The finest golf betting markets, ranked from Augusta to St Andrews

An each-way bet is two bets of equal stake placed simultaneously: one on your selection to win outright, and one on it to finish within a specified number of places. In golf, the place portion pays a fraction of the win odds — typically 1/4 or 1/5 — if the player finishes in the paid places. At The Open Championship, the standard is 1/4 odds for the top 5 or top 8 places, depending on the operator. At the Masters, most operators offer 1/4 odds, top 5 places. Each-way betting is particularly popular in golf because a 156-player field and four rounds of variable conditions mean outright winners are extremely difficult to predict; the place portion provides a cushion for near-misses.

An outright bet is a wager placed before the tournament starts on which player will lift the trophy. The bookmaker sets odds for every player in the field; you choose one player at those odds and collect if they win. Odds shift continually in the days leading up to an event as injury news, weather forecasts, and course form reports emerge. During the four rounds, live in-play outright markets allow you to back or trade positions based on the live leaderboard. Outright odds in golf tend to be generous compared with other sports because the large field means even the favourite rarely wins more than 15% of the time; the long-shot value is where most seasoned golf punters concentrate their attention.

Rule 4 is a deduction applied to outright bets when a player withdraws from the event before or during competition. The deduction percentage is set by the bookmaker based on the withdrawn player’s opening price; the shorter their odds, the larger the Rule 4 deduction applied to all winning outright bets. At most major championships, bookmakers now offer “without Rule 4” markets for the biggest events — meaning withdrawals do not trigger deductions, though the opening odds are slightly shorter to compensate. Always check which type of outright market you are entering, particularly for tournaments with a small elite field such as the WGC events where one withdrawal can have a significant impact.

No. Each-way betting applies to stroke-play tournaments where a field of individual players competes over 72 holes and a final order of finish is established. The Ryder Cup is a match-play team event between Europe and the USA; the only final outcomes are a win, a loss, or a tied result (which sees the existing holders retain the trophy). Markets at the Ryder Cup are structured around team match result, winning margin in points, individual session winners, and player head-to-head match-play results. There is no equivalent to each-way terms in this format.

Based on our three-consecutive-majors outright price sample (see press-box.php for methodology), Betfair’s exchange consistently returns the best available price at tournament start, because exchange odds reflect real market supply and demand rather than a bookmaker’s built-in margin. Among traditional sportsbooks, Coral and Sky Bet have competed most aggressively on Masters outright prices in recent cycles. SovereignEdge recommends comparing prices across at least two operators before placing any major-event outright, as the difference on a mid-range selection (20/1 to 50/1) can be substantial in cash terms.

Live in-play golf betting allows you to place wagers during the tournament on markets that update after each hole. Common in-play markets include: outright winner (odds shift as the leaderboard changes), round leader, top-5 finish, and 3-ball group winner (which player in a specific playing group scores lowest). Coverage tends to be strongest during rounds 3 and 4 when the field has been cut and fewer players remain in contention. Betfair’s exchange is particularly liquid for in-play golf because multiple parties are trading positions simultaneously; traditional sportsbooks such as Coral and Sky Bet suspend markets briefly around tee shots before re-pricing.