At first WM Phoenix Open since legalization, sports betting adds to the fun — and financial boon

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Walking through the Hayden Loop underpass on Thursday at the WM Phoenix Open, an unidentifiable voice rose up from the crowds of golf fans in search for their first drink of the day.

“I got him at 20-1,” the man says, referring to Jordan Spieth. “That’s pretty good odds.”

Clearly, he was not alone. According to Johnny Avello, the Director of Sportsbook Operations at DraftKings, the tournament could be the company’s most lucrative non-major of the year.

Just a year ago, this wasn’t possible. When the 2021 WM Phoenix Open took place in February, Arizona was among 26 states that hadn’t launched sports betting. Then, in April, the state legislature passed a bill to legalize the growing pastime. Five months later, on Sept. 9, the first sportsbooks launched mobile operations in the state.

Since then, DraftKings has emerged as the state’s leader, bringing in $100 million more in revenue than its nearest competitor, FanDuel, according to Christopher Boan from BetArizona.com.

Leaderboard | PGA Tour Live streaming on ESPN+ | Tee times, TV info

“I’m a Vegas guy and I’ve dealt with a lot of people from Arizona and know they’ve come up to bet at our sportsbooks before,” Avello said. “So I knew it would be a lucrative market for us and it’s worked out well.”

The Phoenix Open is capitalizing on that success. Because DraftKings is the PGA Tour’s official sports betting partner, the groundwork was already in place for the multi-faceted partnership that came together once gambling was legalized in Arizona.

At TPC Scottsdale — as with the television broadcast of seemingly any sporting event — the impact is impossible to miss. Throughout the course, the DraftKings logo is plastered on any open space, most notably between the 10th green and 17th fairway at the Kiva Club, which is now branded as DraftKings Sportsbook at the Kiva Club.

Although attendees won’t be able to place in-person bets until a future brick-and-mortar location opens in 2024, DraftKings workers helped sign people up for their app with promotions, including an offer of free bets if fans could sink a 10-foot putt.

According to Christiana Mather, one of those workers, attendees in Arizona have been more open to her pitches than at other PGA Tour stops. Part of that, she says, is due to the party atmosphere of the event. Part, too, is the timing. The Phoenix Open overlaps with the Super Bowl, enabling workers to entice fans with the marquee sports betting event of the year.

“It’s super helpful because since both events are going on in the weekend, we have a lot to promote,” Mather said.

Golf fans at the WM Phoenix Open have a new option for their cellphones now that sports betting is legal in Arizona. For now, they have to rely on apps, but by 2024 there is expected to be a permanent sportsbook at TPC Scottsdale.

That timing has its benefits from the tournament’s perspective, as well. In the past, out-of-state attendees of Super Bowls held in Arizona have often flown into Las Vegas and driven down for the game.

Next year, the Super Bowl returns to Glendale. With legalized gambling, Golding hopes to draw some of those fans — often wealthy celebrities — to TPC Scottsdale.

“We anticipate our relationship with DraftKings … can only improve the clientele and our ability to donate in our community,” Golding said. “We’re certain of that.”

Implicit in the “ability to donate” is the financial boon to the tournament itself. Although neither Golding nor Avello would disclose the specifics of their agreement, deals of this nature typically involve the tournament receiving a cut of DraftKings’ revenue from the event, as well as money up front due to advertising.

TPC Scottsdale and DraftKings, though, aren’t the only beneficiaries of legalized sports betting.

For fans in attendance this weekend, it provided a reason to care about specific players in a sport that lacks the inherent rooting interests of team sports.

Morgan Clark was one of those fans. Clark, who lives in Scottsdale, is a regular attendee of the Phoenix Open. This year, though, he’s enjoying the event a little bit more than normal.

“Just having a little extra action in on a game, just having something to root for beyond just the people from Arizona like Jon Rahm and all those guys,” Clark said.

Standing beside the 10th green Saturday afternoon, Clark eagerly awaited Patrick Cantlay’s arrival on the back nine. After watching Cantlay’s putting in the playoff at the BMW Championship last August, Clark decided to put his money on the World No. 4 at +1600.

As of Saturday afternoon, that was looking like a good investment for Clark, who followed the leaderboard on his phone. In a tie for first place, Cantlay’s odds had jumped all the way to +225.

Further down the 10th fairway, Nick Noval also had some skin in the game. Before the tournament, he placed bets on a handful of golfers, most of whom were out of contention by Saturday. But after the first round on Thursday, he put a +2500 wager on upstart Sahith Theegala, who led the field.

Surprising many — including oddsmakers — Theegala replicated his strong start on Friday and remains in contention entering Sunday’s final round.

“It makes it more entertaining,” Noval said. “You don’t even have to bet a lot but it can make you care more about somebody who’s not your main guy.”

That is, as long as your golfer is still in contention.

The bettor who wagered on Spieth didn’t have the same luck. By the time his round wrapped up Saturday, the former World No. 1 was in a tie for 54th place, 11 shots off the lead.

There’s a reason, in the end, that DraftKings makes its money.