PGA Championship Betting

The PGA Championship, known outside the United States as the USPGA, is one of golf’s four annual Majors. It’s sometimes seen as the poor relation of the quartet, but compensates by having the biggest trophy.

Modern sportsbooks make betting on golf easy for sports fans in Canada. The PGA is a chance to wager on an event that attracts the superstars of the game.

In this guide we’ll answer these questions:

• How does betting on golf work?
• What do golf fans like to bet on?
• How do I start live betting?

An Introduction to The PGA Championship

The championship’s history goes back more than a century. Before 1958, it was played with a matchplay format.

1. The PGA Championship - Fact 1 Most players qualify by doing well in previous PGAs, other Majors and the PGA Tour
2. The PGA Championship - Fact 2 However, the PGA reserves the right to invite additional players
3. The PGA Championship - Fact 3 Unlike the other Majors, amateurs tend not to qualify or be invited
4. The PGA Championship - Fact 4 A field of 156 players tees off in the 72-hole strokeplay event
5. The PGA Championship - Fact 5 The purse for the 2018 event was US$11million
6. The PGA Championship - Fact 6 If there is a tie after 72 holes, a three-hole aggregate playoff is held
7. The PGA Championship - Fact 7 The winner receives the handsome Wanamaker Trophy, named after Rodman Wanamaker, a businessman who helped set up the association

How Golf Odds Work

Betting on The PGA Championship, and golf in general, is not complicated. But you may need a broader introduction to gambling.

Let’s look at a tournament. The odds about one player winning it may, expressed as decimals, read:

9.0

14.0

For every C$10 you stake on Koepka, you win C$90. If you put C$10 on Thomas, you get back C$140.

Odds may also be expressed in other formats, such as fractional and moneyline (also called American) odds.

But most sportsbooks make it easy to swap between systems to let you choose how you view their prices. Take a look at our Odds Calculator to see how they compare.

The PGA Championship Betting Options

• Tournament winner

  On the face of it, it is an easy question. Who is going to win the tournament?
  However, with 156 of the best players in the world teeing it up, maybe that’s not as easy as it first appears.

• First round leader

  Intriguingly, some pros are notorious for making a fast start on day one before fading away. These are the guys to look at for this market.
  Also, with this market you can weigh up your options based on tee times and the weather forecast without worrying about the rest of the week.

• Top 10 finish

  With such a big field taking part, it makes sense to broaden your chance of winning by seeking out a player who can finish high on the leaderboard.
  In this market you’re looking for steady, consistent players with a solid record of winning prize money – though maybe not trophies.

• Match bets

  Forget the rest of the field for a moment. You can bet on one player to beat the others in his group – or a different player on the other side of the golf course.

• Hole-in-one

  A one-off bet which appears on the face of it to owe more to luck than judgment. Having said that, a bit of research on the course in question and the field playing it might throw up a bit of value for the shrewd bettor.

• To qualify for The PGA Championship

  It’s possible you have spotted a less famous player you think could qualify for the tournament. There are sportsbooks that will allow you to wager on the outcome.

• To make the cut

  If you think a player is going to do well, but not well enough to top the leaderboard, how about a bet on them to reach the weekend?

• To win next year’s PGA Championship

  Sometimes you spot a player in this year’s event whose game will be perfect for next year’s venue. Look around and you will find sportsbooks offering odds 12 months in advance.

What is PGA Championship Live Betting?

• Betting used to stop when the action starts – not any more
• Most sportsbooks carry on offering odds while the action unfolds and move the prices accordingly
• One possibility is a match bet on which player in a group will ‘win’ the next hole
• At the same time, you can still wager on future bets such as the outright winner
• Live betting is a novel way to add engagement while a sporting event is taking place

Brief Timeline of The PGA Championship

• 1916 The first championship is held at Siwanoy Country Club in New York
• 1919 Jim Barnes of England wins for the second time. None of his compatriots have won since
• 1927 Walter Hagen wins for the fourth time in a row and a joint-record fifth in all
• 1958 The tournament format is switched from matchplay to strokeplay. Dow Finsterwald, who lost the last matchplay final, wins the first strokeplay event
• 1968 Julius Boros, at 48, becomes the oldest winner of the PGA Championship
• 1980 Jack Nicklaus wins for the fifth time to match Hagen’s record
• 1998 The last time the event was held in the west, at Sahalee near Seattle
• 2012 Rory McIlroy wins the championship by eight shots, a record for the strokeplay era
• 2015 Jason Day triumphs with a record score of 20 under par
• 2019 The championship is moved from its traditional August slot to May

Recent PGA Championship winners

• 2018 Brooks Koepka
• 2017 Justin Thomas
• 2016 Jimmy Walker
• 2015 Jason Day
• 2014 Rory McIlroy
• 2013 Jason Dufner
• 2012 Rory McIlroy
• 2011 Keegan Bradley
• 2010 Martin Keymer
• 2009 Yang Yong-eun

Conclusion

The PGA Championship is a wonderful event to watch and bet on. And, in an era of mass cellphone ownership, the options for wagering are broader than ever.

With the betting industry being highly competitive, the quest for excellent customer experience is taken very seriously by sportsbooks.

To find out everything you might ever need to know about betting on the sport in Canada, check out our golf home page.