Tiger Woods won his 15th career major Sunday after having been a betting favorite or close-favorite to win the Masters for the past eight months.
Woods one-shot victory and his fifth Masters green jacket proved costly to several sports books. One customer bet $85,000 on Woods at 14-1 odds at a William Hill sportsbook in Nevada this past week. The bet paid out $1.19 million.
Another bet on Woods paid out $130,000 at Westgate Las Vegas’ sportsbook, according to manager Ed Salmons. Westgate paid $75,000 on another futures bet.
The payout at William Hill was the largest ever payout on a non-Super Bowl bet by William Hill, which operates more than 100 sportsbooks in Nevada and New Jersey.
Nick Bogdanovich, director of trading for William Hill U.S., told USA TODAY Sports that Woods’ win resulted in a loss of “seven figures.”
“We got our tails kicked,” Bogdanovich said. “That’s just business. A guy drops money on the counter, we accept the wager, we pay and then we move on. Does it sting? Sure it stings, but it’s just part of the business. Tiger is Tiger. He’s the greatest golfer I’ve ever seen. Hopefully, we will get some new golf bettors out of it.”
Well, time and gambling wait for no one.
Especially Woods.
So here are the early betting odds for the notable players scheduled to be in the field for the PGA Championship. It is scheduled for May 16-19 and will be played at the famed Bethpage Black Course in Farmingdale, N.Y., on Long Island.
The odds are from the SuperBook USA and golfodds.com.
2019 PGA Championship Odds
| Golfer | Odds-To-Win |
| Tiger Woods | 8-1 |
| Dustin Johnson | 10-1 |
| Rory McIlroy | 12-1 |
| Justin Thomas | 12-1 |
| Brooks Koepka | 14-1 |
| Rickie Fowler | 18-1 |
| Jon Rahm | 18-1 |
| Justin Rose | 18-1 |
| Jason Day | 20-1 |
| Francesco Molinari | 20-1 |
| Bryson DeChambeau | 25-1 |
| Jordan Spieth | 25-1 |
| Tommy Fleetwood | 25-1 |
| Xander Schauffele | 25-1 |
| Tony Finau | 30-1 |
