- Nelly Korda is the +700 betting favorite to win Olympic golfing gold.
- Danielle Kang, listed with +1400 odds, could make a run at the medals.
- Lydia Ko (+1600) seems to fit the course well and is set up for a dark horse run.
TOKYO – With the men’s golf event over and done with, the women get ready to kick off their event.
The course won’t be the exact same, but there is now a general understanding of what style of play will see success.
Tokyo 2021 - Women's Individual
- Nelly Korda (USA) +700
- Jin Young Ko (KOR) +900
- Inbee Park (KOR) +1000
- Sei Young Kim (KOR) +1200
- Danielle Kang (USA) +1400
- Ariya Jutanugarn (THA) +1600
- Hyo-Joo KIM (KOR) +1600
- Lydia Ko (NZL) +1600
- Patty Tavatanakit (THA) +1600
- Brooke M. Henderson (CAN) +1800
- Lexi Thompson (USA) +1800
- Shanshan Feng (CHN) +2000
- Hannah Green (AUS) +2500
- Jessica Korda (USA) +2500
- Nasa Hataoka (JPN) +2500
- Leona Maguire (IRL) +2800
- Matilda Castren (FIN) +3300
- Minjee Lee (AUS) +3300
- Xiyu Lin (CHN) +3300
- Yuka Saso (PHI) +3300
Nelly Korda Favored, Would Give USA Both Gold Medals
The Olympic betting odds favor the United Sates’ Nelly Korda to win the gold medal. After Xander Schauffele emerged victorious on the men’s side, this would give the United States both winners for individual stroke play.
Korda is the No. 1 ranked golfer in the world who holds the lowest scoring average on the LPGA Tour and thus finds herself as the betting favorite.
While Korda is very talented and could surely win the gold, there may be better options that bring more value to the table.
Danielle Kang (+1400)
Schauffele was able to see success largely in part to his putting. Of all the strokes gained measurements, his best was Strokes Gained: Putting, ranking fifth in the field. Unfortunately, the LPGA stats aren’t as in-depth as on the men’s side, but Danielle Kang is clearly amongst the best putters in the field.
Kang leads the LPGA in putting average with just 28.71 putts per round and ranks seventh in putts per GIR with 1.746.
There were nine golfers who shot -15 or better in the men’s tournament, seven of which placed inside the top 30 in the field for SG: Putting and four were inside the top 10 for the weekend.
Those betting on Olympic golf should be looking for the best putters, and Kang is surely right in that conversation.
Lydia Ko (+1600)
Kang isn’t the only one who excels with the putter. For example, Lydia Ko ranks third on the LPGA tour in both putting average (28.76) and putts per GIR (1.724).
Ko’s biggest weakness is driving the ball as she has only found 62.7% of fairways (No. 151) and has an average drive distance of 257.37 (No. 84), but luckily driving didn’t play too much of a part for the men and that’s unlikely to change too much for the women.
Betting on golf is difficult and so is betting on the Olympics so when combined can make sure an incredibly challenging task. However, having seen how the course plays out just a couple of days beforehand is a huge advantage.
For some reason, it doesn’t seem as if the sportsbooks are as up-to-date with the course as Kang and Ko should likely have shorter odds.