It's hard to find a golfer not to like in the Hero World Challenge, a limited field of the top golfers in the world for a no-cut event. But bettors have circled two of the favorites as their best bets of the weekend.
According to data released by BetMGM, Justin Thomas and Collin Morikawa have taken the most bets to win the tournament, with Rory McIlroy right behind in third.
Those are also the three betting favorites on the board. Morikawa and McIlroy are the co-favorites at +800 with Thomas at +1000. With just 20 players in the field, over 12% of the outright bets are on Thomas with 11% on Morikawa and 9% on McIlroy.
The money is also on Thomas, who leads the way with the highest handle at BetMGM. Morikawa is third, but it's Xander Schauffele coming in second with the most dollars wagered on at 10% of handle. Schauffele is +1200, behind Viktor Hovland and Bryson DeChambeau at +1100.
Thomas has finished in the top five in two of his last three events, but McIlroy and Morikawa are fresh in bettors' minds after their recent performance.
McIlroy dominated the DP World Tour Championship in Europe for three days and won the CJ CUP before that, reminding golf fans just what he's capable of. Yet, it was Morikawa's Sunday surge (and McIlroy's collapse) that secured the win in the DP World Tour just before Thanksgiving.
Two longshots in the field are shaping up as liabilities alongside Thomas. Patrick Reed (+3000) is the biggest liability for the book with the fourth-most handle. Only Henrik Stenson (+6600) has longer odds than Reed this week.
And fresh off his exhibition win over DeChambeau in The Match V, Brooks Koepka is the third-largest liability with the fourth-most bets at +2200.
