Golf Betting in Michigan
Betting on golf, including the PGA Tour and the four major tournaments, is available at all 15 legal sportsbooks in Michigan.
With large player pools that create long odds even for the favorites, and plenty of live-betting options, there are plenty of ways to win. Read more below about betting on golf in Michigan.
Bet on Golf Majors
Golf’s four majors attract bigger viewing audiences and more betting than any other PGA Tour events. It’s no wonder, since the majors are all about the best golfers competing for historic titles on the most challenging and beautiful courses on the planet.
Golf futures surround these events and most sportsbooks also increase the number of basic bets, props and live golf betting options they offer for majors. Here’s a detailed look at golf’s four majors.
Bet on the Masters
The Masters is usually the first major of the season and the PGA Tour’s most iconic event.
- When: April. 6-9, 2023
- Where: Augusta National Golf Course in Augusta, Georgia
- Purse size: $15 million
- Defending champion: Scottie Scheffler
The PGA Championship
The PGA Championship is the second major on the yearly schedule.
- When: May 18-21, 2023
- Where: Oak Hill Country Club, Rochester, NY
- Purse size: $15 million
- Defending champion: Justin Thomas
The US Open
The US Open is held annually on the course with the toughest setup in the country and is considered the hardest major to win.
- When: June 15-18, 2023
- Where: The Los Angeles Country Club, Los Angeles, Calif.
- Purse size: $17.5 million
- Defending champion: Matt Fitzpatrick
The Open Championship
The Open Championship, also known as the British Open, is held annually in the United Kingdom on a tough course with overgrown rough, deep sand traps and windy links layouts.
- When: July 20-23, 2022
- Where: The Royal Liverpool, England
- Estimated purse size: $14 million
- Defending champion: Cameron Smith
What are the best places for betting on golf in Michigan?
The retail sports betting experience can be a really good time, especially when there’s a big golf tournament going on. Here are a few places with the latest odds that you’ll want to check out here in Michigan.
Greektown Casino-Hotel / The Sportsbook at Greektown
- Name: The Sportsbook at Greektown Casino-Hotel
- Address: 55 E Lafayette St, Detroit, MI 48226
- Phone: (313) 223-2999
- Sportsbook hours: M-F: 10 a.m. – 11 p.m. S/S: 9 a.m. – Midnight
- Online sportsbook: Barstool Sportsbook
The Sportsbook at Greektown Casino-Hotel is located in the upper level of the casino near Trappers Bar. There are five betting windows and 40 self-serve kiosks throughout the property.
Turtle Creek Casino / Onyx Sportsbook
- Name: Onyx Sportsbook by Caesars
- Address: 7741 M-72, Williamsburg, MI 49690
- Phone: (231) 534-8870
- Sportsbook hours: M-Th: Noon – 12 a.m. Fr/Sa: 10 a.m. – 2 a.m. Su: 10 a.m. – Midnight.
- Online sportsbook: Caesars Sportsbook app
Onyx Sportsbook by Caesars Sportsbook is a good time. There are complimentary games, a full-service bar and an outdoor patio to enjoy as you watch the games. Betting windows and self-serve kiosks will be on standby for wagers as needed.
Little River Casino Resort / River Rock Sportsbook & Grill
- Name: River Rock Sportsbook & Grill
- Address: 2700 Orchard Hwy, Manistee, MI 49660
- Phone: (231) 398-3976
- Sportsbook hours: M-Th: 2 p.m. – Midnight. F/S/S: 10 a.m. – Midnight
- Bar hours: 7 days – 10 a.m. – 2 a.m.
- Online sportsbook: BetRivers app
The River Rock Sportsbook & Grill has betting windows located right inside of the restaurant and self-serve kiosks elsewhere. Featuring a full menu and a sports bar atmosphere with plenty of screens, this is a great place to watch all of the latest golf action.
There are several other terrific options to consider when you want to head out to watch and wager on golf. Included on that list is the FanDuel Sportsbook at MotorCity Casino Hotel in Detroit, and the 131 Sportsbook & Lounge at Gun Lake Casino in Wayland.
The PGA Tour in Michigan
The PGA Tour will be back in Michigan in 2022:
Rocket Mortgage Classic
The Rocket Mortgage Classic takes place on June 29 through July 2, 2023 at the Detroit Golf Club in Detroit.
Tony Finau is the defending champion after a red-hot weekend saw him shoot 26-under par over four rounds..
Where to watch PGA Tour events in Michigan
In 2020, the PGA Tour inked a new broadcast rights deal ensuring its events will air on CBS, NBC and over the internet on ESPN Plus for the next decade.
CBS and NBC retained the TV rights and ESPN the digital broadcast rights to PGA Tour events through 2030.
CBS Sports and NBC Sports will continue to show FedExCup tournaments on major network TV, and NBC’s Golf Channel will remain the PGA Tour’s cable partner. However, the subscription-video service PGA Tour Live that was offered by NBC Sports Gold has moved over to ESPN Plus in 2021 and expanded to four livestreaming channels during events.
The PGA says the ESPN Plus deal should make more event coverage available. The tour has been working on expanding the PGA Tour Live product and plans to make every shot at majors available for viewing on the platform. NBC and CBS will begin broadcasting all three FedExCup Playoff events in alternating years, starting with NBC in 2022. FedExCup Playoff tournaments currently alternate by event on the networks.
Beginner golf betting tips
There is such a huge variety of golf betting options available at Michigan online sportsbooks that it can be hard to know where to start.
Employ some basic tenets of proper bankroll management, use real-life PGA Tour data to help inform your picks, and try the following beginner golf betting tips:
- Study the game: Consume everything you can about golf, with a particular focus on recent PGA Tour results. That’ll help you determine who’s hot coming into an event and how the game’s most successful players are set up to win in the majors.
- Diversify: Because there are no real odds-on favorites, the golf betting odds on most players to win a PGA Tour event can be very attractive. As a result, it makes sense to bet as many golfers to win as you can, up to the point where you’ll still make a little profit if one does. Then, if they’re all out of it on Sunday, try to make some of your money back betting on the contenders. In other words, spread your money around a little and diversify your PGA golf bets.
- The secret is … well, there is no secret: Golf touts and tipsters might try to sell you this week’s sure thing. Don’t buy it. If they knew who was going to win every PGA Tour event, they wouldn’t need the cash they get from selling the information to you. Study the game, make your own betting choices and diversify.
Golf Betting FAQ
You need to shop around to find the best betting lines for PGA Tour events.
However, you will be able to find the best PGA Tour betting lines from the privacy of your own home, now that online and mobile sports betting has launched across Michigan.
Most PGA Tour events use a scoring system based on stroke play. Every shot counts as one stroke. Then, a player’s total strokes are compared to par for the course up to the hole they are on and expressed in terms of the number of strokes under, even with, or over par.
Let’s say a golfer who shoots a 65 on a par-72 course in the first round. He is then 7-under par, or -7, heading into Round 2.
The lowest cumulative score through four rounds wins most PGA Tour events.
Jack Nicklaus has won a record 18 majors, including six Masters, five PGA Championship, four US Open and three Open Championship wins.
However, Nicklaus’ last win in a major came in the 1986 Masters. Tiger Woods won the 2019 Masters to pull within three major titles of Nicklaus’ record.
With so many golfers in the field for PGA Tour events, it can be harder to pick winners in golf than it is in any other sport. Plus, there are many more options for what you can bet on, which may confuse you at first.
That said, it’s as easy to bet on golf as any other sport, and most of the bets are fairly straightforward. In other words, there may be more ways to bet on golf, but it isn’t any more more complicated or harder to bet on than anything else, particularly if you take a little time to research all the golf betting markets Michigan sportsbooks make available.
Editor’s note: Tiger Woods is out of competition indefinitely following a February car crash in California.
Generally speaking, Woods has amassed 109 worldwide wins, including 15 majors, throughout his professional career. At first glance, a statistic like that makes him look like a good bet to win every week. The problem is he’s 45, past his prime, and 10 to 15 years older than the top-ranked golfers in today’s PGA Tour.
Successful golf bettors don’t bet on Woods or any other golfer exclusively. Instead, they look for data that will tell them who’s playing the best heading into next week’s PGA Tour event and which golfers have performed well on that particular course in the past.
Woods’ popularity means Michigan sportsbooks will offer more bets and props surrounding him than anyone else, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to bet on him or against him.