The Loop
The favorites to win the money titles on the PGA Tour, LPGA and PGA Tour Champions might surprise you
The PGA Tour season resumes on Thursday with the first event of 2017, the SBS Tournament of Champions. While there's still a lot of golf to be played this year, Las Vegas sportsbooks have already declared the favorites to finish the season as the money list leader. And some of them might surprise you.
OK, so Dustin Johnson (the reigning Player of the Year) and Rory McIlroy (the reigning FedEx Cup champ) being co-favorites (both at 7-to-2 odds, according to Bovada) isn't such a shocker. But World No. 1 Jason Day is only fourth on the list at 6/1 (trailing Hideki Matsuyama at 11/2)?
Jordan Spieth having the fifth-lowest odds (8/1) certainly isn't crazy, but how about the fact he's tied with buddy Justin Thomas? That's a lot of respect for JT, although he's starting with a head start on most of those guys having already pocketed $1.5 million in the fall thanks to his CIMB Classic title.
After that, there's a huge drop-off to Henrik Stenson at 20/1. And for what it's worth, Tiger Woods, who earlier this week announced a busy schedule to start 2017, is 33/1, tied with the likes of Adam Scott, Patrick Reed, and Brooks Koepka. We're glad Tiger is healthy again, but all three of those guys seem like much safer bets at the moment.
Bovada also has money list betting lines for both the PGA Tour Champions and the LPGA. Fun! The PGA Tour Champions season starts Jan. 19 with the Mitsubishi Electric Championship, while the LPGA season kicks off the following week at the Pure Silk-Bahamas Classic.
On the LPGA, it's reigning player of the year Ariya Jutanugarn, not World No. 1 Lydia Ko, who is favored to earn the most cash. Jutanugarn is listed at a strong 5-to-4 odds, while Ko is 7/2 and actually has slightly higher odds than Shanshan Feng (11/4).
And on the PGA Tour Champions, there are, well, no surprises. Ageless wonder Bernhard Langer, who will turn 60 in August, is the overwhelming favorite at 3/2. He's followed by Colin Montgomerie (13/2) and senior tour newcomer Steve Stricker (7/1), who will turn 50 on Feb. 23. But seriously, why waste your money? As always, Langer is a LOCK.