Rory McIlroy is confident that sports betting will have no effect on the US PGA Tour, the World’s richest golf circuit.
The four-time major winner and current World No 6 made this observation in an interview with AAP this week. It took place ahead of Thursday’s tee-off at the PGA Tour’s Arnold Palmer Invitational.
He had been asked to comment on the PGA Tour’s landmark decision to allow its players to accept gambling sponsorships.
Tour players can now be endorsed by casinos and legal US-based gambling companies – with one proviso. The company’s primary purpose must not be sports betting.
New Jersey gambling companies that would be acceptable to the PGA would include all of Atlantic City’s Casinos. Caesars, MGM, and Resort Casinos would be among them. Fantasy sports online gaming websites like DraftKings and FanDuel would also be eligible to sponsor golfers.
Based on his knowledge of sports betting around the world, McIlroy was pretty positive about its effect on US golf. It would not be detrimental, he firmly believed, so long as golf retained its integrity.
Golf and sports betting can happily co-exist
“I always think golf holds itself to the highest standard possible. Where I’m from betting has been a way of life and we’ve kept the integrity of the game. That would be my only reservation.”
McIlroy pointed out that golf had happily been co-existing with sports betting in Northern Ireland and Australia for some time. As far as he was aware, it had not had any ill-effects on the sport.
He believes the same would apply in the USA. Led out of the ban and into sports betting by New Jersey, the US now has eight legal betting states. Another 22 are in various stages of making it legal.
McIlroy teed off in the Arnold Palmer Invitational as the outright favorite at around +600 (6/1). At this time he was also the favorite of most New Jersey sportsbooks to win next month’s Masters at Augusta.
FanDuel’s odds on him triumphing in this event, the only major he has yet to win, were pegged at +950. Against this American stars, Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas were tied for second at +1100.
888sports also had him as its favorite, but in this case, in a share with Dustin Johnson at +1000.
Both sportsbooks had Tiger Woods tied with England’s Justin Rose as the 3rd-place favorites. FanDuel had the duo at +1300 and 888sport at +1200.
Masters odds
Following were FanDuel’s top 10 favorites to win the Masters as on Friday, March 8.
Rory McIlroy NIR +950
Dustin Johnson USA +1100
Justin Thomas USA +1100
Justin Rose ENG +1300
Tiger Woods USA +1300
Jordan Spieth USA +1500
Jon Rahm (ESP) USA +1700
Bryson Dechambeau USA +1700
Brooks Koepka USA +1900
Rickey Fowler USA +1900.
