Golf betting trends are shifting as the 2025 PGA Tour season begins at The Sentry in Kapalua, featuring a $20M purse limited to last year's winners and Tour Championship qualifiers.

High-stakes bettors are adopting a new strategy, moving away from traditional low-stake outright winner bets. Instead, they're placing large wagers on players not to win tournaments, despite minimal returns.

Recent examples from Sporttrade's "Whale Tracker" include:

• $9,325 bet on Collin Morikawa (to net $568)
• $9,500 on Patrick Cantlay (to net $490)
• $9,791 on Nick Dunlap (to net $106)
• $9,900 on Will Zalatoris (to net $98)

This shift contrasts with traditional betting patterns where small wagers ($1-$10) on tournament winners offered larger potential returns. For example, a $10 bet on Justin Thomas at 10/1 would net $100, while the same bet on longshot Max Greyserman at 40/1 would return $400.

Current Major Championship Odds: Scottie Scheffler (currently recovering from a hand injury) leads as favorite:

• Masters: +410
• PGA Championship: +490
• U.S. Open: +410
• The Open Championship: +430

Rory McIlroy follows as second favorite across all majors, with odds ranging between +850 to +1000.

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