Collin Morikawa's Quick Players Exit Stuns the Betting & DFS Communities
Collin Morikawa made it through one hole at TPC Sawgrass in the Players Championship on Thursday. Stepping up to the 11th tee, he took a practice swing and then backed away in visible pain clutching his lower back. That would be Morikawa’s final swing of the tournament. With this latest injury, people are wondering if he’ll be good to go for The Masters next month.
It’s a disappointing outcome for one of the best golfer’s in the world, who is also coming off a recent win in the Pebble Beach Pro-Am just one month ago. However, it’s even more disappointing for the bettors and DFS players who put their hard-earned money down on Morikawa to bring home the bacon this week.
Some sportsbooks were kind enough to void Morikawa’s injury, but it certainly wasn’t good news for those in the DFS squared circle. Losses are always tough, but they’re even worse before you really had a chance to put your foot on the gas pedal.
Let’s take a look at Morikawa’s injury, and how it had a ripple effect across the betting and DFS communities:
Morikawa’s sudden back injury
Morikawa started off with a par on the 10th hole before coming up to 11th. After taking a practice swing, that’s when it all went downhill.
"I felt fine in warm-up. Like no signs of back problems. And teed it up on 11, and took one practice swing, and I just knew it was gone," Morikawa said. "Like I just had the feeling before when it happened. And I just, I can't swing through it. Trust me, I would play if I could. It's just the worst thing in the world."
Morikawa would receive treatment from an on-course physiotherapist but quickly realized his day was over. This isn’t the first time back issues have entered the picture, as he had to withdraw from the 2023 Memorial Tournament, in addition to some discomfort in that area at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo.
Morikawa’s impact on betting markets & DFS contests
You have to imagine a few companies across the country are having steak-and-lobster group dinners with the finest wines of Napa Valley this weekend. Not only are some Morikawa markets out of the way, but the odds for live bettors just got worse.
Coming into the Players Championship, Morikawa had odds of +1800 to +2200 across different sportsbooks to win outright. According to Covers, “He was one of the most bet golfers to win at multiple sportsbooks.”
In the PGA Tour $2.25M Fantasy Golf Millionaire DFS tournament, Morikawa was the highest golfer owned at just under 40%. On X/Twitter, user @SkyHookDFS broke down the field dynamics and found that after the tournament started with 93,869 entries, only 51,957 lineups remained without Morikawa ownership.
Bettors reactions to Morikawa’s injury
I must say, as a bettor who has been in this position, this outcome is about as soul-crushing as it gets. If you were playing a DFS contest, maybe you could salvage something in head-to-head and cash games. But for some bettors, oh man, my heart breaks for you.
Sportsbooks like FanDuel already don’t participate in the injury forgiveness program, so those customers missed out once again. However, there were other sportsbooks that made exceptions as gestures of goodwill, voiding many affected bets and announcing them on socials.
I love that sportsbooks are coming through for the people in these unfortunate instances. Betting on sports is hard enough, and it feels like we get kicked down a flight of stairs at least once on any given night. The reality is that most people don’t win at sports betting, so it’s nice to get those small victories in any walk of life – even if you don’t win any money for your efforts.
