How to Make Golf Top Finish Bets
There are more options than ever in betting on golf, as the PGA Tour has surged in popularity along with the legalization of sports betting across the country. While you have historically only been able to bet on golfers to win tournaments outright, golf prop markets have popped up by the bunches as sportsbooks look to take advantage (and bettors try to beat them).
Let’s take a closer look at one such market today: the golf top-finish bet market.
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What is a Golf Top Finish Bet?
While betting on a golfer to win outright means they have to win the event, a golf top finish bet just means they have to finish in the top 5, 10, 20, or 40 for you to win your bet. As you would guess, the odds are highest for the top 5 markets, descending to the top 40 markets, and are correlated to the outright market in terms of where players are placed.
You’ll often find golfers around the Tour average in the even-money range when it comes to the top 40, while the Tour’s best are usually massive favorites. It’s also worth noting that given there are often many ties in golf outside winning outright, a T20 (with five other golfers) would cash a ticket that had your golfer finishing in the Top 20.
Traditionally reserved for majors when sportsbooks first rolled out this prop market, you can now find the golf top finish bet in every tournament, every week on the PGA Tour.
Strategy for Betting on Golf Top Finish Bets
Similar to the outright betting market, you’ll always want to check golfer’s historical performances on a given course and weigh it against their recent from. I often find the golf top finish bets perfect for golfers flying under the radar on Tour, yet to win an event but are consistently in contention.
Whenever I get a guy in the top 20 at plus money that I have as a top 25 player in the world, especially when they have success at a given course, I jump on that bet. Another strategy is to monitor weather forecasts and key in on guys who will have an advantage. For example, if high winds are expected in the mornings of an upcoming Thursday/Friday, check the tee times for solid players who have afternoon tee times when the wind is scheduled to come down. While not bulletproof, it’s one angle to consider when betting on golf top finishes.
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