A Bryson DeChambeau Playoff Win Could Have Been Very Costly For Sportsbooks

Bryson DeChambeau had his chances — a lot of them — and couldn’t come through when it mattered Sunday. The big golfer’s near-miss likely prompted a few sighs of relief at sportsbooks.

DeChambeau came as close as you could come to winning a PGA Tour event without winning, eventually being outlasted by Patrick Cantlay on the sixth playoff hole of the BMW Championship at Canes Valley Golf Club in Maryland.

While DeChambeau didn’t enter the FedEx Cup playoff tournament in the finest of fashion, it’s not entirely shocking he was around at the end. He’s still one of the best players in the world, and the playoff tournament produced a 69-man field.

Unsurprisingly, many bettors jumped and jumped fast when they saw DraftKings Sportsbook lay the 2020 U.S. Open champion at 35-1 to win the tournament early last week.

When the tournament teed off Thursday morning, DeChambeau was responsible for the highest amount of money bet (9 percent) and the most tickets (6 percent), per DraftKings Sportsbook. In a vacuum, those numbers might seem small, but again, they led the field, and that’s still some pretty extreme exposure for the No. 6-ranked golfer in the world.

The DraftKings number was pretty high, but they certainly wouldn’t have been the only ones taking a hit had DeChambeau cashed in himself. FanDuel had him at 20-1, and the Westgate Superbook in Las Vegas started him off at 25-1 to open the week, which is the same number it had on Cantlay.

DeChambeau definitely made them sweat, starting as early as Friday afternoon when he flirted with a 59, missing a 6-foot birdie putt at 18 to break 60. He had multiple birdie attempts to put it away against Cantlay, including this heartbreaker on the third playoff hole.

While DraftKings, in particular, might have been on the biggest hook if DeChambeau won, the company also has a sponsorship deal with him, so they probably win either way.

Of course, Bryson bettors still had ample chance to make it a profitable weekend, especially once things went to a playoff. Those holding big DeChambeau could have hedged by placing a live bet on Cantlay as the playoff began.

Although a DeChambeau win would have meant a big payday for many, it’s not like Cantlay’s historic putting performance didn’t lead to some big payouts, either.

The final leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs comes this weekend with the Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta. Scoring is different for the Tour Championship, with players starting the week with assigned “scores” based on their place in the standings. Cantlay’s win Sunday earned him the top seed (and 10-under score) for East Lake, where he’s +450 to win it all at DraftKings. DeChambeau, who will start in third place at 7-under, is +500.

Jon Rahm will begin the tournament in “fourth place” at 10-under and is the betting favorite at +350. He’ll begin at 6-under.