When it comes to betting on golf tournaments, the most obvious bet for you to place is going to be on the outright winner of the entire competition. That, though, is a tricky thing to predict, with any number of different things influencing the final outcome. Instead, you might want to look at something like the 2/3 ball betting market, which allows you to place a bet on who you think will get the best score out of a particular group of players. You are betting on which player will perform the better out of a group of golfers, which is normally limited to the group that is playing together for that day’s worth of golfing.
What the Bet Entails
It is important to understand what it is that you’re betting on when it comes to the 2/3 ball betting market. In the majority of golf tournaments, the first couple of days before the cut sees players head onto the course in groups of three. Once the cut has taken place and there are fewer golfers that need to play the course, this is reduced to see the players head out in pairs. Depending on when you place your bet, you will either be betting on 2-balls or 3-balls. The wager that you’re playing is around which player will perform the best in the group or pairing over the course of the 18 holes that they’re playing that day.
The main thing to bear in mind is that the overall score of the players across the entire competition doesn’t matter when it comes to 2/3 ball betting. That is to say, you are just betting on how they will get on during that day’s play, so you could have one player who is -5 for the tournament and one who is +3, but if the latter player finishes the day having shot two under par, which would take his overall score to +1, and the former has shot one under par to go to -6 overall, it will be the player who shot two under who would win the 2/3 ball betting market even though the other golfer is better placed for the tournament in general.
Things to Think About
If you’re considering opting for this betting market then the first thing you should know is what will happen if a player either doesn’t play or withdraws. If not all players start the round then your bet will be declared void and you’ll have your original stake returned to you. If they all start but then one player withdraws, the non-withdrawing player will be declared the winner on a 2-ball bet whilst a 3-ball bet will continue on as a 2-ball. If you are betting on a 2-ball then you will be offered the option of a tie, which means that it will be a three-way market that will be decided one way or the other. In a 3-ball, however, dead heat rules will apply.
One of the main things that you’ll want to consider when placing this bet is the form of the players. Golf is a crazy sport in which someone can get into their own head really quickly. Just because someone played well on day one or day two doesn’t mean that they will continue to play well on day three or day four. That being said, if you’re looking at a 2-ball and one of the golfers did well on the first two days of play and the other struggled, it will make a lot of sense to bet on the player that did well. History can tell us a lot, though. If you know that the player that struggled always does well on day three and the player that did well tend to fall apart, it can make sense to bet against form.
Other Markets in 2/3 Ball Betting
There are some other markets within the realm of 2/3 ball betting that you might want to consider. The first, which is also one of the most popular, is mythical 2/3 ball betting. This is when a bookmaker offers a market on two or three golfers that aren’t playing together on the course but that they will make for an interesting pairing. It is ‘mythical’ because it isn’t really happening, but the golfers are still playing so you can still look to see which of them has performed the best at the end of the day’s golf. McIlroy and Spieth may not be playing with each other, but if McIlroy finished the day at -3 and Spieth at -1, McIlroy will’ve won the ‘mythical’ bet.
There are some bookies that will offer you a 36-hole 3-ball bet, which is most commonly seen during the first two days of a tournament. It is the same wager, just extended over two rounds of golf instead of being settled over one. Similarly, it isn’t uncommon for a bookmaker to offer 2-ball tie no bet markets. This is where the bet is between two players, but the option of betting on the tie is removed and instead you will get your stake refunded to you on occasions when the players end up with the same score at the end of the 18 holes in question.