Sharps take side in Brady-Mickelson vs. Rodgers-DeChambeau match
Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers will square off Tuesday on the golf course in their first head-to-head competition since Tampa Bay beat Green Bay in the NFC championship.
Rodgers and Bryson DeChambeau are -180 favorites at the Westgate sportsbook over Brady and Phil Mickelson (+160) in the fourth edition of “The Match” at The Reserve at Moonlight Basin in Big Sky, Montana.
“Obviously DeChambeau is better than Mickelson and from everything I’ve read, Rodgers is a better golfer than Brady, so if you put those two on a team they have to be a reasonable favorite,” Westgate vice president of risk Jeff Sherman said. “But we’ve been mostly getting (underdog) money. We opened at -200 and got as low as -160.
“Right now, we need the favorite, which is just fine because I think the two better golfers are on the same team.”
BetMGM reported taking sharp action on Rodgers and DeChambeau, who leads the PGA Tour in driving distance (321.9 yards) and should hit some bombs at an elevation of 7,500 feet on a course that features a 777-yard par 5.
The match (2 p.m., TNT) will feature a modified alternate-shot format in which all four golfers tee off. Each team will then pick which drive to play and alternate shots.
Brady fired a friendly verbal shot at Rodgers about Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur’s decision to kick a field goal down eight late in the NFC title game rather than go for it on fourth and goal.
Directing his comment at DeChambeau during a June 15 interview to promote the event, Brady said, “You do have a partner that would probably like to go for it a little more often than he has in the past.”
Rodgers responded with a shot of his own at his coach, saying “Well, I usually don’t get the option.”
Station Casinos had one of the lowest lines Tuesday on Rodgers and DeChambeau at -165. Station also offers eight props on The Match, with odds on the the leading team after three holes, six holes, nine holes, 12 holes and 15 holes; the first team to go 1 up and 2 up; and the hole 1 winner. Rodgers and DeChambeau are favored to win every prop.
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.
