When the tournaments roll around, the bookmakers tend to have a sense of which golfers are the most likely to win the silverware at the end of them. Sometimes it can feel as though it will be anyone’s to win, whilst other times there is a clear favourite who is expected to win somewhat comfortably. When the latter is the case, it makes it difficult to justify placing a bet on a different player as the wager will almost certainly be a losing one. An each-way bet, meanwhile, will cost you twice as much money and will be likely to still see the win part of the bet end up losing. That is where the betting without market comes into its own.
What the Bet Means
Bookmakers will happily choose a player or players that they think are the favourites for any given competition that they’re offering odds on. The odds on said player to win the tournament are unlikely to be particularly long, considering the fact that the bookies think they’re going to win anyway. Whilst the odds on other players will be a bit longer, based on the notion that the bookmakers don’t hold out much hope for them finishing in a winning position, placing a bet on them can feel pointless if you also think that the player that the bookies have identified as the favourite is going to win.
What the betting without market does is remove the favourite or favourites from the field. It means that you can bet on someone else to ‘win’ and your bet will be a successful one if the player the bookmakers identified as the favourite wins and your player comes second. Because the favourite has essentially been removed from play, your chosen player becomes the de facto winner. To think of it another way, it is as if the bet was called ‘betting on second to the favourite’. If your chosen player comes first or second then you’ll win your bet, whilst if they don’t then your bet will be a losing one. They can win the tournament and your bet will still be valid.
Is it Worth It?
In 2024, the bookmakers looking at the US Women’s Open decided that Nelly Korda was the golfer most likely to win the competition. As a result, they offered a ‘Betting Without Nelly Korda’ market, which presented odds on all of the other players. In order to give you a sense of whether the bet was worth placing or not, here is a look at the odds of the top ten players with and without Nelly Korda as part of the field:
| Player | With Nelly Korda | Without Nelly Korda |
|---|---|---|
| Rose Zhang | 18/1 | 16/1 |
| Jin Young Ko | 22/1 | 18/1 |
| Atthaya Thitkul | 22/1 | 18/1 |
| Ayaka Furue | 25/1 | 20/1 |
| Brooke Henderson | 25/1 | 20/1 |
| Nasa Hataoka | 25/1 | 20/1 |
| Hannah Green | 25/1 | 20/1 |
| Sei Young Kim | 25/1 | 20/1 |
| Minjee Lee | 30/1 | 25/1 |
| Hyo Joo Kim | 30/1 | 25/1 |
As you can see, the odds aren’t so incredibly different that it is immediately worth opting for the odds without market, but there is enough of a difference to meant that it is at least worth considering. For the competition in question, the odds on Nelly Korda to win were 7/2, so she was clearly the runaway favourite and a bet on Rose Zhang, for example, might not have been worth it for the £2 in every £1 extra you’d gain when Korda was considered much more likely to win.
Betting Each-Way Can Help
One of the other options that you might want to avail yourself of is placing a betting without wager on the each-way market. This obviously lengthens the chance of getting at least some small return on your bet. Of course, the issue with each-way bets is that it doubles your stake but the payout on the place side of it reduces. Let us have a look at the payout for a bet on Rose Zhang Betting Without Nelly Korda, both straight win and each-way, bearing in mind that bookies will pay something like 1/4 to five places:
| Bet Type | Cost | Payout |
|---|---|---|
| Betting Without Nelly Korda Win | £10 | £170 |
| Betting Without Nelly Korda Each-Way | £20 | £220 |
Those payouts are based on the bet winning. In the case where you’ve bet each-way and Zhang finishes, say, third on her own, you would get a return of £50. If she had finished tied for third then dead heat rules might apply, which would see your return change again accordingly.