Who is the long shot of the week? A PGA Tour member will answer that question in the Barbasol Championship and return big bucks to some West Virginia online sports bettors this week.
The top Tour names are taking a break to prepare for The Open, a PGA major, next week at St. Andrews in Scotland. That makes this tournament wide open.
How to watch the 2022 Barbasol Championship
- Thursday-Saturday: Golf Channel, 4-7 p.m.
- Sunday: Golf Channel, 3-6 p.m.
Barbasol Championship odds at WV sportsbooks
This is a four-day smorgasbord of prices. For the second straight week, DraftKings WV’s opening odds were not just large, they were colossal.
Mark Hubbard is the chalk at +1600. Chris Gotterup and Kevin Streelman are next at +2200. Adam Svensson opened at +2500, while John Huh was at +2800.
And these are the favorites.
Live dogs abound beneath this group. J.T. Poston, who prevailed at the John Deere Classic last week, entered at a whopping +5500 at some WV sportsbooks.
Some Mountain State bettors who could not come up with that one still collected in two areas. Poston was the first wire-to-wire winner of the event in three decades. That paid +1400 for an event that happens a couple of times a year on the tour.
Another way some bettors cashed in was to predict the exact margin of victory. It was three strokes, which paid at +600.
Either one was an excellent stab.
Were there hints of Poston breaking out last week? Some thought so.
He had been 10th overall in the field across his last 12 qualifying rounds and third overall in the field across his previous 24 qualifying rounds. Poston had also come off a strong and unexpected second to Xander Schauffele in the Travelers Championship one week earlier.
Some players can carry momentum into the next round. Some can’t, but he did.
Betting on the Barbasol Championship
Gotterup finished fourth at the John Deere Classic. Against similar competition, this is a value-added price at +2200 this week.
Hubbard, the favorite, finished 13th last week. He is coming off a good tournament. Interestingly, he’s a shorter price than Gotterup, who finished higher than he did last week.
Svensson had a nice 24th-place finish a week ago and will undoubtedly be played.
Huh is one of the more interesting selections in this group. He missed the cut last week, but he did shoot -2 through two rounds. If he can play that way again, there’s a good chance he can stick around.
As the event draws near, keep an eye on the top 20, top 30, and even top 40 payouts. A gambler can often grab even money or better for a player to end up in the top 30 or 40.
That does not sound as exciting as the enticing long shots, but even money or slightly better is right in the ballpark of a typical NFL game. Taking that approach with a golfer means having a cushion of several finishing places and a reasonable return.
Some may take a slight perceived edge in this mix and make that the biggest bet.
A couple of new bests have emerged on the circuit, too.
The wire-to-wire job by Poston caused a change to that prop at DraftKings. It has been reduced to +1200, evidence that this bet pays out once in a while.
Will there be a playoff? That’s +300.
For those who like long-shot options, a playoff with three golfers is +600. A playoff with four is +5000.
It’s hard to associate that bet with any particular handicapping skill. The price alone may entice some action.
PGA Tour odds at BetMGM WV
The BetMGM WV Sportsbook perspective shows the beauty of comparison shopping.
Gotterup’s higher finish at the John Deere is reflected in these odds. He is the BetMGM favorite at +1600, with Hubbard next at +2000.
After that are Svensson and Streelman at +2200 and Patton Kizzire at +2800.
A Gotterup backer will jump over to DraftKings and grab superior odds. A Hubbard bettor gains a substantially improved deal at BetMGM. And the gamblers will go where the value is.
The disparity in book prices is unusual. It reflects the difficulty in handicapping a field with lesser-known players.
Analyzing the Champion Trace Course
A little overview for hole-by-hole bettors:
The Keene Trace Champion Course looks tailor-made for this group. It is hilly and heavy with bunkers, but it seems ripe to yield a big score. The winning total was -21 last year, and these pros could light it up.
It opens with benign par 4s, two of the easiest holes on the course.
The toughest holes, and thus bogey threats, loom at the long par 4s at holes No. 3 and No. 13. The 15th, a par 5 that looks reachable in two for many of these players, is a prime birdie prospect.
