Round 1 is on the books at the LIV Golf London Invitational and there have been a number of hits and misses for fans and bettors alike.
Round 1 in the books.@CA_Schwartzel leads the way 👊#LIVGolf pic.twitter.com/rzp391sI3W
— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) June 9, 2022
Here’s a look at the winners and losers after the first round of play.
winner
Charl Schwarzel
The 37-year-old South African hit a 5-under on Thursday to finish as the first-round leader. His last professional win came in 2016 at the Valspar Championship, so holding the lead for another 36 holes could be a challenge for the 2011 Masters champion.
Schwartzel was +3000 at DraftKings Sportsbook to win the event before the game started.
pace of the game
Anyone who has looped through a nearly six hour round knows the pain of slow golf. With the shotgun-launched small-field setup, players raced through the Centurion Club.
While the shot after shot broadcast definitely picked up the pace for viewers, some golfers finished just over four hours on Thursday and that’s a definite win.
fans of chaos
If this is truly the era of free agency in professional golf, many pundits and fans will not be happy.
LIV Golf has been the subject of controversy since the idea was first floated, and the chaos seems only to increase as more players join.
Everyone embraces change differently, and while finances are definitely a key factor in why established PGA Tour players make the move to the LIV series, it may not be the only one.
There are core PGA Tour conventions that obviously don’t agree with all of its players, and the LIV Series offers professional golfers an alternative way to play the sport they love.
OK, it’s all about the money.
Check out the latest comprehensive and most trusted sports betting reviews from SBR here.
Odds courtesy of DraftKings.
loser
The ranking in the YouTube broadcast
The leaderboard on the show did not include players’ full names, and while full names pop up when they make a swing, there are many unfamiliar players for the casual golf fan.
Who is H.DUP?
However, in fairness, try to spell Itthipat Buranatanyarat.
No live odds on sports betting
DraftKings Sportsbook published odds ahead of the opening event in London but no live betting markets were available in Round 1.
If LIV Golf doesn’t embrace the sportsbook community or nurture relationships with sportsbook, it won’t connect with an established audience.
People end up betting on Ultimate Frisbee (or disc).
No live scoreboard on the site
This is a major failure.
Not everyone can watch live, but when an updated leaderboard is available, at least one fan can see the results.
With all the money being thrown at players, it’s a huge oversight not to ensure the infrastructure is in place to make the inaugural event available to as many fans and in as many ways as possible.
Round 2 begins Friday at 9:15 a.m. EST.
Keep an eye on our live odds page throughout the week for the best possible paylines and connect with others in the SBR community on our popular sportsbook forum.