Comparing Two Chance Bets To Singles At TPC River Highlands

Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler both have +1000 odds at the Travelers Championship, making them co-favorites.
Betting on favorites via double chance winning bets pays out less than betting half the original bet amount on each golfer.
Splitting up the original bet amount by different percentages presents surplus values when compared to double chance betting odds.

CROMWELL, Conn. – The 2022 Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands tees off Thursday at 6:45 a.m. ET. Sportsbooks have tabbed Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler as co-favorites with +1000 odds.

Travelers Championship Odds

Rory McIlroy +1000
Scottie Scheffler +1000
Justin Thomas +1200
Patrick Cantlay +1400
Sam Burns +2000
Jordan Spieth +2200
Xander Schauffele +2200
Sung-Jae Im +2800

With a loaded field that consists of five of the top 10 golfers according to the World Golf Rankings, it is only right that legal sportsbooks have many different styles of bets available. Of those styles of bets, one of the most popular is the two-chances style. Two chances bets involve selecting two golfers with the hope of either of them winning the tournament.

Comparing Value Of Two Chance Winners To Betting Straight Up

As to be expected, two chances betting odds reflect the pairing chosen in their odds.

Two Chances Favorites

Rory McIlroy / Justin Thomas +450
Rory McIlroy / Scottie Scheffler +450
Scottie Scheffler / Justin Thomas +450
Rory McIlroy / Patrick Cantlay +600
Rory McIlroy / Sam Burns +600
Scottie Scheffler / Patrick Cantlay +600
Scottie Scheffler / Sam Burns +600

This may seem like a cut and dry easy-to-do bet, but the shorter odds on two chances bets negate the value of betting on both choices straight up.

In the table below, double chance payouts are calculated off a $100 bet, and each individual golfer’s payout is based on a $50 bet (dividing the $100 by two because there are two golfers).

Two Chances	Double Chance Payout	Payout On First Golfer	Payout On Second Golfer
Rory McIlroy/Justin Thomas (+450)	$450	$500	$600
Rory McIlroy/Scottie Scheffler (+450)	$450	$500	$500
Scottie Scheffler/Justin Thomas (+450)	$450	$500	$600

At worst, when separating a $100 bet on two golfers into two single $50 bets, golf bettors would see an additional $50 of profit. If Justin Thomas were to win in either bet, bettors would see $150 more in payouts.

Comparing Longer Two Chances Odds To Straight Up Bets

It does not always work to just divide the original bet amount by two to gain extra value, but surplus value can almost always be obtained in some facet by betting golfers straight up instead of through the two chances bets.

How that can be done is by putting more money on the player with shorter odds than on the player with longer odds.

Running through some randomly chosen double chance bets, some of the math has been worked out assuming the desired bet amount is $100:

Justin Thomas/Jordan Spieth (+700): $700 payout when betting on either of them to win. A $65 bet on Justin Thomas (+1200) would pay out $780. Using the remaining $35 to bet on Jordan Spieth (+2200) would pay out $770 profit. At worst, bettors would win $70 more betting on Thomas and Spieth individually instead of betting them via double chances.
Sam Burns/Sung-Jae Im (+1100): $1100 payout on the two-chances bet. Betting $60 on Sam Burns to win at his +2000 odds would win $1200 while betting the other $40 on Sung Jae Im at +2800 payouts out of $1,120. That’s a minimum of $20 extra profit. The highest minimum profit is roughly $66 dollars on a $58.35 and $41.35 split between Burns and Im.

Gaining an edge on sportsbooks through single bets instead of two chances betting is available every week. Experimenting with different unit percentage weights on each golfer will nearly always provide additional value, but that proves especially true at this week’s Travelers Championship.

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Brett Crown

Brett is a passionate sports writer who majored in Sport Management at Florida State University. He combines his knowledge of stats with his understanding of game theory to find the best values when sports betting. Brett enjoys golfing, playing cornhole, and hanging out by the pool when he’s not locked in watching games.