Tips for Betting on Golf

Golf betting during majors increases a lot as many armchair fans take a wild punt on who will win the Masters or Open Championship that particular year. Few fans actually give their bet any thought, instead picking a name out of the hat much like those backing the Grand National or Kentucky Derby winner.

Yet the ‘random’ tactic may not be a good one to use if you want to win money betting on golf. For there are tips you must adhere to in order to transform those hopeful bets into dead certs.

Here are our tips for golf betting this season:

Know your field:

Before backing a player it’s worth checking out what his history is in this event or on this course. Phil Mickelson’s Open triumph last week is a good example. The leftie hadn’t won a trophy on British soil in 21 years yet claimed the Scottish Open on Castle Stuart’s familiar links to Muirfield. That should have been a clue for what was to come and, sure enough, Mickelson surged home with four birdies on Sunday’s back nine.

Study the form:

Tiger Woods may have won four tournaments this year but his summer form has been dreadful, meaning that odds-on favourite tag is a mere myth. The same can be said for Rory McIlroy. Fans unused to following golf are likely to bet on the Northern Irishman, assuming he is in good nick. Wrong! McIlroy has had a disastrous year and should be avoided at all costs in this sort of form.

Back a nationality:

Some tournaments carry an historic national bias towards their own countrymen and the PGA Championship certainly offers that to Americans. Nine of the past 14 PGA Championships have produced US victors, including four for Woods since 1999, and the same again could happen at Oak Hill this year. Of course, the American’s outweigh the field in quantity and that skews the odds somewhat but you’re almost guaranteed one will be in the chase come any fourth round.

Bet on the place:

Backing a winner in golf is tricky, for one bad shot can ruin an entire tournament. So, betting on the place is a far more productive way of winning money. Australia’s Adam Scott is a reliable place-marker, having finished within the top-10 of majors six times since 2011. He even claimed the Masters title this year to banish his Open nightmare of 2012 and is a good bet to place at the PGA Championship.