Why bet golf? Pro bettor Rufus Peabody dissects how he gambles on a sport that routinely showers rich payouts

As the Florida leg of the PGA Tour opens with the Honda Classic on Thursday, prognosticators pointed to Floridians Brooks Koepka and Daniel Berger as favorites due to the close of the event.

Joaquin Nieman, who won in Los Angeles last week, and hot-start Sungjae Im were also getting the attention of experts.

But professional sports bookmaker Rufus Peabody analyzed his fake data and remained silent.

"I keep my head down," Peabody told USA Today Sports+ this week. “People who talk in public, sell their choices, I don't pay any attention to them. Think about it. Why would you sell your choice?"

Peabody, a professional gambler since 2009, has created a quantitative model that runs 250,000 simulations on the Honda Classic, factoring in a variety of conditions such as the difficulty of the hole and course, as well as the weather and player skill.

With those results, he began to bet on domestic and foreign sportsbooks as strongly as possible. When Peabody takes action, it often results in a significant adjustment of worldwide constraints.

In addition to betting on international golf events, he plays in the U.S. The tournament targets about 12 players, focusing on the golfers it likes in the face-to-face matchups that most online shops offer.

To help cover the risk on some longshot players, Peabody bets on them as an "every-way" proposition that allows up to 1/4 return for those posting the top-five finishes.

"If I have the edge, I want to get down as far as I can," Peabody said.

That's the beautiful duality of golf.

Gentle and on the surface dignified, wild and risky once the shot flies.

Four major sports attract the most traffic to betting on online sportsbooks. But small, yet growing, sports gamblers with smart and deep pockets are accepting golf as their betting sport of choice.

"I used to bet on baseball and football, but as markets became more efficient it became clear that I needed more expertise," Peabody said. "I could still make a small profit with baseball but what I put into [the research] is almost never worth the time."

Golf has provided him with far richer returns.