Golf’s top LPGA players take the field in New Jersey this weekend for the ShopRite LPGA Classic. The 54-hole, three-round tournament begins Friday, Oct. 1 at Seaview Resort’s Bay Course and ends with a final round on Sunday, Oct. 3.
Current sports betting odds suggest 26-year-old Jin Young Ko will secure her 10th career win by the end of this weekend.
Jin Young Ko enters first round as favorite
A purse of $1.75 million is at stake for the ladies playing this par 71, 6,155-yard course. This year’s competition is scaled back from last year’s four-day, 72-hole tournament.
As of now, BetMGM is currently the only known sportsbook offering odds on the tournament. Moreover, the operator only lists odds for one market – wagering on the overall tournament winner.
World No. 2 Jin Young Ko sits at the top of that list, favored with +850 odds of winning the tournament. She looks for her 10th LPGA Tour win this weekend – her third victory of the year.
Ko’s wins thus far came during two of her previous four tournaments. The first came from July’s Volunteers of America Classic, and the most recent came during the Cambia Portland Classic in Sept.
ShopRite LPGA Classic betting
Ko is far from the only player with a substantial chance of a win here, however. The field is chock full of viable contenders.
Out of the tournament’s 132 total participants, 28 of those happen to be ranked in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking top 50. Moreover, seven of those are ranked within the world’s top 10 golfers.
The No. 8 ranked Hyo Joo Kim claimed a win in April at the HSBC Women’s World Championship along with three other top 10 finishes during her 12 appearances this year. BetMGM positions her behind Ko with +1100 odds of winning.
World No. 5 Nasa Hataoka was last week’s champion at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship. As a result, she is expected to give Ko a run for the top spot once again this weekend. The King of Sportbooks gives her +1600 odds of coming in first.
Rising American star Danielle Kang‘s 2021 season has been chock full of top 10 finishes. Out of the 16 events the world No. 8 has participated in this year, exactly half of them have resulted in top 10 finishes. BetMGM gives Kang the fifth-best chance of a win with +2200 odds.
Inbee Park sits behind Kang with the same odds. After winning the Kia Classic in March, the world No. 3 went on to place in the top 10 at seven other events.
World No. 7 Yuka Saso came in first at the U.S. Women’s Open in early June and placed in the top 10 four other times this year. BetMGM situates her behind Leona Maguire, giving them both +2500 odds of a tournament win.
Past ShopRite winners return to the field
In addition to such a high-profile field, many of this year’s participants already share a close relationship with the course. Eight out of 10 of the event’s most recent winners will be returning.
Lexi Thompson has won 11 LPGA Tour events in her career, the most recent being the 2019 ShopRite Classic. Of the 15 events she’s participated in this year, 5 of those have resulted in top 10 finishes. BetMGM gives her the fourth-best chance of a win with +1800 odds.
Anna Nordqvist won the ShopRite Classic in 2015 and again in 2016, setting a course record the latter year by finishing an astonishing 17-under par. She looks to claim her third victory this year, and BetMGM gives her the ninth-best odds of doing so.
Nordqvist has logged a successful year thus far, winning the Women’s British Open and logging top 10 finishes at both the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give and the Bank of Hope LPGA Match-Play. She holds +2800 odds of claiming a win – the same odds as Georgia Hall and Sei Young Kim.
Although both Hall and Kim secured top 10 finishes at three tournaments a piece this year, each one has yet to claim a victory.
Last year’s winner, Mel Reid, shattered that record by finishing the 72 holes at 19 under par. This year, she sits further down the list, with +12500 odds of becoming the weekend’s winner.
NBC leads with historic first
The tournament’s strong field of contenders sets fans up to experience a weekend packed with plenty of history-making golf. Viewers have another chance to witness a monumental first as NBC’s LPGA coverage features an all-female broadcast team for the first time in U.S. television history.
Play-by-play announcer Cara Banks, analysts Judy Rankin and Paige Mackenzie, on-course reporters Karen Stupples and Kay Cockerill, and producer Beth Hutter will all be there to guide fans through the weekend’s three rounds.
Bettors can stream each day of play on the Golf Channel and on NBC Sports beginning this Friday at 1 p.m. ET.
