — PGA Tour: Zurich Classic of New Orleans, TPC Louisiana, New Orleans, LA
- May 2-5 — PGA Tour: Wells Fargo Championship, Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte, NC
- May 9-12 — PGA Tour: AT&T Byron Nelson, Trinity Forest Golf Club, Dallas, TX
- May 16-19 — PGA Tour Champions: PGA Championship Bethpage State Park BK Course, Bethpage, NY
- May 23-26 — PGA Tour: Charles Schwab Challenge; Colonial Country Club, Fort Worth, TX
- May 30-Jun. 2 — PGA Tour: The Memorial Tournament; Muirfield Village GC, Dublin, OH
- May 31-Jun. 2 — PGA Tour Champions: Principal Charity Classic; Wakonda Club, Des Moines, IA
- Jun. 6-9 — PGA Tour: RBC Canadian Open; Hamilton Golf & Country Club, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
- Jun. 7-9 — PGA Tour Champions: Mastercard Japan Championship; Narita Golf Club-Accordia Golf, Narita-shi, Chiba, JPN
- Jun. 13-16 — USGA: U.S. Open, Pebble Beach Golf Links, Pebble Beach, CA
- Jun. 20-23 — PGA Tour: Travelers Championship; TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, CT
- Jun. 21-23 — PGA Tour Champions: American Family Insurance Championship; University Ridge GC, Madison, WI
- Jun. 27-30 — PGA Tour: Rocket Mortgage Classic; Detroit Golf Club, Detroit, MI
