Billions Bet On The Premier Golf League May Not Be Enough

Posted: May 7, 2021

Updated: May 7, 2021

Big Golfing Names Offered $50m Contracts
Bet On The Premier Golf League At Bovada
The PGL Represents A ‘Competitive Threat’

The Women's PGL in '18 - Image source: Fars News Agency, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Just as the whole European Super League debacle begins to fade from memory, golf decides to try it too. Just why anyone believes the Premier Golf League won’t meet a similar fate to the ESL is a mystery. However, as anyone who likes to bet on sports in the US at Bovada will tell you, golf and soccer are very different worlds. In soccer, it was the fans more than the authorities that stood against the change, in golf you’ll find it’ll almost certainly be the other way around. Unlike with the ESL, fans protesting against the proposed Premier Golf League seems unlikely. Likewise whilst in soccer the authorities haven’t a leg to stand on, the PGA Tour is better respected. They have taken a hardline against the proposal. Threatening lifetime bans and removal from the Ryder Cup teams, they’re not messing around. Players will have to think hard before they bet on the Premier Golf League as a part of their future career. It could end it. “People can see it for what it is. Which is a money grab.” Rory McIlroy explained. He chairs the Players Advisory Committee for the PGA Tour. Of course, that’s not the official reason for the Tour’s stance. They’ve bet on the Premier Golf League falling at the first fence simply because it’s against the rules. “It’s a competitive threat.” McIlroy clarified for anyone in the US gambling laws of the sport were accommodating. “It’s in the by-laws that were written by the members.”

Top Players Split On New Proposal

So is the PGL dead in the water already? Certainly, most of the big names in the sport have come out against it. So whilst the proposal makes headlines, it seems to have made very little progress. “Nothing has happened.” McIlroy was dismissive of the money that people have bet on the Premier Golf League. He listed the areas in which it hadn’t moved forward. “No sponsorship deals, no media deals, no players have signed up, no manufacturers have signed up.”

PGA Championship Odds

Anyone Else – 33/1+

Hideki Matsuyama – 22/1

Collin Morikawa – 20/1

Brooks Koepka – 18/1

Rory McIlroy – 18/1

Jordan Spieth – 14/1

Xander Schauffele – 14/1

Bryson Dechambeau – 14/1

Jon Rahm – 14/1

Dustin Johnson – 12/1

Justin Thomas – 12/1

See more odds at Bovada...

Does this mean then we will not get chance ourselves to bet on the Premier Golf League? Well, that depends. The money might still tempt some players. Even Rory McIlroy admits the same. “If what you’re playing golf for is to make as much money as possible. Totally fine. Then go and do that if that’s what makes you happy. I’m playing this game to cement my place in history.” Said the player getting 18/1 to win the PGA Championship at online sportsbook sites in the US.

You May One Day Bet On The Premier Golf League At Bovada

Numerous other players have also backed the PGA Tour’s stance. Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka have already committed to the tour. However, the PGA is far from perfect, so some may still bet on the Premier Golf League as leverage to create change. That’s why it hasn’t just disappeared. “What it boils down to,” Justin Rose explained without giving away his own personal feelings on the matter, “is a redistribution of the economics in golf, in favor of the most marketable players.”

2021 PGA Championship

Date – 20th To 23rd May

Location – South Carolina

Club – Kiawah Island

Course – Ocean Course

Par – 72

Length – 7,176m

Players – 156

Purse - $11,000,000

Winner’s Prize - $1.98m

So with players and authorities against it, don’t bet on the Premier Golf League existing soon. This is somewhat of a shame really. The fans might enjoy an 18 tournament season with 48 of the world’s best players. They would enjoy placing wagers on it at online betting sites in the US like Bovada. However, since that’s just not going to be possible, they will have to content themselves with a bet on the PGA Championship instead. Given the odds on the PGA Championship, that’s no bad substitute.