Lexi Thompson A Longshot As She Competes In PGA Tour Event

When Lexi Thompson tees off Thursday in Las Vegas at the Shriners Children’s Open, the LPGA Tour star will become the seventh woman to compete in a PGA Tour event. 

Jeff Sherman, SuperBook Sports’ vice president of risk and a golf oddsmaker, remembers Annika Sorenstam’s start at the 2003 Colonial well. Her effort to compete with the men drew major media attention and attracted sports betting interest in Las Vegas two decades ago. Thompson’s upcoming start reminds Sherman of that, and he leaned on that experience as SuperBook set odds for Thompson’s 2023 effort. 

Sherman anticipates Thompson will play fairly conservatively as she adjusts to the unique circumstance and likely media and fan attention. He wouldn’t be surprised to see Thompson playing for pars, rather than taking risks that could bring double or triple bogies into play. 

“We’ve seen through these experiences — I really remember Annika doing this at the Colonial — that they’re gonna go out there and play conservative on this course,” Sherman said. 

Sorenstam shot a 71 in her first round before a 74 on Friday, missing the cut by four shots.

Making the cut

SuperBook Sports lists Thompson’s over/under on her first round score at 76.5, with -115 odds for both over and under. Given TPC Summerlin’s propensity to give up birdies, two rounds in the mid-70s would not be enough to keep Thompson around for the weekend.

DraftKings has Thompson at +275 to make the cut. BetMGM lists Thompson at +900 to make the cut and -5000 to miss it.

SuperBook Sports goes markedly higher, with +1500 odds on Thompson to make the cut and -5000 odds on the LPGA Tour standout to miss it. 

“We opened at 25/1 for the cut, and we actually took some respected money at 25/1, so lowered it down to 15/1 odds for the cut at this point,” Sherman said. 

Thompson has her work cut out for her as tournament host TPC Summerlin played at 7,255 yards last year. Thompson averages 270 yards off the tee, which makes her one of the longest hitters on the LPGA Tour, but that driving distance would be last on the PGA Tour. On the positive side, Thompson enters the tournament coming off a pair of top-10 finishes on the LPGA Tour.

“We’ll see where the golf takes me,” Thompson told the media. “I know I’ve played well the last few weeks, and just take one shot at a time. Whatever happens, it’s a blessing to be here.”

Odds to win

Thompson’s odds to win the event are the longest of anyone in the field. She’s +100000 to win the tournament on FanDuel, the same odds as several other players deep down the odds board. She’s +1000000 to win the tournament on SuperBook Sports. 

“It’s obviously asking a lot for her to be competitive come Sunday,” Sherman said. 

At the very least, Thompson’s battle to make the cut should draw notable media coverage throughout the week. As a result, Sherman anticipates die-hard golf bettors wagering on Thompson markets. 

“Whether it’s small amounts or even some large ones like we took, you’ll have people that want to get involved from this aspect because I’m sure she’s going to get plenty of TV coverage,” Sherman said.

The last female golfer to make a PGA Tour cut was Babe Didrikson Zaharias in 1945.