How Sportsbooks Have Handled an Abrupt Ending to the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images.
The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am had to be called early after rain and heavy wind on Sunday impacted the golf course too much to finish on Monday.
The PGA Tour tournament was called after 54 holes and Wyndham Clark was announced as the winner after shooting 60 on Saturday.
Of course, during opportunities like this, plenty of bettors attempt to cash in on loopholes to varying effects.
As the third round was wrapping up on Saturday, it became apparent that golf was not going to be played on Sunday. The weather forecast was calling for winds up to 70 MPH to go along with rain. The PGA Tour announced they would provide frequent updates and a Monday finish was a possibility.
Bettors started to get ideas of profiting off the tournament being called after 54 holes. Most sportsbooks still had the option to bet on the outright winner, top 5, top 10 and top 20. Clark was around +200 to win the tournament after the third round.
Parlays were built that included the current leaderboard with bettors assuming the tournament would likely finish with the same results because no play would continue. At DraftKings, a $20 parlay that had all players in the top 20 in their final finishing position after round three would pay over $755,000.
Now it was time to check the house rules. Most house rules indicated that bets would be paid out if 36 holes of the tournament were completed. But those house rules were for pre-tournament bets.
Circa Sports' operations manager Jeffrey Benson said they would pay all of the bets besides those that were made after round three as those had a 72-hole stipulation.
Golf update at @CircaSports: https://t.co/JP0PLIA5Y1pic.twitter.com/JBgQel8BYg
— Jeffrey Benson (@JeffreyBenson12) February 5, 2024
Caesars also had a stipulation in the house rules that read, "If a tournament is reduced to less than the scheduled number of rounds, all wagers placed after the last shot of the previous completed round will be void."
Most house rules tend to be left very vague and allow for the sportsbooks' discretion on whether they would pay the bets.
FanDuel has house rules that say tournament bets will be settled if 36 holes are completed, meaning all bets — even those placed after the conclusion of the third round — should be valid. There have been unconfirmed various reports on X that FanDuel had mistakenly voided pre-tournament outright win bets on Wyndham Clark.
However, FanDuel also awarded a bettor that parlayed the top 10 before the conclusion of the third round. DraftKings says they are still reviewing the wagers.
“We are currently reviewing the settlement of certain bets placed on this weekend’s Pebble Beach Pro-Am following the cancellation of the final round due to severe weather," a DraftKings spokesperson said. "DraftKings' house rules are currently the same as they were at the start of this event."
There has not been a legal sportsbook that has paid out bets that were placed after the third round. But, some have been left holding the bag on bets that were placed right before the buzzer.
The situation harkens back to an elemental philosophical question in sports betting: When are sportsbooks valid for voiding bets? Gaming commissions throughout the country will keep their eyes on this situation — and likely rule in the coming months.
If the tournament proceeded as normal — and the parlays with the current leaderboard didn't hold firm — the sportsbooks surely would've graded those bets as losers, with no thought in mind that the wagers were banking on cancelations.
So, should sportsbooks be able to hang these lines, only to strip them away when bettors are willing to risk their own money on an outcome out of their control? In the end, isn't that betting?
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