2021 PGA Championship Recap: Phil Mickelson Cashes Big for Bettors
Mickelson makes history and helps bettors along the way
This past weekend, Phil Mickelson did the improbable. The 50-year-old turned back the clock and won the PGA Championship, making him the oldest major winner in the history of the sport. The win was Mickelson's sixth major title. The scene at Kiawah Island was electric and reminiscent of when Tiger Woods won the Masters in 2019.
From a gambling perspective, the Lefty was a huge longshot to win, as most sportsbooks had him listed in the 200-1 range to win the event.
“While it was great to see Phil win as a fan of the game, from the book’s perspective, the result dinged us pretty good," Patrick Eichner, Director of Communications for PointsBet, said.
Per ESPN Stats & Information research, Mickelson is the first golfer with odds of 200-1 or longer to win a major since Louis Oosthuizen did it at the 2010 Open Championship. He was also around 200-1 to win at the time.
The largest wager on Mickelson to win at PointsBet was $250 at +15000. The bettor netted $37,500.
"The PGA Championship proved to be our most bet golf event ever — just surpassing this past Masters Tournament — and Phil entered as a top 5 liability for PointsBet before moving to a top 3 liability by the conclusion of day one," per Eichner. "Needless to say, some bettors did very well for showing faith in Phil!”
While one bettor did wager $150 to win $30,000 on Phil (+20000) at BetMGM, the book avoided big losses overall.
“Few bettors thought Phil Mickelson had a chance to win the PGA Championship, only 0.8% of tickets were on Lefty to win before Round 1," Jason Scott, VP of Trading for BetMGM, said. "Most bettors missed an opportunity to get Mickelson at long odds, which helped minimize the liability for the sportsbook.”
After Mickelson lifted the Wanamaker Trophy, sportsbooks were quick to adjust his odds for future events. PointsBet quickly moved their numbers and now has Phil listed at +5000 to win this year’s third major, the U.S. Open. A significant drop from +12,500, which bettors could've had just a few days ago. They also moved Phil from +9000 to +6600 to win The Open in July.
We'll just have to wait and see until the next major to find out whether or not these move are justified or an overreaction. I say the latter, but if there's one thing we learned this weekend, it's never count out Phil!
