Tiger Woods vs. Phil Mickelson is a gambling event with some golf mixed in

The Match in Vegas may look like the future of televised golf, and that future is going to involve a whole lot of wagering.

Golf’s loving embrace of gambling will power into a new era Thanksgiving week with “The Match.” The Tiger Woods vs. Phil Mickelson battle is a made-for-TV event and made-for-wagering game.

It’s set in Las Vegas, features two notorious gamblers with deep pockets, and will encourage the kind of in-game side-bets you hear about during practice rounds on the PGA Tour but never during actual play, at least not on TV. There will be real-time probabilities before shots, incorporating course-mapping data and the players’ ShotLink data. It should have a similar effect of watching professional poker where you can see all the hold cards of the players at the table. This is a gambling event dressed up with golf wrapping paper on the outside of it.

Gambling has been a part of the game for as long as it has existed. In Europe, you can walk to the corner bookie, place a few wagers, and walk back down the street to watch the British Open or whatever lesser tournament might be taking place. It’s ubiquitous and acknowledged as part of the game and part of life. Like other sports in the United States, golf is just starting to publicly acknowledge and become more comfortable with the place gambling occupies in its sensitive world.

The PGA Tour is one of the sports leagues that vehemently supported the legalization of sports wagering across the country last year. It’s not for some progressive or benevolent reason. They see a money-making opportunity in this enterprise with all that juicy ShotLink data they can sell and license. And just this week, in a press release, they announced a distribution partner for that scoring data to “international regulated sports betting and gaming markets.”

So golf is headed to a new gambling era, at least on the PGA Tour, and this Tiger v. Phil match seems like an appropriate launching point. As soon as reports of discussions of such an endeavor surfaced, Jeff Sherman of Golf Odds and the Westgate SuperBook in Vegas, said he thought the odds for such a match would be near a pick ‘em. When The Match was announced and this became an official thing, Tiger started as a -135 favorite in most places, with Phil hovering around the +110 underdog.

As you might expect, the public money went to the Tiger side. It always goes to the Tiger side, whether there are 155 other players in the field or just one. He’s the most publicly-backed golfer of all time and he’s responsible for the explosion of interest in golf odds over the last 20 years. To limit exposure, books always have to drop Tiger’s odds as the money comes rushing in for the 14-time major winner. Phil’s sketchy play and Tiger’s season-ending win probably added to the money going Tiger’s way. But the lines have not gotten out of hand for The Match, where it’s a pure head-to-head play. Tiger is now at -200 after opening around -135. He was at -220 in early November.

As you might expect, there is also a stack of prop bets for The Match. Are these props real? Are there places you can actually make these wagers? Who knows! People love to discuss them and bet amongst themselves. The props range from who will win and on what hole to number of eagles made to number of side bets made to Phil Mickelson’s shirt color. Sherman’s tweet above also references a cross-sport prop and with it being Thanksgiving weekend, there will be a helping of those mixing in football and college basketball.

The point is: this is another gambling party in Vegas with a side of golf and it just might look more like the future of the game than you realize. Here are the props I enjoyed marinating on for a second (and might be fun to liven up an interminable family gathering on the holiday weekend, via BetDSI):

Will Tiger Woods record an FIR on Hole No. 1?

• Yes -190
• No +140

Will Phil Mickelson record an FIR on Hole No. 1?

• Yes -130
• No -110

Will Tiger Woods record a GIR on Hole No. 1?

• Yes -450
• No +300

Will Phil Mickelson record a GIR on Hole No. 1?

• Yes -350
• No +230

When will match be closed out by winner?

• Hole No. 13 or earlier (+5000)
• Hole No. 14 (+2500)
• Hole No. 15 (+1000)
• Hole No. 16 (+500)
• Hole No. 17 (+300)
• Hole No. 18 (-150)
• Playoff (+250)

Will Hole No. 18 be played?

• Yes -150
• No +130

Will the match go to a playoff?

• Yes +250
• No -300

Longest drive on Hole No. 4 (must be an FIR to qualify)

• Phil Mickelson -105
• Tiger Woods -135

Closest to the pin on Hole No. 5 (must be an GIR to qualify)

• Phil Mickelson +100
• Tiger Woods -130

Will either player drive the green on Hole No. 11?

• Yes +275
• No -350

Which player will have the most birdies?

• Phil Mickelson -120
• Tiger Woods -110

Will there be an eagle?

• Yes +500
• No -800

Will there be a hole-in-one?

• Yes +550
• No -1000

Will Phil Mickelson record an official three-putt?

• Yes +700
• No -2000

Will Tiger Woods record an official three-putt?

• Yes +800
• No -2500

How many hole concessions will be made?

• Over 2.5
• Under 2.5

How many times will Tiger Woods make a press bet?

• Over 4.5
• Under 4.5

How many times will Phil Mickelson make a press bet?

• Over 6.5
• Under 6.5

How many side bets will be made by Tiger and Phil?

• Over 12.5
• Under 12.5

Amount of largest side bet

• Over $50,000
• Under $50,000

Will Tiger or Phil talk about other sports?

• Yes -300
• No +250

Will Tiger or Phil say “LeBron”?

• Yes +375
• No -650

Will Tiger or Phil say “prop bet”?

• Yes +120
• No -150

Total curse words said by Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson

• Over 21.5
• Under 21.5

Total times Tiger Woods twirls his club

• Over 3.5
• Under 3.5

Will Tiger Woods wear a red shirt?

• Yes +350
• No -600

Color of Phil Mickelson’s shirt

• Black +100
• White +350
• Blue +500
• Green +500
• Red +800
• Field (any other color) +1500

Will Donald Trump be in attendance?

• Yes +600
• No -1000