Tokyo 2020 Olympics: Women’s Golf Betting Odds
World No. 1 Nelly Korda of the United States is priced as the favourite on the golf odds.
Like the men’s competition, this event is limited to 60 participants and a maximum of four players from a country – the United States and South Korea both have four. Canada has two: Brooke Henderson and Alena Sharp. While there are 35 countries represented in the men’s field, there are 36 among the women.
Local time in Japan, the event runs Wednesday-Saturday but with the time difference tees off around 6:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday. The 72-hole stroke-play event is being held at Kasumigaseki Country Club’s East Course in Kasahata, Saitama, Japan, about 35 miles northwest of downtown Tokyo (same as men).
It’s just the third all-time women’s golf competition in the Games as after 1900, it didn’t reappear on the schedule until five years ago in Rio de Janeiro when South Korea’s In Bee Park won gold by finishing at 16 under and five shots up on New Zealand’s Lydia Ko, who got silver. China’s Shanshan Feng won bronze. All three are in this year’s field as well, while none of the male medallists in Brazil qualified.
Women’s Olympic Golf Odds
American Nelly Korda, 22, is the No. 1 women’s player in the world and the +700 favourite. She also leads the LPGA Tour’s season points standings by a significant margin and has three victories this year, most recently the Women’s PGA Championship in late June. She didn’t play in the 2016 Games.
South Korea’s In Bee Park, the defending gold medalist, is +800. She’s ranked third in the world, one spot behind countrywoman Jin Young Ko, who is +900. The 33-year-old Park has one LPGA win this year, back in March at the Kia Classic. The 26-year-old Ko also has one victory, coming at the start of July at the Volunteers of America Classic.
Canada’s Brooke Henderson is +1800 and ranked No. 8 in the world. The 23-year-old has one victory in 2021 back in April in Los Angeles but has struggled a bit since and comes off a T25 at the Evian Championship in France. She does rank third on the LPGA Tour in greens in regulation at 77.7 per cent. Henderson’s 10 career wins are most of any Canadian male or female on the LPGA or PGA Tour. She was T7 in the 2016 Games. Henderson will have sister Brittany on the bag.
Alena Sharp, 40, is ranked 150th in the world and a +20000 long shot for gold. She was a spectacular amateur in Canada, including winning the 1999 Canadian Junior Championship, but has yet to win on the LPGA Tour, on which she has been playing since 2005 – she did win twice on the Canadian Women’s Tour. Sharp was 30th in the 2016 Olympics. Wife Sarah Bowman will be her caddie.
Women’s Olympics Golf Predictions
Korda leads the LPGA Tour in every major statistic, so she has to be the gold medal pick. Henderson could easily win silver or bronze.