Sports betting roundup: Xander Schauffele's final putt pays off for bettors
Xander Schauffele entered the PGA Championship with +1400 odds to win at BetMGM Sportsbook.
That turned out to be a good bet.
Schauffele won the second major of the year on Sunday at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky. He finished the week one shot better than Bryson DeChambeau for his first major title and his winning score of 21 under set a record for the lowest in a major championship.
Schauffele opened the tournament with a 62 on Thursday, tied for the lowest single round in a major. He entered the 72nd hole tied with DeChambeau, but his birdie on the par-5 gave him the victory.
TRENDS OF THE WEEK
Schauffele was drawing the seventh-most tickets (4%) and tied for the sixth-most money (3.8%) going into the tournament. His odds were the third shortest in the field, behind only Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy.
More than half of the pre-tournament betting was on Scheffler (+450), McIlroy (+750) and Brooks Koepka (+1600). Of all the money wagered on the outright winner market, 53.9% was on those three players, including 27.5% on Scheffler. Scheffler finished tied for eighth, McIlroy tied for 12th and Koepka tied for 26th.
In the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Florida Panthers will take on the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference final. Florida beat the Boston Bruins in six games, where the Panthers drew 71% of the money for series betting. The Rangers held off the Carolina Hurricanes in six games, where they drew 55% of the money in series betting.
UPSETS OF THE WEEK
The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Denver Nuggets 98-90 on the road in Sunday night’s Game 7 to advance to the Western Conference finals against the Dallas Mavericks.
Minnesota trailed by 15 points at the half and 20 points in the third quarter. The Timberwolves were +525 to win at halftime.
In the other Game 7 in the NBA on Sunday, the Indiana Pacers beat the New York Knicks 130-109 to advance to the Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics. With both away teams winning, road teams are now 8-4 against the spread in Game 7s since 2021.
COMING UP
The NBA has only four teams remaining, with the Eastern and Western Conference finals getting underway this week.
When it comes to NBA championship odds, the Celtics are the big favorites at -150. The Timberwolves are next at +250, followed by the Mavericks at +500. Lastly, the Pacers are +3000.
The Celtics opened as 9.5-point favorites against the Pacers in Game 1, while the Timberwolves opened as 4.5-point favorites against the Mavericks in their Game 1.
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This column was provided to The Associated Press by BetMGM Sportsbook.
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AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports
