How should you bet the major championships in 2020? Here’s a guide

With the 2020 portion of the PGA Tour schedule nearly upon us, now is the time many bettors will look to grab value for the year, particularly with the major championships.

Jordan Spieth was valued at 25-to-1 to win the Masters in late 2014. He went on to claim the Hero World Challenge and then the green jacket in April. That’s plenty value for some, but for the parlay fiend looking to rake in big money, an attractive bet involves picking all the major champions. We’ve seen it nearly come to fruition in the past. You could be the one!

As Steve Palmer, an English betting analyst points out, his choice of accumulator bet that elects different major winners at each event will pay out 51,974-to-1. That could change the $5 worth of pennies in your bedroom vase into $250,000. Of course, you must nail all the picks, and do it at the proper locations.

Other gambling sites will allow these parlay bets, and even if you want to grab all the leading favorites, a quartet of winners at William Hill would earn you around 40,000-to-1 or better odds. So, who should you consider targeting?

Elite players at Augusta. It has been a long time since a long-odds player won at the Masters. Danny Willett paid out 100-to-1 for some gamblers, and Patrick Reed even 40-to-1, but both of those pros were top 20 golfers in the world at the time of their wins. Choosing someone outside the top 20 at Augusta is probably a foolish move.

Avoid Tiger at the PGA Championship. The May date moves this event right into the glut of Woods’ typical playing schedule, and we saw what he was able to do at Bethpage Black in 2019 after an exhausting Masters victory. Think about Woods at the Open Championship in July, where it is bound to be warmer than Royal Portrush this year. Woods nearly won the Open in 2018 at Carnoustie, where the temperatures were mild.

U.S. Open in the Northeast? How about Brooks Koepka or Dustin Johnson. DJ won at Oakmont and nearly won at Shinnecock, where Koepka was the top man. Both these players seem to play well when the course is particularly difficult. That’s what Winged Foot will offer.

Rory McIlroy in San Francisco. Rors obliterated TPC Harding Park at the 2015 WGC Match Play held there. One could argue McIlroy is extremely overdue for a major. We won’t stop you from that. If you’re interested in backing GOLF.com’s accumulator, try the parlay below:

Masters: Adam Scott (33-1)
PGA Championship: Rory McIlroy (9-1)
U.S. Open: Dustin Johnson (10-1)
Open Championship: Tiger Woods (22-1)

No matter where you place it, that bet will pay out mightily. Like 86,000-to-1 at William Hill. Cross your fingers tightly and hand over the cash. We’ll take a commission when it happens.

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