Different bookmakers call this bet type different things, but regardless of what your company of choice refers to it is, you’re still betting on the same thing. The matches/head-to-head betting market asks you to figure out which player will perform better between two in a 1v1 scenario. Sometimes they will be playing together, whilst other times the bookie will just have put them together because it makes for an interesting bet that a lot of people are going to want to get involved with. There are numerous different markets available, with bettors able to wager on 18-hole, 36-hole, 54-hole and 72-hole outcomes, with a full tournament (72-holes) the most popular variant.
Different Types of the Same Bet
The first thing that it’s worth telling you about when it comes to the matches/head-to-head betting market is that there are several different types of what is essentially the same bet that you can look to place. Some bookmakers will offer you the ability to bet on the outcome of a head-to-head contest between two players over the course of 18 holes. You can choose which 18 holes you wish to bet on, presuming it is the case that the competition that you’re placing your wagers on takes place over a few days’ worth of play. In other words, you could bet on day one, day two, day three or day four of a four-day tournament. These are normally found under ‘2 ball betting’ markets.
Some bookmakers will allow you to bet on what is referred to as ‘mythical match-ups’, which means that the players aren’t actually playing alongside one another in the competition but the bookmakers will payout according to how the two players get on comparatively. You may be able to bet on the outcome of match after 54 holes, 72 holes or even 90 holes if a tournament is taking place over five days. It is entirely up to the bookmaker which bets they’re going to offer, but you can usually find one offering one of the bet types mentioned here because they are extremely popular wagers to place on tournaments.
What You’re Betting On
Regardless of the option that you choose, what you’re betting on is which player will end up taking the fewest shots during the period of time allotted. If you’re betting on 18 holes on the second day of play, for example, then it doesn’t matter how the two golfers did on day one of the tournament nor how they cope on day three and four. The only thing that is relevant is how many shots the two players in your match-up get on on the second day of golf. If you’ve bet on Rory McIlroy to beat Collin Morikawa, for example, and McIlroy finishes with a round of 70 compared to Morikawa’s 72, you’ll win your bet even if Morikawa ends up winning the tournament.
Similarly, a bet on the match over 72 holes won’t be settled until the tournament in question has reached its conclusion. You could have McIlroy winning the first three rounds by one shot apiece, but if Morikawa wins the fourth round by four shots or more over the Northern Irishman then you’re losing your bet. You are also only betting on the two golfers that you’ve chosen for your head-to-head bet. If neither of them win the tournament overall then that is entirely irrelevant to your wager. The only thing that matters is how they get on against one another over the period of time that you selected for your bet type.
Things to Bear in Mind
There are a few things that you need to bear in mind in terms of the way that bookmakers settle such wagers. The first thing to think about is that how the competition is scored affects your bet. If it is a tournament that uses the Stableford method of scoring, for example, then the player that wins the most points will be the winner in the bet. Bookmakers tend to use the scores that appear on the official website of the tour that is responsible for the competition in question when it comes to declaring the results. If a player doesn’t make the cut then they will be declared to be the loser, presuming the other player did make it.
If both players miss the cut then it will be the lowest score, or highest points in Stableford, that is used to settle the bet. If a player ends up being disqualified or chooses to withdraw from the competition after it has started, either prior to two rounds of golf being completed or after the two players in question have made the cut, the other player will be declared the winner. If it is during the third or fourth rounds then they will still be declared the winner if the other player has missed the cut. If they both made the cut then the player still involved in the competition will be declared the winner and paid out on accordingly.