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The PGA Tour is the top professional golf tour in the United States, with over 40 tournaments each season and a consistent calendar of high-profile events. In 2025, the Tour includes four major championships, a series of Signature Events, the FedExCup Playoffs, and the launch of the TGL indoor league.
If you’re new to betting on the PGA Tour, this guide will help you understand the structure, formats, and strategies that will give you a smart edge in 2025.
Golf Betting Basics
To bet effectively on the PGA Tour, it’s important to understand how tournaments are structured and what are the key terms commonly used in golf scoring.
Most PGA Tour events follow four days, running from Thursday through Sunday. Each tournament typically includes a field of around 120 to 156 professional golfers who compete over 72 holes. After the first two rounds (36 holes), players with the lowest scores move on to the weekend. Everyone else is cut and doesn’t continue. Those who don’t make the cut are eliminated from the tournament and receive no prize money or betting value beyond round-based wagers.
Golf scoring revolves around a few essential terms. “Par” is the standard number of strokes a skilled golfer must take on a hole or course. A “birdie” occurs when a player completes a hole in one stroke under par, while a “bogey” means finishing one over par. Understanding these basics helps you interpret player performance and assess bet potential, especially in live and in-play markets where momentum and scoring patterns matter.
A clear grasp of how the PGA Tour operates and what the scoring means gives you a solid foundation for making informed betting decisions.
Breakdown of the 2025 PGA Tour Calendar
The PGA Tour season in 2025 is structured across several tiers of events, each offering unique formats, fields, and betting angles. Understanding how the season is organized can help you target the best opportunities throughout the year.
The Majors
These are the most prestigious tournaments in professional golf. They feature the strongest fields, the most media attention, and the broadest range of betting markets:
- The Masters – April | Augusta National Golf Club, Georgia
- PGA Championship – May | Quail Hollow Club, North Carolina
- S. Open – June | Oakmont Country Club, Pennsylvania
- The Open Championship – July | Royal Portrush Golf Club, Northern Ireland
Signature Events
Signature Events have limited fields, large prize purses, and often no cuts, making them easier to track for bettors and offering more consistent performance data:
- The Players Championship
- Genesis Invitational
- Arnold Palmer Invitational
- Memorial Tournament
- Wells Fargo Championship
- RBC Heritage
- Travelers Championship
FedExCup Playoffs
These three events close out the season and determine the FedExCup champion. All feature small, elite fields and high-intensity competition:
- FedEx St. Jude Championship – August
- BMW Championship – August
- TOUR Championship – August | East Lake Golf Club, Atlanta
Regular Season Tournaments
In addition to majors and Signature Events, the PGA Tour runs more than 30 regular-season tournaments across North America. These events often feature wider fields and longer odds, providing good value for strategic bettors.
Notable events include:
- Sony Open (Hawaii)
- The American Express (California)
- RBC Canadian Open (Ontario)
- John Deere Classic (Illinois)
TGL: The Newest Addition to the PGA Tour Lineup
In 2025, the PGA Tour officially integrated the Tomorrow Golf League (TGL) into its seasonal ecosystem. TGL offers a modern twist on professional golf and a different betting format.
TGL is a team-based, tech-driven indoor golf league co-founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. Unlike traditional stroke-play events, TGL uses head-to-head match play between teams of PGA Tour stars in a primetime televised format.
If you’re interested in placing a bet, current TGL betting odds are available through major sportsbooks, offering a range of unique betting markets.
Types of Golf Bets
The PGA Tour has many betting options, not just picking who will win. Knowing the different types of bets can help you make smarter and more flexible choices during each tournament.
Outright Winner
This is the most straightforward type of golf bet — you pick one player to win the entire tournament. Because PGA Tour fields are large (often 120–156 players), odds are typically much higher than in head-to-head sports. The risk is greater, but so is the potential reward. It’s a long-shot bet by nature but popular among casual and seasoned bettors.
Each-Way (E/W)
An each-way bet is essentially two bets: one for your player to win, and one for them to finish within a specific range. It’s usually the top 5, top 8, or top 10, depending on the sportsbook. This type of bet is proper when you’re confident a player will perform well but might fall short of winning. It’s a safer alternative to an outright bet, especially in volatile fields or challenging courses.
Top Finishes (Top 5/10/20)
Top finish bets let you wager on a player to finish within a specified range, regardless of whether they win. These bets reduce risk and allow you to profit from consistent or in-form players who often contend but may not close out tournaments. The narrower the finishing window (e.g., top 5 vs. top 20), the higher the payout.
Matchups (Head-to-Head or Group)
Matchup bets pit two (or more) players against each other throughout a round or tournament. You’re betting on which one finishes with the better score. This format eliminates the complexity of the whole field and focuses on smaller, more controlled comparisons. It’s a common approach for bettors who prefer less variance than outright markets offer.
Matchups are available in different forms:
- Tournament matchups: Who will finish higher after all four rounds?
- Round matchups: Who will score lower in a single round?
Prop Bets (Proposition Bets)
Prop bets focus on specific events or statistics within a tournament. These may include whether a hole-in-one will occur, whether a playoff will be needed, or which player will lead after the first round. Props can also include “yes/no” questions about performance or bets based on nationalities (e.g., top European players). These are more niche but often provide fun and creative betting opportunities.
To stay informed on betting markets and storylines tied to these types of wagers, you can check and Explore Latest Golf News on FanDuel for updates, previews, and valuable player insights.
Live / In-Play Betting
Live betting lets you place wagers while the tournament is underway. Odds shift in real time based on how players perform, weather conditions, or changes in the leaderboard. Live betting is ideal for bettors who closely follow the action and can spot opportunities as they unfold.
You can bet on everything from who will win the next hole to whether a player will birdie the next par-5 or who will win from the current leaderboard position.
Closing the Round
As with all sports betting, success won’t come overnight, but with the correct information and a bit of strategy, betting on the PGA Tour can be engaging and rewarding. Start small, track your bets, and enjoy the process. You’re now equipped to do more than just watch the Tour — you’re ready to bet on it confidently.
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