Rio Olympics Golf Betting Preview
By Matt Fargo
Covers.com
The last time the Olympics had golf as an event was back in 1904 at the St. Louis Games but golf is back at the Rio games with mixed reviews. At the last Olympic golf event, George Lyon of Canada won the Gold Medal and has been the reigning Olympic champion for 112 years but that will soon change when 60 players from across the world tee it up on August 11th.
The golf format for the Rio Olympics is simple as it is similar to any other golf tournament as players will play four rounds of stroke play to decide the three medal winners. There is no cut after 36 holes and in the case of a tie at any of the Gold, Silver or Bronze levels, a three-hole playoff will be held. Additionally, there is no team event since some nations have multiple players and others have just one.
The course is a brand new layout that was completed less than a year ago. Reserva de Marapendi is a par 71, 7,350-yard track designed by Gil Hanse and Amy Alcott built out of a vast nature preserve near the Barra da Tijuca neighborhood. It is located three miles from the Olympic Village and all participants will be on an even playing field since no one has seen the course prior to practice leading up to the event.
The field is obviously a strong one but not as strong as many had hoped. Of the top ten players in the world, only five are competing in Rio with the top four players, Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy all sitting out as well at No. 8 Adam Scott. The United States leads the way with four participants with 23 other nations having two players compete.
A look at the full field and odds for winning Gold courtesy of Sky Bet:
Henrik Stenson (SWE) 5/1
Sergio Garcia (ESP) 6/1
Justin Rose (GBR) 12/1
Martin Kaymer (GER) 14/1
Rickie Fowler (USA) 14/1
Matt Kuchar (USA) 14/1
Bubba Watson (USA) 14/1
Patrick Reed (USA) 16/1
Danny Willett (GBR) 20/1
Emiliano Grillo (ARG) 25/1
Rafa Cabrera Bello (ESP) 25/1
Graham Delaet (CAN) 40/1
Thomas Pieters (BEL) 40/1
Byeong-Hun An (KOR) 40/1
Nicolas Colsaerts (BEL) 50/1
Bernd Wiesberger (AUT) 50/1
David Hearn (CAN) 50/1
Soren Kjeldsen (DEN) 50/1
Thongchai Jaidee (THA) 50/1
David Lingmerth (SWE) 50/1
Danny Lee (NZL) 50/1
Jhonattan Vegas (COL) 66/1
Joost Luiten (NED) 66/1
Anirban Lahiri (IND) 66/1
Padraig Harrington (IRL) 66/1
Matteo Manassero (ITA) 66/1
Kiradech Aphibarnrat (THA) 66/1
Felipe Aguilar (CHI) 70/1
Ryan Fox (NZL) 80/1
Ashun Wu (CHN) 80/1
Fabrizio Zanotti (PAR) 80/1
Cheng-Tsung Pan (TPE) 80/1
Mikko Ilonen (FIN) 80/1
Gregory Bourdy (FRA) 80/1
Thorbjorn Olesen (DEN) 80/1
Scott Hend (AUS) 80/1
Adilson Da Silva (BRA) 100/1
Jaco Van Zyl (RSA) 100/1
Jeung-Hun Wang (KOR) 100/1
Ricardo Gouveia (POR) 125/1
Julien Quesne (FRA) 125/1
Fabian Gomez (ARG) 125/1
Brandon Stone (RSA) 125/1
Yuta Ikeda (JPN) 150/1
Jose-Filipe Lima (POR) 150/1
Alex Cejka (GER) 150/1
Marcus Fraser (AUS) 150/1
Gavin Green (MAS) 150/1
Nino Bertasio (ITA) 150/1
Espen Kofstad (NOR) 150/1
Seamus Power (IRL) 175/1
Miguel Tabuena (PHI) 200/1
Shingo Katayama (JPN) 200/1
Siddikur Rahman (BAN) 200/1
SSP Chawrasia (IND) 200/1
Hao Tong Li (CHN) 200/1
Rudolfo Cazaubon (MEX) 250/1
Wen Tang Lin (TPE) 250/1
Roope Kakko (FIN) 250/1
Danny Chia (MAS) 250/1
Let’s take a look at the main contenders and a few longshots.
Henrik Stenson (SWE) 5/1
Stenson is the highest ranked player in the world that is competing at No. 5 thanks to his first Major win at the Open Championship just a couple weeks ago. He has six top tens in eight cuts made on the PGA Tour while also winning the BMW International Open on the European Tour. He is ranked second in the Race to Dubai.
Sergio Garcia (ESP) 6/1
Garcia has never won a Major so winning Olympic Gold would be pretty ironic. He won at the AT&T Byron Nelson and posted three straight tops fives heading into the PGA Championship. He also posted a T5 at the BMW International Open as well as a solo third at the Real Club Valderrama Open de España.
Justin Rose (GBR) 12/1
Rose started the season red hot with five top 20s in his first six official events. He has been slowed by a back injury but looks to be back in fine health following his T22 at the Open Championship. He possesses 19 professional wins including one Major after winning the U.S. Open in 2013.
Martin Kaymer (GER) 14/1
Kaymer is another Major winner as he has notched two, the 2010 PGA Championship and most recent, the 2014 U.S. Open. He spends his time on the European Tour where he has four top tens this season including a pair of T5 finishes at the 100th Open de France and the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open.
Rickie Fowler (USA) 14/1
It has been a tough year for Fowler who came in with great expectations. He missed the cut at the Masters and the U.S. Open and finished T46 at the Open Championship. He does have seven top tens but only two since early April. His win at the PLAYERS last season was his breakthrough but he has not been able to capitalize from it.
Matt Kuchar (USA) 14/1
Kuchar has been one of the most consistent golfers around as since 2010, he has 64 top tens which includes five wins, seven runner-ups and nine third place finishes. He has not won since 2014 however and all of those top tens do not matter in this event. Still, he is playing his best golf of the season heading into the Olympics.
Bubba Watson (USA) 14/1
Watson is the second highest ranked golfer in the field at No. 6 but is low in the odds due to some recent struggles. He has 12 professional wins including a pair of Masters titles in 2012 and 2014 and while he does have a win this season, it came back in February. He has just one top 25 in his last seven starts.
Patrick Reed (USA) 16/1
Reed rounds out the American squad and his fiery play at the Ryder Cup proves he could be a contender to win Gold. He has not won this season but has nine top tens including a pair of runner-ups. Additionally, he had a T10 at the Scottish Open prior to the Open Championship where he placed T12.
Danny Willett (GBR) 20/1
Willet was the first Major winner of the season as he brought home his first Major at the Masters. He has not done much since then however as he placed down low in the other two Majors and has not finished better than a T37 on either tour since a solo third at the BMW PGA Championship in England.
Emiliano Grillo (ARG) 25/1
Grillo is a rookie on the PGA Tour but made a name for himself with a playoff loss at the Puerto Rico Open last season. He bettered that this year with a victory at the Frys.com Open back in October and while he has not contended since then, he has only one missed cut in his last 14 starts so he remains very consistent.
Rafa Cabrera Bello (ESP) 25/1
Cabrera Bello made a monster run at the Dell Match Play where he finished third and followed that up with a solo fourth at the Shell Houston Open. He made the cut in all three Majors highlighted by a T17 at the Masters and most recent, posted a solo fourth at the 100th Open de France on the European Tour.
Graham DeLaet (CAN) 40/1
DeLaet has four professional wins but three of those were on the Canadian Tour and another on the Sunshine Tour. He has not been able to win on the PGA Tour when it counts as he has three runner-up finishes as well as three third place finishes. With a watered down field, he may be worth a look at this price.
Thomas Pieters (BEL) 40/1
Pieters is not a household name but he is a very solid player on the European Tour since turning pro in 2013. He won twice last year in back-to-back starts at the D+D REAL Czech Masters and the KLM Open but he has not been able to break through with a field of this status and depth.
Byeong-Hun An (KOR) 40/1
An won his first tournament on the European Tour last season at the BMW PGA Championship in a loaded field and he came close on the PGA Tour this year with a playoff loss at the Zurich Classic to Brain Stuard. In August 2009, he became the youngest-ever winner of the U.S. Amateur.
Now for a couple longshot options.
Anirban Lahiri (IND) 66/1
Lahiri has won all over the world as he has collected 18 professional titles. His first full year on the PGA Tour has not been great but he has missed only four cuts in 20 events and sits 102nd in the FedEx Cup Standings. He won twice on the European Tour last season while posting three additional top seven finishes.
Thorbjorn Olesen (DEN) 80/1
Olesen has not done much in July but he was having a solid season on the European Tour prior to that with a pair of runner-ups as well as three other top tens. He has 13 top three finishes in six full years and that includes three victories, most notable the 2015 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in a loaded field.
Fabian Gomez (ARG) 125/1
Not many will remember but Gomez kicked off the 2016 portion of the season with a win at the Sony Open in Hawaii in a playoff over Brandt Snedeker. Additionally, he won in 2015 at the FedEx St. Jude Classic so he certainly knows how to win and at these odds, he is worthy of a shot.
Golfers to Bet - Olympics
By Sportsbook.ag
Some of the world’s best golfers will represent their countries when they tee off in the Olympics on Thursday.
While there is a PGA event scheduled for this week, the best golfers will be in Rio de Janeiro and that is where the attention should really be this weekend.
Just like a normal tournament, the golfers will play 72 holes and the winner will earn a gold medal for their country.
The field will include 60 competitors and some of the most noteworthy guys are Henrik Stenson, Sergio Garcia, Justin Rose, Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson and Patrick Reed. None of these guys have experience playing in something like this, as there hasn’t been a golf tournament in the Olympics since 1904.
With that being said, let’s now take a look at some of the better values to win come Sunday:
Golfers to Watch
Henrik Stenson (11/2) - Henrik Stenson has been on fire coming into this tournament and that is why he is the undisputed favorite heading into the weekend. Stenson won his first ever major at The Open Championship in the middle of July, shooting a 20-under in an epic duel with Phil Mickelson. Stenson then followed up that performance with a tied for seventh-place finish at the PGA Championship about two weeks ago. He shot an eight-under in that one and just might have won if he played a solid final round. Still, Stenson is really hitting the ball well right now and should be able to win this thing if he is making some putts. He’s a good value at 11/2 and is worth putting a few units on here.
Justin Rose (12/1) - Justin Rose has had a bit of a down year, as he was seventh in the OWGR a year ago and is now just 12th this season. Rose was also a threat to win every single tournament over the past few years, but that has not been the case this season. Still, Rose is a tremendous talent and there is certainly a possibility that he will return to form soon. This tournament is one that he could get it going in, as he will be entering with some confidence on Thursday. Rose shot a four-under at the PGA Championship and while that is not a great score, it was the first time he shot under-par since May. If he can build on that then he represents some tremendous value this weekend at 12/1.
Emiliano Grillo (25/1) - Grillo has had a pretty good season thus far and is coming off of a very impressive showing at the PGA Championship. Grillo shot a six-under at that tournament and would have had a chance to win it if it weren’t for a really poor third round. Grillo shot a 73 in that round and a 68 or better in each of the other three. If he can play a complete tournament then this just might be his breakthrough victory. He is very good with his irons and has good touch on the greens, but needs to stay sharp mentally. Putting a unit or two on him could end up paying off huge though.
Adilson da Silva (150/1) - Not many dark horse candidates stick out, but if there’s one guy worth putting a half-unit or quarter-unit on then it’s da Silva. He will be the only entrant for Brazil in this competition and he certainly will take pride in playing for his country. It’s really not at all likely that he comes away victorious, but taking a shot on the guy playing in front of his own fans might be the only dark horse worth considering.