The inherent connection between golf and gambling begins with numbers.
Four buddies get together on a Saturday morning at their local municipal course. By the end of the round, they have played 18 holes and hit hundreds of shots, giving them plenty of chances to wager on more than just the final score.
Now apply that equation to a professional tournament with as many as 156 players, 30,000 or more total shots and detailed statistics on everything from driving distance to bunker saves.
"Golf is a good fit for gambling," said Victor Matheson, a sports economist at College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts. "There are an infinite number of things you can bet on."
With sports betting becoming legal in more and more states, the math has PGA Tour executives looking to use gambling as a lure to draw more fans. And the coronavirus outbreak has given them a chance to jump-start this effort.
As one of the earliest sports to resume play after the COVID-19 lockdown, golf has targeted bettors waiting for the football season and NBA playoffs. It has become the fourth most-popular wagering sport on the DraftKings site and, with the PGA Championship beginning Thursday, has seen a 400% increase in wagers at one Las Vegas sportsbook.
"The tournaments have been great," said Jay Kornegay, vice president at Westgate Las Vegas. "Golf has taken advantage of the opportunity."
But the gambit comes with risk. There are fears of corruption and doubts about whether the tour can convert short-term bettors into longtime followers. As Kornegay said: "It's a tall order for golf to retain their current market."
