BETHPAGE, NEW YORK - MAY 13: Tiger Woods of the United States looks on during a practice round prior to the PGA Championship at Bethpage Black on May 13, 2019 in Bethpage, New York. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)
The 2019 PGA Championship at Bethpage Black in Long Island, N.Y. may be an opportunity for Tiger Woods to capitalize on his momentum from his Masters win, but some oddsmakers wouldn’t advise betting on it.
When Woods and others hit the links starting on Thursday, May 16, at least one oddsmaker is banking on Woods not capturing the Wanamaker Trophy. PointsBet is counting on the returning champ to repeat instead of Woods riding his current high.
Brooks Koepka, who won the 2018 PGA Championship, currently leads the pack in PointsBet’s 101st PGA Championship Winner odds at +1000. The current top five is as follows:
- Brooks Koepka +1000
- Rory McIlroy +1100
- Tiger Woods +1100
- Dustin Johnson +1100
- Justin Rose +1800
Woods is one of the favorites for action on placing within the top five, however. Currently, he is tied with Dustin Johnson at +255 in that category. Johnson appears at the top of several other betting categories.
Johnson is the favorite to finish in the top 10 of the standings at +105, understandably so as he is currently the top-ranked PGA golfer in the world. Johnson is in a three-way dead heat right now to finish as the leader after Round 1, at +2000, matching McIlroy and Woods there. The odds for Johnson to win the third round also favorite him, Koepka and McIlroy at +2000. Johnson and Koepka are the favorites to win Group A at +250 and be the top finisher among players from the United States at +600.
2019 PGA Championship Prop Bets
Among the strongest prop bets for the tournament are a wire-to-wire winner (+1000) and a hole-in-one to occur in either the third or fourth rounds (+800). Perhaps the most unique prop bet that is being offered is only half concerned with Woods’ performance in this year’s PGA Championship. PointsBet is offering odds of +1000 dependent on Woods winning the PGA Championship and the New York Knicks winning Tuesday night’s NBA Draft Lottery. Other props include 8/5 odds that the winner will be wearing a Nike hat, an over/under of 8-under par for the winner’s score, an over/under of 21.5 contenders finishing below par and 3/2 odds that the winner is a first-time major winner.
Other Books Favor Woods
Though PointsBet doesn’t favor Woods, that isn’t necessarily a consensus. Other books are higher on Woods’ chances to win another major this week.
Sportsline currently has Woods as the favorite to win Bethpage in 2019 at 8-1, followed by Johnson and Koepka at 10-1, McIlroy 12-1 and Rickie Fowler at 16-1. Vegas Insider currently has Koepka and Woods in a dead heat, both listed among the favorites at 10-1. Johnson is next in those odds at 11-1, then McIlroy at 12-1 and Fowler at 16-1. Topsportsbooks.com’s latest odds don’t favor Woods either, instead tapping Johnson at 11-1. McIlroy is next at 12-1, Justin Thomas 14-1, Koepka at 15-1 and Justin Rose at 16-1.
If Koepka ends up winning his second consecutive PGA Championship, it will make PointsBet’s deviation from the norm in this event look like a savvy pick. Regardless of how far Woods goes at the 2019 PGA Championship, most of the attention will be paid to how he fares by golf fans and bettors alike.