As the US Open gets underway there will be golf fans around the world putting bets on players who could lift the trophy at the end of the week. Within the field, there are a number of the top players who might claim the third men's Major of the year, with Brooks Koepka just one of those individuals.
Certainly, going into the tournament it'll be hard not to bet against the American, with Koepka finishing second at the Masters in April before securing a third PGA Championship. However, that is exactly what one individual has done, with one punter putting a bet of $27,600 on Koepka to not win the US Open!
Per @ProphetExchange’s @jakebenzaq, on #USOpen betting:“Large bet we took just now: One user bet $27,600 on Brooks Koepka NOT to win the US Open. The bet would pay $1,705 if Brooks loses.”Price is -1600.June 14, 2023
At Los Angeles Country Club, Koepka has the chance to claim a sixth Major and third US Open but, according to Prophet Exchange co-founder, Jake Benzaquen: "Large bet we took just now: One user bet $27,600 on Brooks Koepka NOT to win the US Open. The bet would pay $1,705 if Brooks loses."
The odds of this are -1600 (1/16) and, for context, Koepka is +1100 (11/1) to actually win at LACC this week. He wasn't the favourite though before play got underway, with World No.1 Scottie Scheffler just +700 (7/1) to pick up yet another title in 2023.
It's not the first time that we have seen some large bets put on Major championships. Back in 2019, one unidentified punter bet $85,000 dollars, in Las Vegas, all on Tiger Woods to win the 2019 Masters. Famously, the American won a fifth Green Jacket, with the lucky punter securing a $1.2 million payday!
Another sizeable bet came the year prior to Tiger's, when one punter almost won £108,000 off £5. In the treble bet, the individual predicted Haotong Li to win the Dubai Desert Classic at odds of +10000 (100/1), with Jason Day then claiming the Farmers Insurance Open at odds of +2000 (20/1).
Unfortunately, Rory McIlroy, who was the third part of the bet, was unable to secure the Masters in 2018 as he finished in a tie for fifth, with Patrick Reed picking up his first Major title by a shot. McIlroy's odds at the time were +900 (9/1).