The PGA Tour is nearing its June 11 return with the Charles Schwab Challenge, but first, Rory McIlroy teams up with Dustin Johnson Sunday, May 17 to take on Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff in TaylorMade: Driving Relief. Below, we look at the PGA Tour betting odds for the outright winner and the top prop bets available at BetMGM Sportsbook.
Also see: How to Watch Driving Relief
The high-profile skins match being held at Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Fla. will help raise money for COVID-19 relief efforts. Driving Relief offers golf bettors an appetizer to the May 24 match between Tiger Woods-Peyton Manning and Phil Mickelson-Tom Brady at Medalist Golf Club in Hobe Sound, Fla.
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Driving Relief: Outright odds and best bet
Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Thursday, May 14 at 3 p.m. ET.
McIlroy/Johnson: -223 | Fowler/Wolff: +165
The outright odds to win the two-on-two match haven’t moved since opening a week ago. McIlroy and Johnson, the two higher-ranked golfers in the Golfweek/Sagarin world rankings, remain heavy favorites.
There isn’t a whole lot of value with the favorites as a $10 bet on McIlroy and Johnson to win the match will return a profit of just $4.48. The same bet on the underdogs would fetch a profit of $16.50, but it’s not enticing enough to warrant a wager.
Play it safe and back MCILROY/JOHNSON (-223) to win outright. Fill out your betting card with some of the best prop bets for a more profitable Sunday afternoon.
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Driving Relief: Best prop bets and picks
Who will lead after 9 holes? Tie (+400)
Under the skins format, multiple holes can be won on a single stroke or putt should any number of preceding holes be halved (tied). Holes 1-6 will each be worth $50,000 with holes 7-15 worth $100,000, hole 17 worth $200,000 and hole 18 worth $500,000.
Chase the value of a 4-to-1 payout and look for the winnings to be split after the opening 9 holes. There’s a total of $600,000 up for grabs on the outbound nine with $1.3 million available on the back. The match won’t truly start until the turn.
Who will win the first hole? McIlroy/Johnson (+240)
The first hole at Seminole Golf Club is a 370-yard par 4. McIlroy and Johnson are the two longest hitters of the four involved in the match. Look for them to leave themselves short pitches into the green and for at least one to make an opening birdie.
McIlroy/Johnson to make an eagle: Yes (+280)
Driving Relief will be played under a Four-Ball (Best-Ball) format whereby the team’s score on the hole will be the lower of the two participants. As such, expect all four golfers to take their fair share of risks.
As noted above, McIlroy and Johnson are two of the longest hitters on the PGA Tour and can reach nearly all par 5s in two strokes. At nearly a 3-to-1 return for both golfers, place a bet on each of them. You’ll need to hit on only one to negate losses.
Each eagle is worth an additional $50,000 for charity, so the golfers will be well motivated.
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