Jon Rahm was a popular pick to win the U.S. Open.
Rahm was so popular, in fact, that he led to a significant loss for BetMGM. The book said Sunday night that its losses were over $1 million on the golf tournament because of Rahm’s win.
“Jon Rahm winning the U.S. Open was the worst result for the sportsbook,” BetMGM vice president of trading Jason Scott said. “Rahm received the most tickets and handle to win the tournament resulting in a seven-figure loss for BetMGM. Congratulations to all of our customers that backed Rahm.”
Rahm birdied holes Nos. 17 and 18 to win his first major by two strokes over Louis Oosthuizen. Rahm became the first player in decades to birdie the final two holes on the way to a U.S. Open win.
Rahm opened at +1100 to win the U.S. Open last fall and remained one of the top picks even after he had to withdraw from the Memorial with a six-shot lead after he tested positive for COVID-19 earlier in the spring. Rahm’s odds moved down to +900 before Round 1, but not before someone bet $1,500 to win $15,000 on Rahm at +1000.
Rahm’s odds went back up to +1000 after the first round and then dropped to +400 after he had a solid second round. He was back up to +1000 entering Sunday after he was three shots back of the lead. But Rahm shot a final-round 67 as most of the golfers ahead of him struggled to break even par.
Eight percent of the tickets and 11.4% of the handle — the money bet on golfers to win the tournament — was on Rahm. Both of those things increased significantly during the tournament and led to BetMGM’s big loss. By the time the tournament was over, 12.3% of the tickets and 17.9% of the handle was on Rahm to win.
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