The second major of the golf season is upon as the 2019 PGA Championship tees off on Thursday.
As the action gets underway, NJBetting.com caught up with Johnny Avello, the head of DraftKings Sporstbook, to see where the money is coming in and what are the sportsbook’s biggest liabilities.
Money Flooding In On Tiger Woods Props – 2019 PGA
To no one’s surprise, betting on Tiger Woods has been a popular activity this week. To meet the demand, DraftKings actually posted a slew of extra props and the public is eating them up.
Of course, most are betting positively – I.E. for Woods to succeed versus fail – in a number of those 2019 PGA propositions.
“We have numerous propositions available to wager on involving Mr. Eldrick Tont Woods and they’ve all been bet ‘yes’,” says Avello, DraftKings Head of Sportsbook. “They’re also our most popular Tiger Woods props for this week.”
Those include the following:
Prop | Odds |
2 or more eagles | Yes (+1600) |
To make a triple bogey or worse | Yes (+1000) |
To make an eagle | Yes (+350) |
To play in the final group in Round 4 | Yes (+700) |
To shoot 271 (-9) or better | Yes (+2500) |
To shoot 273 (-7) or better | Yes (+1400) |
To shoot 275 (-5) or better | Yes (+800) |
To shoot under par in every round | Yes (+800) |
To birdie on Hole 17 in any round | Yes (+125) |
Woods hasn’t played since winning The Masters, though, so there could be some rust after the long layoff. That hasn’t turned off bettors as they’re here to see Woods succeed.
Woods Is The Sportsbook’s Biggest Liability
If you’re wondering who the sportsbook doesn’t want to see win the 2019 PGA, it’s Tiger Woods. He’s the book’s biggest liability not only because of the props but on the odds to win outright as well.
“Our biggest liability is Tiger, Tiger & Tiger,” says Avello. “We’ve seen a ton of action on him as the bettors like the prices we are offering (11-1 and 15-1 on the odds boost).”
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DraftKings Sportsbook will often boost the payout on popular bets and Woods is one example. While most of the market has him in and around that 10/1 or 11/1 range to win the 2019 PGA Championship, DraftKings boost puts him up to 15/1, so customers can earn themselves a bigger payout.
Any way you look at it, though, books will have to payout plenty on props and futures if Woods wins.
Where Is The Sharp Action?
As per usual, bettors are always curious as to where the sharp money has come in. ‘Sharps’ are known as the professionals in a sportsbook and their action holds more weight than the Average Joe.
“Tony Finau 35-1 and Xander Schauffele 25-1 have been attracting a good amount of sharp attention,” says Avello.
Finau has mostly had a lousy season in 2019 with just two Top 10’s in 14 starts. However, he tends to show up for the big events as he’s placed in the Top 10 in four straight majors. As for Schauffele, he’s also recently come close.
He placed second at The Masters and last year’s British Open, and finished sixth at the 2018 U.S. Open.