PGA Championship Result a Boom for Some Bettors, Bust for Others
Betting
Golf can provide some of the biggest swings in all of sport — quite literally at times. The PGA Championship last weekend was proof of just that.
In a matter of only a few hours, the results of the second major championship tournament for the PGA of the year turned the tables quickly — with some bettors being ecstatic about the outcome and others left miserably disappointed.
When Justin Thomas came from seven shots back entering the final day on Sunday, he helped some bettors cash in on amazing 250-1 odds. At the same time, the collapse by Miio Pereira disappointed those who took a shot on him at 300-1 before he tournament began.
Pereira’s Collapse
The 27-year-old Pereira wasn’t known by many people entering the PGA Championship, and for good reason. He was actually a rookie on the PGA Tour and hadn’t really made a name for himself in golf betting circles just yet.
Of course, that all changed after his first three rounds of this major tournament. After Saturday’s third round, Pereira found himself atop the leaderboard with a three-shot lead on the competition. To that point, he had shot a total of 9 under par for the tournament.
But, he didn’t have a great final round on Sunday, to say the least. He shot a 5-over and ended up missing out on the playoff that ended up deciding the tournament winner.
What’s worse, Pereira actually still held a one-shot lead heading into the final 18th hole. All he needed to do was finish that last hole with a par, and he would’ve become the first Chilean to win a major PGA tournament and also the first rookie to win one in more than a decade.
Instead, he put his tee shot into the water, finished with a double bogey on the hole, and stood in third place when all was said and done.
While Pereira was certainly disappointed by that outcome, so, too, were some bettors who backed him. In fact, one posted on Twitter that he had a straight bet of $500 on Pereira at 300-1 odds. If he would’ve won the PGA Championship, the bettor would’ve taken home $150,000.
Thomas’ Rise
On the other side of the spectrum was the 29-year-old Justin Thomas from the United States. He found himself seven shots behind the leader entering Sunday, but he had hope because there were only six other golfers ahead of him on the leaderboard.
Thomas ended up turning in a solid performance. He shot a 3-under par for the day, and that was good enough to qualify him for a three-hole playoff with Will Zalatoris. His comeback tied a record for the most shots behind by a player who would end up winning a major PGA tournament.
In winning the three-hole playoff, Thomas became the first champion since the 2017 Masters to win a major in a playoff. That marked 19 straight major tournaments without a playoff.
Again, Thomas’ win had quite the result for bettors — only the opposite to that of Pereira. One bettor, for example, placed a $200 bet on Thomas at PointsBet midway through his final round. That gave the bettor 250-1 odds, which resulted in him taking home a cool $50,000 when Thomas completed his magical comeback.
There are big swings in a lot of sports, of course, but the PGA Championship last weekend showed that golf has some of the biggest and best.
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