Golf
David Purdum, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Jordan Spieth's odds to win Open down to 5-1 at Westgate Las Vegas

Golf

Forty percent of the money bet on The Open as of Wednesday morning at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook is on Jordan Spieth. But the story is much different in the United Kingdom, where bookmakers are trying to drum up action on the winner of the year's first two majors.

Spieth is the favorite to make it three in a row this week at the Old Course at St. Andrews. His odds shortened from 6-1 to 5-1 on Tuesday at the SuperBook, after a bettor placed a four-figure limit wager on him to win his first Open. The bet was around $8,300. The SuperBook will take up to $50,000 in liability on a futures bet.

"The same individual who bet Spieth at 6-1 also bet him at 20-to-1 [to complete the Grand Slam]," SuperBook assistant manager and golf odds specialist Jeff Sherman said.

The bet for the Grand Slam was $2,500. Spieth is now listed at 15-1 to complete that feat, which would entail winning this week and following it with a victory at the PGA Championship Aug. 13-16 at Whistling Straits.

"You rarely see four-figure wagers on golfers [to win tournaments]," Sherman said. "It's always been there on [Tiger] Woods, and we've seen it on Rory [McIlroy], and now we're seeing them on Spieth."

With McIlroy out with an injury, Spieth is the only golfer in this week's field with single-digit odds. U.S. Open runner-up Dustin Johnson is next at 12-1, followed by Rickie Fowler and Adam Scott at 15-1. Woods is 30-1 and has attracted so few bets that the SuperBook would actually win money if he captured his fourth Open title.

"I couldn't even remember that last time we won money on a tournament that Tiger won," Sherman said Tuesday. "But I would bet when this tees off Wednesday night our time that we'll have enough tickets added up on him that we'll probably be a small loser on him."

Louis Oosthuizen (20-1), the 2010 winner here, has received more bets to win The Open than any other golfer at the SuperBook, and the South African is also a popular pick for punters in the United Kingdom. More money has been bet on Oosthuizen at Ladbrokes, the British-based betting company, than on any other golfer. Spieth isn't even in the top five.

"Spieth's been on the drift," Ladbrokes spokesperson Alex Donohue said. "Punters are looking elsewhere."

Ladbrooks lengthened Spieth's odds to 7-1 this week in an attempt to "try and fill the satchel," Donohoe said.

Fowler, who won the Scottish Open last week, poses the biggest liability at William Hill U.K. Oosthuizen is second.

A few sentimental bettors have backed Tom Watson, who is teeing it up in The Open for the final time. The five-time champion is listed at 1,000-1 at the SuperBook. Five bets had been placed on Watson to win the tournament as of Tuesday morning.

First-round coverage on The Open begins at 3 a.m. ET on Thursday on ESPN.

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