Best PGA Betting Odds In Michigan

Mobile sports betting was greeted by many enthusiasts eager to bet on their favorite sports and tournaments, including the PGA. Michigan sportsbooks took in over $115 million in handle in just nine days. Although the percentage of betting handle for golf betting was a fraction of this, PGA betting in Michigan is becoming more popular. 

Sports betting took off much like lawmakers hoped it would. In less than a year, the state has already surpassed $1 billion in handle. As for the PGA, while football is king in Michigan, golf is one of the more popular sports in the state. However, it is not clear how often people bet on golf.

The Rocket Mortgage Classic at the Detroit Golf Club is the only stop on the PGA Tour in Michigan. But The Memorial is held at the Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, OH, and the John Deere Classic is held at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, IL.  

Three Best Sportsbooks For PGA Betting

Sportsbook	Welcome Bonus	Major PGA Betting Events
DraftKings	$50 free bet with $5 deposit + 20% deposit match up to $1,000 (Claim Here)	The Masters, US Open, British Open Championship, and PGA Championship
BetMGM	$1,000 risk-free bet (Claim here)	The Masters, US Open, British Open Championship, and PGA Championship
FanDuel	$1,000 risk-free bet (Claim here)	The Masters, US Open, British Open Championship, and PGA Championship

Where Can You Bet On The PGA In Michigan?

In Michigan, people can bet on the PGA at one of the four casinos that offer retail sports betting, and more are expected to start taking bets soon. PGA fans can also place their bets on the next tournament at any of the 12 active online sportsbooks operating in-state.

If it’s a sanctioned PGA event, fans can rest assured that any of the state’s online and retail sportsbooks will carry odds for the tournament.

Online Sportsbooks

Online sportsbooks are the easiest way to place bets on PGA events since all you need is a device with internet access and a reliable connection. They were cleared to launch in Michigan in January 2021. 

Nine launched on the first day, but there are now about a dozen online sportsbooks operating in Michigan.

Odds and markets will typically be the same as they are on the desktop website. But some books will offer mobile-only specials. Some will even live-stream events giving you a chance to watch the action unfold as you bet.

The more popular sportsbook mobile app options in Michigan are DraftKings, BetMGM, FanDuel, and Barstool. Each offers PGA betting odds. The complete list of online sportsbook operators in the state taking bets on the PGA is as follows:

• DraftKings
• BetMGM
• Caesars
• BetRivers
• FanDuel
• PointsBet
• WynnBet
• Barstool
• FOX Bet
• Parx
• BetAmerica/TwinSpires
• Golden Nugget
• Four Winds

Retail Sportsbooks

If you do not like the idea of betting on the PGA with an online sportsbook or via their mobile app, the other available option is retail sports betting locations. There are 26 casinos in Michigan, but only four have launched retail sports betting on site.

More are expected to launch soon.

Retail sports betting became legal in Michigan in March 2020, but it had to temporarily shut down soon after due to the pandemic. By summertime, many were able to reopen but at a minimal capacity.

Only three have been reporting handle in 2021, Motor City (FanDuel), MGM Grand (BetMGM), and Greektown (Barstool). Dacey’s Sportsbook at the FireKeepers Casino Hotel in Battle Creek is also open.

As coronavirus restrictions ease up, more retail locations are bound to open their doors.

Popular PGA Bets

The most popular events of the year for the PGA are the four majors: the Masters, PGA Championship, US Open, and the Open Championship (formerly known as the British Open). As the most important events of the year for the PGA, fans are more likely to bet on them. 

Consequently, fans in Michigan can count on every active sportsbook in the state, carrying odds on each of them. The futures for each are typically posted months ahead of time but will change as the season continues and players thrive or struggle.

For example, the 2021 Masters took place in April, and odds for 2024 were available in May.

Phil Mickelson became the toast of the town in May 2021 when he became the oldest golfer ever to win a major, the PGA Championship (odds for the 2024 version not posted a week later).

Several bettors made the news for betting him before the start of the tournament when his odds ranged from +20000 to as high as +30000. One lucky bettor put down $1000 on Mickelson to win at DraftKings before Round One began. His odds were +30000, which resulted in a $300000 payout.

Hideki Matsuyama was not as big of a longshot (+4600), but still a longshot when he won the 2021 Masters in April.

What Other Kinds Of Bets Can Be Placed On The PGA

Betting on golf may seem a bit more daunting than betting on an NFL, NBA, or MLB game. When you pick a winner in those sports, you only have two options. When you bet on futures for events like the Super Bowl, World Series, NBA Finals, the field is more extensive (30 for NBA and MLB, and 32 for NFL), but still significantly less so than a PGA event.

When picking a winner for the Masters (90-100) or the PGA Championship (max of 156), the field is a lot larger. That explains why some guys have odds as high as +30000. But it also explains some of the betting options sportsbooks offer for PGA tournaments:

• Finishing Position: Along with betting on whether a golfer will win an event, you can bet on whether said golfer will finish within the top five, 10, 20, 30, or 40.
• Round Leaders: This bet does not ask who will be leading the tournament after a particular round. It just wants to know who will win an individual round.
• Head-to-Head: This bet wants you to pick who will finish better between two specific golfers.
• Tournament Groups: Similar to the head-to-head but involving a group of golfers (typically five). The idea is to pick who will finish in a better position amongst them.
• Make/Miss Cut: Will this golfer play well enough in Rounds 1 and 2 to ‘make the cut’ and finish the tournament? Or will they miss the cut and be sent home after Round 2?
• Tournament Props: These can entail a variety of different things, i.e., whether the winner will be in the first group in the final round, the margin of victory for the winner, whether the winner led the tournament from start to finish, how the winner will play the final hole of the tournament, and so much more.
• Golfer vs. the Field: These bets will ask whether a specific player will win the tournament or if it will be anyone else.
• Nationality Props: Who will finish first just amongst a specific nationality, i.e., American, European, English, Asia. Canada, South America, continental Europe, etc.
• Hole-in-One Props: Will there be one? Will there be more than one?

What Is A PGA Futures Bet

A futures bet is precisely what the name implies: a bet on something to happen in the future. When it comes to PGA events, that encompasses much of the betting down on a tournament (i.e. betting on the overall winner, the winner of a round, etc.).

You can also bet on the winner as tournament play progresses and the odds start to favor the leaders.

Futures bets also refer to bets placed on tournaments not playing in a particular week. Generally, they refer to the four majors (PGA Championship, US Open, the Open Championship, and the Masters). Odds on who will win get posted months ahead of major tournaments.

How To Place Prop Bets On PGA Events

Prop bets for PGA events are a lot like those in other sports. They are bets that do not involve who won a tournament or round but the occurrence (or nonoccurrence) of a specific event during the tournament.

Common examples of PGA prop bets include how the winner will play the final hole, winning margin over the second-place finisher, whether a hole-in-one will be made (or more than one), highest finisher per nationality, etc.

Some of the more unique options include where the cut line will be, lowest round recorded, whether there will be a playoff, if the winner will cry on the green, who the winner will hug first, etc.

How PGA Betting Odds Are Calculated

Like with every other sport, oddsmakers create the opening lines for PGA events using all the relevant information they can gather about the players. Things like how they have been playing or how they have played a course in the past factor in as well as their skillset and what the course demands.

With what they know about the players in the tournament and the course, they come up with the odds of winning for every player (along with the other futures bets and available prop bets).

For example, before the 2021 PGA Championship, Phil Mickelson had not been having a good year. He had failed to make the cut several times and struggled to finish the tournaments he did make the cut in under par. 

There was no reason to think he had a good chance to win the PGA Championship, hence his +30000 odds.

When he won the tournament, those who bet on him stood to gain a healthy payout. One bidder had put $1000 on Mickelson to win at +30000. Those odds meant a person needed to bet $100 to win $30000. Since this person bid $1000, he/she won $300,000.

Betting on golf is much different than betting on a football game. Football only has two possible winners, and you can bet the moneyline, point spread, or the over/under. Since there are only two outcomes, it is more cut and dry.

But with golf, tournaments start with over 100 potential winners. Taking the moneyline in a football game is like making a futures bet on the tournament winner. There is not an equivalent to the point spread or over/under with golf.

How To Bet On The PGA In Michigan

The process involved in placing a bet on a PGA event is no different in Michigan than in other states. But this is how you would do so if you were betting with DraftKings:

•  Go to the Google Play or Apple App store to download the DraftKings mobile app.
• Register for an account either through the app or from your desktop computer. You will need to provide some personal information, create a username, and decide on a password.
• Make your first deposit into your account. Be sure to use the promo code for the welcome bonus (if needed).
• Navigate to the “Golf” section of the website/app and click on the tournament you are interested in. Odds for the Majors are often listed along with the upcoming events for the various Tours.
• Choose a market. If you like the odds DraftKings is offering, great. But if you do not, you may want to line shop and see what other sportsbooks are offering.
• Click on the market and enter an amount into the appropriate space. When you are ready, click on “place bet.”

PGA Partnerships

The PGA Tour does not have an exclusive sports-betting partner, choosing to create the Official Betting Organization program instead. This way, no sportsbook will be able to gain a monopoly on PGA betting action.

Through the program, the PGA has partnership deals with five sportsbooks. DraftKings was the first to strike a deal with the PGA, followed by BetMGM, FanDuel, PointsBet, and more recently, theScore Bet.

Each one has a marketing and content deal with the PGA, similar to the deals other leagues have with sportsbooks. Each can advertise on PGA media platforms, use PGA trademarks, and will have access to video of PGA highlights with which to create pre-tournament and post-tournament betting content.

PGA Betting FAQs