SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — This week’s WM Phoenix Open marks a momentous occasion for the PGA Tour and its entertainment distributions. PGA Tour Live, together with ESPN BET, will debut a new stream that focuses solely on betting, providing in-depth data, live odds, and hole-by-hole insights. It’s a groundbreaking launch, but it also shows how the PGA Tour is leaning into the ever-growing side hustle that is legalized sports betting.
Phoenix Open favorite Scottie Scheffler gives golf betting proclamation
Once again, Scottie Scheffler has arrived at a PGA Tour event as the heavy betting favorite. He addressed it ahead of the Phoenix Open.
Jack Milko has been playing golf since he was five years old. He has yet to record a hole-in-one, but he did secure an M.A. in Sports Journalism from St. Bonaventure University.
Many watch golf for the betting angle, placing wagers every week on their favorite players or on those who they think will do well. And if you have noticed anything about PGA Tour odds over the last few years, Scottie Scheffler is an overwhelming favorite whenever he plays. This week is no different. FanDuel Sportsbook lists Scheffler, who has won at TPC Scottsdale twice, at +280 to win — a preposterously low figure for any golfing favorite.
Yet, the World No. 1, true to his character, could not care less.
“I don’t bet on golf,” Scheffler said Wednesday.
“I don’t pay attention to that stuff. I couldn’t care less when I’m favored to win a tournament. It doesn’t mean anything. I start the tournament even par, so it doesn’t really matter.”
Scheffler never focused on his odds, even before he became the best player in the world. Instead, he sticks to his process every day, trying to improve as a person and a player.
“At the end of the day, what we love out here is competing, and I think what guys relish out here is a chance to compete against the best. So, going week in and week out, I think the guys at the top of the leaderboard on Sunday are the ones playing the best, and those are the ones you want to compete with. It’s a lot of fun. I love having those battles,” Scheffler explained.
“I’ve had some good battles here at [the WM Phoenix Open] over the last few years. Last year, Nick Taylor won. I was close coming down the stretch. He beat me. The year before that, Nick and I and Jon Rahm were close, and then the year before that, Patrick and I ended up in the playoff, and there were a ton of guys on that leaderboard.”
For Scheffler, it’s all about the heart of the competition — an aspect of sports that has unfortunately diminished in importance over the past few years now that Americans can legally gamble in 38 states. But whether or not you have a stake in the game does not take away from the thrill of victory or agony of defeat for the man in the arena.
Speaking of arenas, no better environment in golf exists than what PGA Tour pros face down the stretch at TPC Scottsdale. The par-5 15th features an island green; the par-3 16th, with its famous stadium packed with over 20,000 fans, is unlike anything else in the sport. The drivable yet risky par-4 17th and the terrific par-4 18th only add to the tremendous drama seen seemingly every year.
“This golf tournament has lended some pretty exciting finishes over the years, and I think that’s just because of how the closing stretch is,” Scheffler added.
“There’s a lot of opportunity to make birdies, and there’s also some opportunities to make some numbers. I think that is what makes a great tournament. When you think about the great golf courses that we play, Augusta National always comes to mind, and the way they set up Augusta on Sunday is not necessarily the hardest test. They put some of the pins in bowls and they leave opportunities for guys to hit great shots, and that’s why I think you have such exciting finishes there as you do here.”
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.
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