Imagine if the Arizona Cardinals or Houston Texans were to win Super Bowl LVIII in February. That’s the level of underdog Open Championship winner Brian Harman was less than one month before he won golf’s fourth major at Royal Liverpool Golf Course.
And Harman won in a blowout. He concluded the tournament Sunday after he carded a 13-under 271. Harman won his first-ever major championship by six strokes.
According to Sports Odds History, Harman opened at 125-1 in December and he was as high as 250-1 (!) just three weeks ago. Harman was back to 125-1 at BetMGM and 120-1 at FanDuel Sportsbook before Thursday’s first round.
For reference, DraftKings Sportsbook currently has the Cardinals and Texans 200-1 to win the Super Bowl this season. Harman was 200-1 to win The Open on May 1.
The 5-foot-7 lefty also was responsible for just 0.8% of the tickets and 0.5% of the handle at BetMGM before the first round. It didn’t remain that way, though.
As the tournament played out, Harman had his odds moved and became a more popular wager. He was slashed from 125-1 to 22-1 after he shot a 4-under par in the opening round. Harman was then cut to 6-1 before the third round and entered the final day as a -175 favorite, according to BetMGM.
By tournament’s end, Harman was responsible for 14.6% of the handle on BetMGM, which represented 4.2% of the tickets. Fortunately for those bettors, it wasn’t much of a sweat either.
Harman entered the final round with a five-shot lead and won by six strokes. Four golfers — Jason Day, Tom Kim, Sepp Straka, Jon Rahm — all tied for second place at 7-under par 277. Harman’s lead briefly was cut to three strokes before he carded backside birdies on the par-4 14th and par-5 15th holes.
Disclaimer: This isn’t a reason to bet on either the Cardinals or Texans to win the Super Bowl. But it is a reminder of how golf betting can be a moneymaker since long shots have a better chance than in other sports. It’s been that way throughout the season on the PGA Tour, too.
