If the legal online North American sportsbooks are right about the result of this week’s Honda LPGA Thailand, World No. 1 Lydia Ko will add to her list of accomplishments. Ko is the odds-on favorite to claim another victory this week.
At the same time, other competitors in the field present some intriguing opportunities with even better potential returns. Some prop bets are available now as well ahead of Thursday’s tee times.
Honda LPGA Thailand details for 2023
The location of this 2023 LPGA Tour Event, Chonburi, Thailand, is 12 hours ahead of New Brunswick and 13 hours ahead of New York City. Thus, this event will begin late Wednesday evening for North American bettors. Other particulars are as follows:
- Course – Siam Country Club, Pattaya Old Course
- Par – 72
- Yardage – 6,576
- Defending champion – Nanna Koertstz Madsen, 262 (-26)
- Other past winners expected to compete – Ariya Jutanugarn (2021), Amy Yang (2019, 2017, and 2015), and Anna Nordqvist (2014)
Whether Ko will add to her trophy case this week depends on her overcoming her inexperience on this course and any rust she may be dealing with as well.
Lydia Ko’s challenges for the week
Ko will be competing on the Tour for the first time this calendar year at Siam this week. While that means she should be well-rested, having last competed in November 2022, it also means that she might have some rust to work out.
Still, she’s the World No. 1 until someone knocks her off that perch. For that reason, sportsbooks list her with the shortest odds to win the Honda. Caesars, DraftKings, and PointsBet all list Ko +500 to win outright.
Ko skipped this event in 2022 and has one top 10 finish (t-8th in 2017) in five appearances. Besides the course, Ko has other competitors to deal with. Yang’s three wins in this event make her formidable anytime she steps onto this course, obviously.
Not only does Jutanugarn have a title here but as a native Thai player, she’s often the crowd favorite. Jutanugarn also tied for fifth at this event in 2018 and tied for eighth in 2017. Those players might be prime opportunities for prop bets on this event.
Prop wagers available for the Honda
DraftKings has top five and top 10 finish futures available for the entire field. For example, you can Yang +900 to finish in the top five and Jutanugarn +1100 to finish in the top 10. BetRivers, Caesars, and PointsBet offer yet other markets.
At those books you can find markets on first round leaders, group moneylines, and head-to-head pairings. With all the variety, bettors in Canada and the US are sure to find something to their taste. Ko will need a strong showing to retain her No. 1 ranking this week regardless of how the wagers pan out.
