If You’re Gonna Bet Golf, Sometimes You Just Gotta Take the ‘L’

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Golf Twitter (or Golf X, whatever) had its hands full in the wake of Rory McIlroy’s Masters win on Sunday, his second in as many years.

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Key Takeaways

• Rory McIlroy’s Masters win sparked a bit of debate over fairness, but many golfers have similar opportunities to play Augusta beforehand, so complaints don’t hold much weight.
• Losing golf bets is part of the game, and sometimes the reasons why can feel unfair, but that's gambling.
• Ultimately, golf betting comes with inherent risks and uncertainty, so sometimes you just have to accept the loss and move on.

You see, Rory, the second-ranked golfer in the world, admitted he’d played Augusta National a few times before the major began.

Some people saw this and thought, UNFAIR. It wasn’t, but some gripes and quibbles were heard. Some of it may have had to do with bets people made that didn't work out for them.

I refer you to the following clip from ESPN’s “First Take:”

So Golf Twitter explained with various levels of courtesy that other golfers could have done the same as Rory. And many probably did play a round or two at Augusta. Here’s an ESPN story on this subject via the lens of people playing in the Masters for the first time (a.k.a. “debutants”):

“There are two ways first-timers can make scouting trips to Augusta before the Masters. Every player gets access to the grounds for two days before the tournament week that they can choose to use at their discretion, arranging tee times through the club. As Chris Gotterup, a four-time winner who is the most high-profile first-timer this year, explained recently, players can also get on Augusta National and bring up to two guests if they play with a member.”

So it can be done! If Rory can do it, you can do it, too. Maybe try to make some friends in high places while you're there.

OK, I’ll grant you Rory's richer and more able to just fly into Augusta whenever than some other golfers, but those are the perks of being Rory. If other golfers don’t like it, they’ll have to golf better, I suppose.

Also, if you didn't know Rory has been spending some time at Augusta, you have only yourself to blame. It was reported he'd played a round with his dad. He was at the Augusta National Women's Amateur tournament as well. Oh, and it was his 18th time playing in the Masters. He might know a thing or two about the place.

At some point, you do, in fact, just have to hand it to Rory and accept he could just be better. He is one of the greatest golfers of all time. There’s no shame in being beaten by the best. And there's no shame in losing a bet because of Rory McIlroy.

Miss from a Rose

Because this is a website about sports betting, let's pivot back to sports betting here. Because while I don't know for certain, I'm sure a bit of the Rory discourse was driven by lost bets.

Case in point: I bet Justin Rose to win the Masters. It was his 21st time playing in the tournament, so crying about Rory playing the same golf course too much would have been a tough case to make when Rose has been in and out of Augusta for two decades.

I lost that bet. That’s golf. That’s gambling. Rose's odds were 35/1 (and fair play here if you want to guffaw at the price I took), an implied probability of 2.78%. He was very unlikely to win even before Rory took a swing at Augusta this year.

Now, I also bet Robert MacIntyre to win, and he lost in spectacular fashion (or appalling fashion, if you want to be a pill about it). I then read a report that MacIntyre was on the verge of quitting the Masters altogether because of a pre-tourney injury.

Well … ouch for the both of us, I guess. Can I be annoyed at this? Yes, sure. Was I? Not really, because I’ve bet golf long enough to know you’re not getting an official injury report about golfers in the same way as you would the NFL.

Also, MacIntyre had to play 30 holes the Sunday before the Masters when rain delayed the Valero Texas Open. The spectre of some wear-and-tear was there.

Anyway, I didn’t get a heads-up that MacIntyre was going to be “questionable” with a neck injury or anything like that, and he crashed out of the tourney after swearing and flipping the bird. Hell yeah, brother.

And that, again, is golf. There are no official injury reports, and you just need to take the “L” when it comes out that the guy you bet is dinged up. Pour one out, as well, for the people who bet Collin Morikawa to win the Players Championship and then watched him withdraw soon after teeing off. Some bets got refunded, sure, but a lot of people were convinced Morikawa was the pick and then were back to square one.

So, here’s where you could start arguing for injury reports in golf, but PGA Tour players are independent contractors. Getting them united behind anything is like herding cats. Now you want them to disclose nagging injuries? Good luck with that.

I get it, it was the Masters. If people were going to bet on one golf tournament this year, that was probably it. A lot of people might have been fading Rory for various reasons that could have included (drum roll, please) lingering injury concerns. Then Rory shows up and wins anyway, and it's understandable if a person feels misled, especially if they had money on the line.

But let’s go to some of the core principles of gambling. Know the risks, know the rules, and bet responsibly.

Betting golf isn't always fair. Sometimes you just have to take the “L.”

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