Major Movement: Collin Morikawa Soaring Up US Open, Masters Odds Boards

Fresh off a PGA Championship victory in his second major start as a pro, Collin Morikawa is moving up the odds boards after cashing in at 33/1 last weekend.

“Morikawa’s sensational win at the PGA Championship has propelled him to a top-10 position at next month’s US Open,” said DraftKings Sportsbook director Johnny Avello. “He’s 22/1 to win at Winged Foot.”

Morikawa is also now 16/1 to win the US Open at FanDuel Sportsbook.

The 2020 Masters, meanwhile, is set for Nov. 12-15 at Augusta National and Morikawa is now 20/1 at DraftKings and 18/1 at FanDuel. It’s an impressive rise considering that in early June, Morikawa to win at Augusta was 45/1 at DraftKings, 41/1 at FanDuel and 50/1 at BetMGM.

If you like longer odds on Morikawa at a major, you’re in luck for the 2021 Open Championship next summer at Royal St. George’s.

“The Open is a much more difficult Championship to conquer, and he’s 50/1 for that event,” Avello added.

Morikawa now No. 5 in World Golf Rankings

Just 15 months removed from final exams at Cal Berkeley, Morikawa won his third PGA Tour title and first major in his 27^th start. Morikawa has missed just one cut on Tour, and ascended to No. 5 in the Official World Golf Rankings following the PGA Championship win.

Trailing third round leader Dustin Johnson (-9) by two shots entering the final round, Morikawa was offered at 8/1 to win on the round-by-round adjusted odds at a number of sportsbooks, and 9/1 at DraftKings. BetMGM even opened Morikawa 11/1 before the final round.

Avello told TheLines that one bettor pulled out Big Bertha and made a $75,000 bet on Morikawa at 9/1 odds and cashed in for $675,000. Also, MGM public relations reported that a $4,000 wager came in at 11/1 odds, paying out $44,000 at BetMGM.

That bettor certainly loved the Taylor Made tee-shot on No. 16 by Morikawa. He drove the green on the Par 4 at 294 yards and made the 7-foot eagle putt to to move two shots in front on his way to winning the PGA Championship.

 

Major wagers on Morikawa, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka

While one bettor put a dent into DraftKings with the $75,000 bet at 9/1 odds on Morikawa prior to the final round, another bettor gave back to DraftKings with a $350,000 bet on Johnson at +275. Johnson couldn’t hold the 54-hole lead for the fourth time in a major championship. That $350,000 bet was the largest golf wager ever at DraftKings.

The sportsbooks cleaned up with a record handle on the PGA Championship.

BetMGM set records for action on the PGA Championship and MGM believed it might have been the most money bet on any PGA event ever.

Brooks Koepka is another one of those players that can win on any given week. The two-time defending PGA Champion was the most wagered-on player in total number of bets and handle at the PGA Championship. But Koepka fell down the leaderboard Sunday and out of favor with in-play bettors with a final round 74 to finish T29.

That left bettors who also had Koepka finishing top-5, 10 or 20 holding an empty bag.

“Koepka was a popular choice all week,” Avello said.

Trailing the leader Johnson by 2-shots entering the final round Sunday, Morikawa moved up a jammed-packed leaderboard to tie for the lead on the back nine at 10-under par.

Then on the Par 4 hole 14, Morikawa had this chip shot to break a 7-way tie for the lead with some of the top players and biggest names in golf – Johnson, Jason Day, Xander Schauffele, Tony Finau, Paul Casey, Matthew Wolff and Bryson DeChambeau – who would get to 10-under a few holes later.

MORIKAWA!!! CHIPS IT IN FOR THE LEAD pic.twitter.com/5KPm6tkW5Z

— GOLFonCBS (@GOLFonCBS) August 9, 2020

Morikawa PGA Championship Stats Profile and Records

• Morikawa’s closing 36-hole total score of 129 is the lowest by any player to win a major championship in men’s golf history. Morikawa played the last 22 holes of the tournament bogey-free and nine-under-par. He finished 13-under par with a 267 total.
• Morikawa led the tournament in driving accuracy, approach shot proximity to the hole and strokes gained putting. Since the PGA Tour began tracking the latter two statistics in 2003, he is the first player to win a tournament while leading each of those categories. Morikawa also became the third youngest PGA Championship winner (23 years, 6 months) behind Jack Nicklaus and Rory McIlroy.
• Morikawa shot 64 on Sunday to win by 2-shots over Paul Casey and Johnson, who finished runner-up in the PGA Championship for the second straight year.
• The field scoring average Sunday was 69.25, the lowest single day mark in the history of the PGA Championship.