An outright golf bet is the simplest wager in the sport: you pick one player to win the tournament outright against the entire field. Because those fields run 120–140+ players, even the heaviest favorite is priced long — Scottie Scheffler, for example, was listed at +320 as a Masters favorite, while most of the field sits at +1200 and beyond.
What exactly is an outright bet?
Sportsbooks also call it a "futures" bet. You stake money before the tournament starts, and your ticket wins only if your player lifts the trophy on Sunday. There is no partial credit for a runner-up finish — second place pays nothing on a straight outright. That binary structure is what drives the odds so high even for the best player in the world.
If Scheffler is at +320, a $100 bet returns $320 in profit (plus your $100 stake back) if he wins. A longer shot at +3000 returns $3,000 profit on that same $100 stake. To understand exactly how those numbers translate to implied probability, see How to Read Golf Odds: American Moneyline and Fractional Formats.
Why are outright odds so long compared to other sports?
In a two-team sport, each side starts at roughly 50% probability before the line moves. In a 156-player Masters field, even the best golfer in the world has a raw statistical chance well below 20%. The market reflects that. The sportsbook's margin (the vig) is spread across dozens of realistic contenders, which is why you routinely see tournament favorites priced at +300 to +500 rather than the –110 you'd see on an NFL spread.
Outright bets are the most popular golf wager, but they are also statistically the hardest to cash. That is not a reason to avoid them — the payouts are generous precisely because they are difficult. It is, however, a reason to size them appropriately and treat them as a speculative slice of a broader golf betting strategy rather than your only play.
How are outright bets settled?
Settlement is straightforward: the player who completes all rounds with the lowest aggregate score wins, and all winning tickets are paid at the odds posted when the bet was placed. Playoffs are included — if your player wins in a sudden-death playoff, your ticket grades a winner. If a tournament is abandoned mid-round and no official result is declared, most books void outright bets and return stakes; always confirm the book's rules before a weather-affected event.
Dead-heat rules do not typically apply to outright winner bets because there can only be one champion (a playoff breaks any tie for first). Dead heats matter far more on Top 10 and Top 20 finish bets, where multiple players can technically tie for the same position.
Which sportsbooks take outright golf bets?
DraftKings and FanDuel carry outright markets for every PGA Tour event and all four majors. BetMGM, Caesars, bet365, and ESPN BET do as well. Availability depends on your state — as of end-2024, 38 states plus DC have some form of legal sports betting, but a handful of large states including California, Texas, and Georgia have no legal market yet. Check Golf Betting Legality by State for a current rundown of where each book operates.
One habit worth building immediately: line-shop before you commit. The same player can sit at +2500 on DraftKings and +2800 on FanDuel — a $300 difference on a $100 winning ticket. How Line Shopping for Golf Bets Can Add Hundreds in Value walks through exactly how to do that efficiently.
How does an outright bet fit into a broader golf betting approach?
Most experienced golf bettors treat outrights as a small-stakes, high-upside component of a wider strategy that also includes matchup bets, each-way wagers, and finish-position markets. Because the field is so large, spreading modest stakes across three or four outright picks across a tournament can produce a meaningful return even if just one player hits. See Every Golf Bet Type Explained for US Bettors for a full comparison of what else is available on the board.
If you are placing your first outright bet, How to Place Your First Golf Bet: A Step-by-Step Walkthrough covers the account setup and bet-placement process from scratch. For responsible gambling resources, RG.org's golf betting guide integrates sound bankroll guidance throughout. Must be 21+ (18+ in some states). Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.